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Columns | May 22, 2009 19:23
What baby names can tell you about chess openings
Baby names and chess openingsIf you have kids, you've probably thought hard about how to name your child. Should you choose a 'special' kind of name, or rather a very trendy or well-known one? Popularity is an important aspect when it comes to choosing virtually anything. The same goes for chess openings: do you want to go for popular main lines or for 'off beat' variations?
Both options come with their own advantages and disadvantages. A trendy baby name may suggest a popular baby - and trendy parents - but a special name will suggest a special child. Likewise, playing a trendy chess opening will imply theoretical knowledge and opting for an obscure variation will suggest more independence and creativity. A lot has been written about the popularity of baby names (see, for example, the chapter 'What's in a name' in Steven Pinker's recent book The Stuff of Thought and the chapter 'Would a Roshanda by any other name smell as sweet' in the book Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner). But why do baby names (and chess openings) start to lose their popularity at some point? Is it merely that more and more people become 'fed up' with it, or is there more going on? Recent research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (May 2009) on baby names suggests a solution: the rate at which a cultural trend becomes popular, is also indicative of its decline. As one Scienceblogs article on the research put it: "the faster the rise to prominence, the steeper the fall from grace."
The researchers, Jonah Berger and Gael Le Mens, looked at the changing popularities of first names in France and the USA over the last 100 years. They found that parents were less inclined to give their children names that had become very popular very fast, regardless of the overall popularity of these names. The names Tricia and Krisi, for example, became very popular very fast in the 60s, and lost their appeal in the 70s equally quickly, whereas the name Charlene slowly gained in popularity and also declined much slower than Tricia and Kristi. The reason? "Fads are perceived negatively, so people avoid identity-relevant items with sharply increasing popularity because they believe that they will be short lived."
Of course, chess openings are much more than just a cultural trend. In chess, unlike fashion, popularity is not merely subjective - it's also highly objective: a losing line won't be played much. That's why nobody plays the Damiano Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6?) these days. A 'hard refutation' can simply kill a chess line's popularity instantly. But what about lines that are not known to be refuted, or even known to be inferior? Might their popularity also be dependent on the idea that they might be 'short lived'? I have always wondered whether adopting a particular variation isn't also part of one's image. Apart from any objectivity - isn't it cool to play popular lines?
I realize this is a different point of view that most chess players will think of. They will, of course, accept that chess lines are subject to change in popularity, but my guess is they will try to analyse this change in terms of chess theoretical developments: novelties, strong players starting to experiment with the line, matches being played with it, etc. Indeed, in a recent discussion on this site, many posters gave reasons for why certain openings fluctuated in popularity over time. But these were all reasons to do with chess. In this article, I want to see if there are other reasons for adopoting a particular line or not. I want to raise the possibility that chess openings, like baby names, can be a cultural trend, subject to sociological and psychological forces.
Take, for instance, the 7...Qc7 line of the Winawer variation of the French Defence, a pretty cool and exciting line which I have analysed myself a lot of times:
French WinawerIn a recent issue of ChessVibes Openings, Merijn van Delft and Robert Ris noted that this line became increasingly inpopular in the 90s, even though nobody seemed to know why. In top grandmaster games, Black was usually fine after the opening, and Black even seemed to score better than usual with this line. But all of sudden, Black players just switched to 7...0-0 without an apparent reason. (Now, by the way, 7...Qc7 seems to be back on the scene.) What was going on? If the reasons for the change couldn't be related to particular objective developments such as games or novelties, maybe there were other, more subjective different reasons.
I found myself wondering whether Berger and Le Mens' conclusions also played a role in the popularity decline of this particular variation. Could the mere speed with which the variation became popular be of influence to its eventual decline? To test this, I decided to do a little research of my own. In ChessBase MegaBase 2008, I counted all games in which the diagrammed position occurred between 1980 and 2004 over a reperiod of 5 years. For instance, in the period 1980-1984, the position occurred in 47 out of 96230 games, i.e. 0,048%. In 2000-2004, the position occurred in 737 out of 1173157 games, i.e. 0,062%, and so on. To make sure I hadn't overlooked some kind of 'refutation' of the line, I also checked the score results of these games, but I didn't find any strange results compared to the overall results of chess games in this period. (The average was around 54% for White.)
This was the easy part. Chess databases are a real gold mine for this kind of research, actually, but the problems only start here. One important question is: how to measure the popularity of a particular opening variation? First, I decided that it would be best to take all Qc7-Winawer games played - not only the ones played by grandmasters or titled players. This may be surprising to some readers, but I believe I had good reasons for it: 1. the number (N) of games would be bigger, and thus more likely to say anything significant; 2. there is no reason to assume that the popularity of a line doesn't go beyond the top level of chess players; 3. Berger and Le Mens research also didn't exclude particular groups or classes of people; and, most importantly, 4. because including all games in the sample rules out the possibility that a certain small group of players (namely, the elite) simply became bored with it or couldn't surprise their (also elite) opponents with it anymore.
Thus, the popularity of the line (P) in a particular period would simply be defined as the percentage of games played with that line of all the games played. By comparing periods, something could be said about the rate of decline and increase of popularity over time. (One possible problem with this method is that comparing different time periods may not be such a straightforward task in chess databases, since these databases contain vastly more games, and by weaker players on average, for later periods due to the rise of digital game storage and the internet.)
I must confess I was pretty excited when I starting counting and found that in the period 1980-1990 (a period for which I recalled the Winawer becoming more and more popular), the popularity of the Winawer variation indeed seemed to increase slowly but steadily until around 1986. In 1980, P was 0,006%, in 1986 it had gone up to 0,019%. But in 1987 it suddenly took flight: P for 1987 was 0,028%, for 1988 it was 0,038% and in 1989 it had grown to 0,042%. Within a three year's period, the popularity of the Winawer had more than doubled! And then, in 1990, the popularity of the Winawer suddenly sunk back to 0,017%. Here are the results in a graph:
Winawer popularity
Sure enough, these data seem to support the conclusions of the baby name research. Here, too, we see a sharp decline in popularity right after a sharp increase in the preceding period. After that, the variation has never again been as popular as it was then. But as usual, doubt soon crept in. Even assuming the results of the opening (on top level) didn't affect the overall popularity of the variation (if anything, the variation scored better in the 5 year period right after it was abandoned), what did the data tell me, exactly?
In the baby name research, the popularity of a name was measured in comparison to the popularity of other baby names. But my little research didn't say anything about other opening lines (such as the Rubinstein French, or indeed the Sicilian). To be able to draw any conclusions, I had to include other opening lines in my data as well. As co-editor Merijn van Delft pointed out to me recently, you can't measure the popularity of the 6.Be3 Najdorf without taking into account the status of the Poisoned Pawn variation, which arises after 6.Bg5! It soon became clear that this would be an enormous amount of work - interesting work which, regrettably, has to wait until further notice.
But even so, I think it's definitely possible that in the Winawer's case, something similar like baby naming has occurred. Of course, my data does not say anything about the reason of the Winawer's sudden decline, but what the data does show, in my opinion, is that the 'sharp peak' phenomenon can also occur in the choice of chess openings in principle. I'm sure it can also be shown that there are variations that gain in popularity slowly, and then again decline slowly as well, but that's not the point. Further research is necessary to validate the hypothesis that the baby name effect is present in chess, too.
Berger and Le Mens speculate that marketing and technology play possibly play important roles in cultural extinctions, and the same could be true of the Winawer, especially with the rise of computer chess around 1990. But as the author of the hyperlinked Scienceblog article remarks:
[T]heir work suggests that regardless of these external influences, newly popular items are swayed by internal forces that limit their own stay at the top. They predict that these effects should be much stronger in areas like names, where cultural tastes are used to communicate our identity. The clothes we wear, the cars we drive and the gadgets we flaunt would fall into this category too, while our choice of refrigerator or bathroom tiles might not.
But does our personal choice of chess openings 'communicate our identity'? I think it does - on all levels. I've always wondered whether Morozevich's or Nakamura's choices to play obscure openings weren't partly a way to create some kind of 'rebel image' that could serve them well - both in terms of more invitations and in terms of popularity among amateurs. On a more down-to-earth level, I myself remember how hip I thought I was when I started playing the King's Indian, following in the footsteps of my hero Kasparov. Other chess players that I know think it's particularly cool to play lines that nobody else plays. In my local chess club, there are even people who dismiss other players merely for the openings they play.
I used to be a fan of the hardcore thrash metal band Slayer. Everybody else I knew hated their music - for some reason, it felt great. In the same way, there may be more to the popularity of chess openings than just their correctness.
Jonah Berger and Ga?´l Le Mens (2009). How adoption speed affects the abandonment of cultural tastes Proceedings of the National Acedemy of Sciences
Arne Moll's picture
Author: Arne Moll
guitarspider's picture
Great article!
Matthijs's picture
Good article, you might be right!
alfiler's picture
Players do not only want to surprise the opponent. They also want not to be surprised by them. The more popular one line has become, the more chances that you opponent knows a lot about it (well, at least more than you) and then you choose a sideway to avoid it. Then, it becomes mass behaviour, with the popularity of the line fading away as a result.
Jens Kristiansen's picture
Thx, Arne - once again an interesting and intriguing subject you are dealing with in a most informative and challening way. I have just read the article and will have to ponder a little more about it, and most likely I will be back to join the discussion with more substantial points of view.
But here some questions/thoughts that immidiately spring to my mind:
1) The decline of the Winawer in the start-90es could also come from players AVOIDING it by, most of all, playing 3.Nd2. A little survey on this in the databases should not be difficult.
2) Your quantitive investigations are based on the position in the diagram - am I right? Around 1990 the line after 7.-,0-0 was quite popular I remember. Intuitively I would say far more popular than 7.-,Qc7. But soon new sharp ways of conducting whites attack were discovered. That leading to players falling back from the line could easily be investigated too.
3) The late 80es till start 90es were really some transition years when it comes to chess preparation methods -and in many other in many other, over all cultural, poltical and sociological ways, some of of them which had a huge impact on chess. I am especially referring to the collapes of the socialist world. At that time many players, including me, simply started avoiding heavily analysed, sharp lines.
4) One crucial factor in the developement of chess lines I guess you are leaving out, namely the correpondance games, usually not (for some reason) included in the databases. Especially in the sharp Winaver after 8.Qxg7!? I believe some such games in the 90es were highly important for the development of new ways to handle the positions for black.
5) Could be it is also time for some qualitative investigastions by interviewing strong players about their incentitives to fall back from or employ some lines in question. Actually you can find many written and/or oral accounts on that here and there from the masters themselves. Personally I can refer to a lot of such from Bent Larsen. Maybe we will come back to that. Any master accounts on their relationship to the Winaver?
Arne Moll's picture
@JC, I do think surprise value is an important aspect in this, but it can hardly be the only explanation for such an overall rapid decline, don't you think? And since correctness also isn't likely to be that reason either (at least I haven't found any reasons to think so), I think cultural factors ('the faster the rise to prominence, the steeper the fall from grace'), as suggested by the baby research, may well have played an important role in this case.
@Thomas, Alexander: I think it's way too early to say anything about the the Nxf7 variation. Anyway, that line might be a case where one or two games (or its subsequent analysis) really did decide its popularity - contrary to the Winawer.
@Jens: Can't wait! Concerning your points 1 and 2: yes, absolutely. This is what I meant when I wrote it's so hard to do research (and say something meaningful) on a single variation!
JC's picture
Interesting thoughts, but the lack of concrete developments in the line don't necessarily make the trend a cultural/psychological one. The change in popularity of the line can easily be a function of its current popularity for objective reasons: the more popular a line has become, the less likely it is to surprise an opponent.
Moreover, the faster a line gains in popularity, the more likely the rise will be clear to players - and consequently, the more likely that they will be aware that it's no longer a surprise after a while.
That's not to say that there isn't any purely cultural/psychological influence - just that popularity trends certainly don't demonstrate it. In both baby-names and chess openings, it appears that change in popularity can be a function of current popularity. That's no evidence at all that this relationship exists for the same reasons in both cases.
I don't see how you'd isolate the perceived 'fadishness' of a line from the perceived likelihood of an opponent's familiarity with it.
Jens Kristiansen's picture
Thx, Arne, for one more fine article dealing with interesting and intriguing subjects, and in a most informative and challenging way.
But I can not really follow you in your babyname analogy, which perhaps in a broader way should be phrased as a "fashion-analogy".
Our choice of openning is mainly done from what works for us, meaning what provide us with decent results in the games. But, of course, when we do make these choices, we will be mainly aware of the opennings actually played around us at present and mostly choose from them. But from that you can not at all deduce that players in general at a time will fall back from using opennings that are "too" popular, as these Berger and Le Mens seem to have observed concerning names.
But, In some ways I agree that choice of opennings "...can be a cultural trend, subject to sociological and psychological forces.". Playing chess is also a way of expressing yourself, and as such deeply rooted in the players identity - how he objectivises himself. And it seems that some players identity simply urges them to go against the trends at present. Need I remind you of my great compatriot, Bent Larsen? But, I can tell you for sure, Bent would not have developed this attitude if it did not worked form him by providing great results.
However, if we still keep it to the chessrelated factors, here are some immidiate questions/thoughts that sprang to my mind while reading the article:
1) The decline in the ussage of the Winaver observed could also come from whiteplayers wanting to AVOID it, mostly probably by playing 3.Nd2. That should be easy to investigate via the databases. (3.e5 also experienced a kind of rennaisance at that time).
2) As I understand it, Arne, your quantitative invistigation was based on the position in the diagram after 7.-,Qc7, am I right? Ok, but, as far as I remember, around 1990 the move 7.-,0-0 was very popular and I would assume it was played far more often than Qc7. After whiteplayers developed some new ways of dealing with the kings attack, it vanished out, even though it still emerges now and then. So, 7.-,Qc7 was not at all a hot issue in these days, acutally there must already in the 80es have been some lines keeping people off it.
3) There is another important factor in the development of chess lines that you/we have not dealt with so far in this discussion: The correspondance games, which for some reasons rarely are included in the databases. I believe that some such games had a heavy impact on exactly blacks ressources in the line in question, especially on the sharp lines after 8.Qxg7.
4) The time around 1990 was really a time of transition. In the overall cultural and political sense this was mainly due to the collapse of the socialist part of the world. This also had a huge impact on chess life in all its aspects. In chess in these years you saw an immensely qualitative and quantitative broadening of the methods for preparations. For that reason some, and not that few, players, including me, also began to fall back from employing heavily analysed, sharp and "trendy" lines. That could also mean that the period you are investigating, Arne, in some ways are abnormal.
5) It could be that we should do some qualitative investigations on all this, fi. by interviewing some masters on their incentitives to abbandon or employ centain lines/opennings. Acutally you can find a lot of accounts from masters on this here and there. if you just look for it. Personally I am able to refer to a lot from Bent Larsen, both written and orally. And maybe someone can find some master accounts one their relationship to the Winaver?
Alexander's picture
I agree with JC. One point more is that the players are not only no longer able to surprise the opponent, but are also justified in the belief that their opponent might have a strong novelty prepared in that line. It is never a good thing going into an opening you are most certain your opponent had prepared for (since it is that popular); prudence is therefore one of the possible reasons for the quick fall of the Winawer popularity. This is especially so because this particular line is a very tactical one. One can easily imagine it (unlike let's say Najdorf or Ruy Lopez, which are played at a constant rate) being refuted.
Alexander's picture
One more thing: a fine example of this phenomenon is Topalov's famous sacrifice 12. Nxf7 in the Anti-Moscow. Even though the line is far from decided, there were only one game at a high level in this variation (Timman played it the very next day in a good faith Ljubojevi? didn't have time to analize it). People are unwilling to play it because they have a good reason to believe their opponent had found a way to refute it; thus the sudden fall of its popularity.
Thomas's picture
12. Nf7: is taking things one step further, it is one possible move within the still popular anti-Moscow variation. And while there was one more game (Shirov-Karjakin, Aerosvit 2008, 1/2), it may well be that the knight sacrifice is not completely correct and thus essentially a "one-game novelty".
A related story is Anand's 14.-Bb7 against Kramnik in the Meran. Here I also haven't seen follow-up games, but in this case it may well be that white players tend to avoid it.
Jens Kristiansen's picture
Well, Arne, we can not have that, so here I am again:
I can not really follow you in your babyname-analogy, which maybe should be broadened and phrased "fashion-analogy". Of course, quite offently you use expressions as "fashionable lines" aso., but this "fashion"-phenomena in chess can not at all be paralleled to "fashion" in commercial branches like clothes, drinks, food, music etc.. In the later there is a striving from both the consumers and the manufactorers to have and provide something NEW just because it is new.
Chess players mainly make their choiches of opennings from what works for them by producing good results. Chess is a sport and the bottom line is the end score, and from it most motives are derived.
But, in some sens, I also believe that chess style and there by openning choices "...can be a cultural trend, subject to sociological and psychological forces", as Arne put it. Some times, especially in these years, I really think I observe a kind of "semi-bourgeois" trend in chess style, looking too much for safety and believing too much in authorities. On the other hand, I also know of chess players, who live a seemingly deeply boring middleclass life, but at the chess board shines with a fierce and risky attacking style - maybe as a reaction?
And then there is the (could be psychological) question of selfidentity. Some players simply do not want to play like the majority, to follow "fashion", so to say, and some admirable persons fortunately also do not wan to in real life! Do I have to remind you of my great compatriot, Bent Larsen? But, I can assure you, Bent would not consciously have developed that attitude, if it did not also provided him with great results.
But all this is quite elusive and difficult to grasp, I guess you can only speculate...
Some more, chess related, remarks on your investigation, Arne: As i wrote, the years 1990 was a period with deep and broad transitions, also in chess. It could be that these years were abnormal, compared to years before and after. And maybe matters were only settled in the beginning of this century, where almost anyone a little serious about chess now have access to the internet, large databases and strong computerprograms.
About the Winaver: It could also be - and I believe I remember it as such - that many whiteplayers at that time fell back from 7.Qg4 in favour of 7.Nf3, not because of 7.-,Qc7 but the heavily analysed 7.-,0-0.
An at last - so far? - one account from Bent Larsen: In the mid-80es I asked him why he did not play the Dutch any longer: "No, it has become too popular. They know it too well. You know, Jens, some times I can only get a draw with it...."
Jens Kristiansen's picture
What is this? Suddenly TWO comments from me? Well, I have recently installed Explorer8 and have had some strange experiences with such board messages not coming through amo..
I usually make a draft of my comments, so I submitted it several times, after a little extra editing. But now it seems that there is at least one superfluous comment from me. Sorry for that, folks
Castro's picture
Very interesting and laborious article! Very nice ideas, though it can indeed be a very complicated matter.
Anyway, congratulations for the result, but also for the courage to entering a maybe not very well rewarding issue, at least in terms of bold, strong, conclusions.
I dont have time to study this problem deeply, but allow me to just point that baby names tendencies may share, here and there, some characteristics with the trendy choice of openings, but the latter biggest basis is that of (subjective perception of) "efectiviness", in something very linear and strightforward: winning games.
You can't replicate that in human names, unless you believe in some mysticism about it (To be rich, it's good to be called Nelson, for instance).
Of course in chess you also have "mystic" ways of playing openings. For instance that of believing in opening a game based solely on surprise, or solely on what Carlsen is playing, etc., as trustable methods...
As I don't have the time to go deeper in that interesting subject you brought, let me ask you if you'd agree with me in a, for me, more atainable (but surely not so generaly interesting) issue, which is secundary in your article, I understand: That of the Damiano Defense.
I don't play that defense, as it looks too dangerous for black, as to my human knowleage is concerned.
But don't you agree it's incorrect to call it "hard-refuted"? If I recall correctly, the only thing refuted there is the variation 3.Nxe5 fxe5?, and it was Damiano himself who showed the refutation! The opening bears his name, but he just presented it, alongside the refutation of one of the posible sequences.
As for chess as a two-players game of complete information (as it is, in mathematical Game Theory), it's even posible for us to discover in the future that it would be the best defense for black! So, your question mark to 3. ... f6 may turn into "!", right?
Being (not yet?) realy refuted, and chess's optimal strategy (as it must have)being not yet known to us, we're just bond to our limitations and experience. But, as all advances in chess theory (in some measure), such an incredible discovery would simply being breaking our previous experience. Even the computers have to rely on that human experience and in strong calculating powers, for the time being, and not on endgame databases (as it is already the case for checkers).
I don't know if you're aware of that, but do you know it is even posible that the game of chess is a zugzwang for white, and so (with the best play) the black would have a forced win? In that anti-nowadays-human-experience scenario, maybe even the Damiano is (one of) the way(s) to go! And even out of that scenario, it could be proved that the Damiano is a draw or a loss, but the most tenacious defense anyway.
This I think is true, as long as any opening, or variation, is not realy refuted, rather than simply dificult for us to play, or unpopular!
What do you think?
Arne Moll's picture
Jens, of course results are important, but I think you may be overestimating that point of view. For non-professional chess players, the cultural factors may be more important. (Yet another reason not to focus on top level games only!) For instance, I have absolutely no idea what my own white score against the Sicilian is, nor do I much care. I just like the play that arises after it, and I also think it's pretty cool to play 1.e4. I think playing 1.e4 is also an image statement for me, in the sense that it sends the message that I am someone who doesn't back down from a theoretical or sharp fight and therefore am not to be messed with! To me, this doesn't sound too far from the idea of calling your son 'Storm' as some parents seem to like.
@Castro, you're right for many openings, but surely not the Damiano opening, unless just about all our basic assumptions about chess (power of central pawns, rapid piece development, weakened kingside, early queen moves) turn out to be wrong.
Thomas's picture
Along the lines suggested by Jens, a complete assessment of the Winawer would have to include the popular ups and downs of the various earlier deviations, hence the variation tree would look about as follows:
1.e4 e6 (1.-e5, 1.-c5, ...) 2.d4 (2.Qe2!? :) ) d5 3. Nc3 (3.Nd2, 3.e5) Bb4 (3.-Nf6, 3.-de4:) 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bc3: 6.bc3: Ne7 7.Qg4 (7.Nf3, 7.a4) Qc7 (7.-0-0).
This may be incomplete - both because I didn't mention (most) offbeat continuations, and because my theoretical knowledge is patchy (myself, I play 3.Nd2). And such an investigation would be more work and might result in a confusing series of graphs ... .
Regarding Bent Larsen, I would say there are several types of strong player when it comes to opening practice (and philosophy!?):
- those who - successfully - play their own stuff, which is hardly copied by others (of course Jens would know much better than me how Larsen's choices affected openings by other Danish players!). "Modern analogues" may include Ivanchuk and Morozevich.
- those who follow popular lines and refine their theory (should I put Topalov here concerning the Najdorf?)
- those who play new openings, or rather revive old and semi-forgotten ones, which are then also played by their colleagues. Oddly (for some), I would put Kramnik in this box: (Petroff), Berlin Wall, Catalan, ... . And this is my answer to those arguing that "Kramnik is a boring player, he does not play the Najdorf".
@Arne Moll: I agree with you regarding the Damiano, but there are numerous exceptions from the 'basic assumptions about chess' you mention, though not as early as move 2.
For example, early queen moves: 7.-Qb6 against the 6.Bg5 Najdorf violates basic rules, but seems justified basd on three arguments:
- it cannot be refuted
- it wins a pawn
- it limit's white's subsequent options (castling long is no longer an option).
Jens Kristiansen's picture
Now this discussion is already sticking in several directions, each of them quite interesting - could be the basis of at least four different discussion fora.
But as the starting point is Arnes article, I think we should stick to his ideas/points of views.
Yes, I do believe that the development of a chess players "style" is deeply embedded in cultural and psychological factors. It also developes from the inspiration from other players - you could call this "chess-sociological" factors. As strong, professional players engage more in the game and also,have stronger motives regarding the results, the later factor has more bearing on their style.
So, it is quite evident that, as Arne put it, "... For non-professional chess players, the cultural factors may be more important.".
But I still can not follow the babyname-analogy. Perhaps more suitable would be an analogy with styles of clothing? Your clothes is also some signal about who you are, and I guess we are all a little bit aware of that - at least we are aware of what clothes we will NOT wear!
Ok, if we limit the research object to, say "Openning choices by non-professional players" and we set up the thesis that they are deeply influenced by cultural and psychological factors, we will not get far only by quantitative investigations. We will have to use the qualitative methods developed in the humanistic sciences, especially in antropology/etnographics. That may sound pompous, but it is not that difficult. We are all participants in chess life, and as such we can also regard ourselves as some kind of "field workers" doing "participant observations". There has already been referred to a few of such in this discussion.
Let us have some more of them. And THEN we may put up some more elaborate hypothesis, which maybe could be supported by some quantitave investigations.
Castro's picture
Yes, I agree that finding out that the Damiano was, after all, a good defense, would be a huge shock to our actual chess knowleage, but it's not a posibility we should dismiss! Even within our secular chess experience, we have already lots of modern variations which shocked and reformulated previous assumptions.
For instance, we already "accept" Shevievnikov's and Grunfeld's centers, something unbelievable one century ago...
The simple fact that the game could be found out to be a forced win for black --- even if it deeply shock our experience-based intuition and way of play --- show us (as chess should already taugh us) that everything is posible until some definitive proof (as a real refutation is).
I find very amusing those incredible posibilities, like the one of some future clasification of the move 2. ... f6 as "unica mossa" (only move). I think Breyer would rejoice too :-)
Arne Moll's picture
Indeed, Castro. By the way, A couple of years ago I wrote an article about this very subject, you can read it here. (The english version can be read below the Dutch one.)
@Jens, in the scienceblogs article I mentioned, the clothing style analogy is also mentioned. I agree that qualitative research is also needed. There is so much potential for research in chess, but it's hardly being done, I'm afraid.
Castro's picture
Interesting poins of view, on that other article, indeed. Those are the things we were talking about.
Just two remarks:
- The computer's role could be exagerated. It coult be absolutely necesary for the game to be solved, but we don't know that. In fact, the solution of chess (as a 2-players, complete information game, in game theory) could be reached by some human deductive proof only. Or not. We don't know yet.
- The analogy with the universe is other exageration, even on the narrow frame it is given. The game of chess we know is finite and has, in fact, a solution. We're merely barred from it, for the time being. Checkers was on that state some years ago. As for the Universe... :-) We don't have reasons to believe we could get out of the "middle-size" prision ever (without becoming gods hehehe).
Jens Kristiansen's picture
Well, this discussion is really springing back and forth between "minor-", "middle-" and "mega-size"-questions :).
On the later I think that some of you are on the way into mysticism.
We - the humans - do know and comprehend something - and we are the only creatures around who do, as far as we know.
We do know and comprehend something about quantum mechanics. Otherwise I would not have my laptop and would not be able to communicate with you in this way.
We do know and comprehend something about chess. From that we can also, by induction, not deduction, grasp something about the "big" solutions. That has already been done by some of the greatest when it comes to pure chess investigations. Fi. Troitsky with his old analysis and conclusions on the endgame K+N+N against K+P. In our time the tablebases have overall verified his conclusions.
From what I know and comprehend about chess, and by pure induction, I will stand up for the view that the Damiano-defence will not be included in the BIG solution, meaning it should be "correct" and leads to draw (or a win). I am ready to bet on that, but that seems rather futile :).
By the way, it has been mathematical proven, by deduction, that chess HAS a solution. Thats all...
And more thing: What Dawkins, Feynman and the other great minds are refering to is the limits of human perception, as developed from adaptation to the environment. They exactly understand something about these matters, because it is a continuously obstacle in their research. Fortunately some human minds have been able to - step by step - push our recognition beyound these limits. And this proces goes on and on. Hats off for we the humans!
Castro's picture
@Jens Kristiansen
It is no greater mysticism betting one way rather than the other way around, on not yet solved issues. So, good or bad Damiano defense (by the way, the defense that Damiano himself considered the worse available to 2.Nf3) are both futile bets. But we humans take pleasure on futile things too :-)
As for Troitsky's researches on KNN vs. KP, it realy is no great surprise that the computers confirmed him. He was a genious and a very dedicated chess composer, and that endgame is difficult, but not that difficult for such a man to dominate completely. But there are lots of chess problems where human assumptions were refuted by means of the computer, and sometimes for our big surprise!
As for chess having solution, yes, I told that before, and it's something common to all finite, complete information games. I believe that the solution is about to be discovered (with or without computers).
Finaly, just stressing that (almost by definition!) one of the usual "limits of human perception" is what we can call "ilusion". Even if one recognise human efforts in pushing those limits, and like to think "this proces goes on and on", there will always be issues where this linearity is useless and just human-consoling, until the answer comes as a shock, shattering all our assumptions, and from some completely different way.
Castro's picture
By the way, an amusing (even beautiful) game involving two 19th century Russia greats and featuring the infamous Damiano Defense (even if the great Chigorin missed a great combination twice!):
Emmanuel Schiffers vs Mikhail Chigorin 1/2-1/2 (Petersburg, 1897)
Hope it's ok to put the link:
Arne Moll's picture
Castro, perhaps that opening choice of Chigorin can indeed be compared to clothing style: the concept of jeans with deliberate holes in them, just to show others that you don't care about them... ;-)
Thomas's picture
I have never heard of Schiffers before, but acirce in the comments on Chessgames says that he was #18 on the 1897 "Chessmetrics list". Still, I think that 'present-day GM's could at most play the Damiano in blitz or simul games against much weaker opponents (if they have a certain sense of humor and don't care that much about the result ...).
Related, but less obviously bad: A Dutch IM (guess who?) once played 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qe7 against me in a blitz game. He eventually won a crazy game - I think this was mostly due to the ~500 points rating difference, but he told me afterwards that he had also beaten Nigel Short in a rapid game with the same opening.
On Arne's clothing analogy: "Jeans with deliberate holes" may also reflect the desire to be part of a maverick group. Here, a chessic equivalent might be the disciples of the Blackmar-Diemer gambit !?
Arne Moll's picture
The huge difference between 2...f6 and 2...Qe7 is that the latter doesn't weaken anything. Black can keep the position closed and his king safe. In the Damiano, he doesn't get anything in return for the weakened kingside (e5 isn't even protected by f6!). That's why 2..f6 is really bad and 2..Qe7, like Chigorin's 2.Qe2, is really not so bad.
Thomas's picture
I agree that 2.-f6 is simply bad - maybe Castro also agrees, but enjoys being provocative!?
But I think there is a difference between 2.Qe2 and 2.-Qe7. For white, the odd queen move makes sense - aiming to prevent black from reaching his preferred French setup. 2.-Qe7 eventually results in a Philidor (sort of), but what's the added value of this queen move compared to 2.-d6 [which probably has to be played later anyway]? Indeed, my opponent also said after the game "if I keep my center together, black's position is playable".
I guess 2.-Qe7 is also primarily a provocative move - asking white to look for a (non-existing) refutation and to burn time on the clock doing so. Clever, but presumably it works only once against any given opponent (and is best used in games that do not end up in databases!?).
Jens Kristiansen's picture
Castro, if Manchester United was going to play, say, one of our danish teams, you can easily imagine how the Betting Companies would set up the odds. That´s because they KNOW something about football. I f you even though would place your bet on the danish team, you would by guided some, maybe subliminal foreseeing of the completely unexpected result - and that would indeed be "mystiscism"!
And, Castro, you wrote: "...there are lots of chess problems where human assumptions were refuted by means of the computer". Is that really so? I could be you are refering to the endgame K+B+B vs. K+N, which the tablebases proved is a win in any normal position, contrary to previous human assumptions. But that is a special case, because no one of the great endgame investigaters ever really dealt with that endgame. You may wonder if eg. Troitsky would not have found the correct "solution", had he given it its time. In endgames where the great investigaters have been seriously at work, as far as I know, very few basic refutations of their conclusions has been pointed out with the aid of the tablebases, if any at all.
Castro: "I believe that the solution is about to be discovered (with or without computers)" Please tell us more about that!
About the game Schiffers-Tchigorin: Very amusing, white even wins the black Q for two pieces, before it ends in a draw. Is it really a serious game? Maybe an exhibition- or rapidgame? That´s a question for chess historians - on this subject it proves nothing.
About 2.-,Qe7: I believe it is one of Gunderams many, rather alternative suggestions. Another one was: 1.e4,e5 2.Nf3,d6 3.d4,Bg4 4.dxe5,Nd7!?. You may try that out in blitz-games :).
Thomas's picture
Jens, thanks for mentioning Gunderam's name .... I was curious, and Google is one's best friend: To my slight surprise, 2.-Qe7 was played by 'respectable' players such as Sulskis and (back in 1971) Kupreichik. And it even occurred in Adams-Radjabov, FIDE WCh Tripoli 2004 (drawn after 44 moves).
(then "view games" and sort by rating).
Concerning Gunderam's other suggestion, I actually had to deal with it playing white in blitz games ... and indeed it is hard to prove over the board that black has insufficient compensation for the pawn.
Castro's picture
Oh Lord, so much pasion you people have! Nice!
Let's see...
@Arne, Thomas, Jens
The clothing analogy. Nicely spoted. I understand it, but note that it is a great analogy for the thing you think was in Chigorin's mind. I think he was experimenting, yes, but not trying to show off anything. And Schifers was no patzer at all, and that #18 Thomas mentioned is, at least for some period, an underrate.
Now, for the Damiano:
I don't know what is the fear! As I said before, I don't play it myself (maybe I'll start from now on) because, as to my (human, present-day, not-very-good-or-informed-player) information and intuition, it seems too risky for black.
But saying it is "bad" as having full information, or even "simply bad" or "obviously bad" looks far more risky!!
It could be confusing "difficult to play nowadays" with "refuted". That's what I meant, and I'm also honest in saying that I must admit the (remote, for our intuition) posibility of the Damiano ending up being a good defense (or, who knows, even THE best defense).
I'm completely sincere and glad to have that posibility open! And no, Thomas, my slyghtly provocative nature is not on call here, unless if having some different view is to be regarded as simple provocation. (Of course I'd like to see eminent masters ( ;-) ) like you sharing that view, but don't go wrong, my opinion is not influenced by that, unless I'd see real reasons (not pasions) to maybe change it.
A question to you 3: Do you realy think you have a won (classic times) game, if your level opponent (say, you both had 2200 elo) plays you the Damiano?
Would you at least rate your chances way above the usual white's advantage, against such an opponent?
If your answer is "Yes", I think you're on pasion and faith territory, that's all.
Faith is important, but here your "Yes" answer are of no greater value than my critics on the French defense (on the French Chigorin article!). It's guessing, and guessing at one's "pleasure" (thing I did asumedly). Sorry!
I liked to see mentioned, on this context, another "infamous" (but not so) opening: The Blackmar-Diemer gambit. What are the odds against it? Is it good? Or "almost refuted" (an hilarious concept :-) ), like the Damiano seems to be on your minds?
Arne, I say your take on the "difference between 2…f6 and 2…Qe7" was exactly that kind of mistake. All that post is pasion-understandable, but only posible to say by forgeting any real reason. What do we know about the future things that will contradict the things we think we know? How can one be obviously sure that f6 is weakening (beyond any kind of unkown compensation), and that, with Qe7, "Black can keep the position closed and his king safe"? Can it?? Couldn't it be the precise other way arround? Are you god, or will you share those proofs with us? Ah, it's a belief? Ok, it is fully respectable, as such! Imagine someone simply condemning the Shvieshnikov because of the d6 pawn on the open file...
Ah, but there is a significant number of games, and lots of best players believe in it...? Ah, but it passed many decades without being refuted? Ah!
One must know what is being talked, in order to understand each other.
And yes, Thomas, on this context you used the expresion "I guess" very well, on the following post. (I'm not being ironic)
Jens, I understood from the start (the other post of yours) your point on that we, humans, know something, and so some bets look better than others. So, the Manchester analogy is nice, and everyting, but regarding chess one thing happens much easier than in football: Our information could be criticaly and extremely wrong, when revealing the --- for now --- unknown territory. It's not a question of one improbable game a danish team could (can realy) win from Manchester, on a "bad day" of the latter.
In a pure finite logical game, as chess is, if we don't have the solution, we must play acording to "rules" we gathered for centuries, about the known part of the game, but the reformulations of some of them are (and can be even more) extreme. In football it could happen still, but either they were not that extreme reformulations, or we couldn't anyway expect to understand them, as there are no completely solved situations in football (other than the final blow of the referee, maybe).
An example I do again: Do you agree it can be proved that black has an advantage? Even a win? (As white can, of course). Don't you know, for instance, that much of our present-day aproach is based on white having an advantage? Are these two facts conciliable? One thing is understanding why one does not play the Damiano today, other is saying of sure science that it's obvously not the way to go, or even saying that betting on the french defence is a best bet.
Doesn't your intuition tell you, for instance (as I don't have a proof), that for any "chess-like" game that has been proved to be a win for white, one can present another that is a win for black (and another that is a draw with best play)?
As for the endgames, you're right for the most part: Either were assumed complicated endgames, or rarely the investigators were completely denied, but I'd include also that question of "unique moves", where the computer discovered they weren't unique (on heavy pieces endgames, for instance). And look: It's not on ("simple") endgames that the question is, but more on opening choices and dismisses.
I note some irony on your comment on my sentence "I believe that the solution is about to be discovered (with or without computers)”.
It was not necessary! That sentence is fully asumed, and the "I believe" part is not an English language trick. It's a matter of faith, of course also intuition-based on my (old, though) math theorems and programing studies, and on what happened to other games, including checkers (and I didn't fail in predicting the solution of checkers, some years before). I can add that I'm one of those who do not fear --- maybe my curiosity even makes me wishing --- that eventuality. Do you think I can tell you more? Please sugest.
The Schiffers-Chigorin was a serious match game, but of course they were uncompromising masters trying things (as the famous Chigorin-Tarrash match also was). I find your comment "on this subject it proves nothing" rather misterious. I didn't claim it would prove something on this subject, but as you mentioned... What about proving that none of the two masters liked to persist on playing the Damiano? That, I think, brings an amusing and revealing paradox: It would be a conclusion that proved something (my point of view of not mixing faith/pasion/mysticism with science/logic/reason) by not proving something (that the defense would be bad).
Castro's picture
A question I'm always forgeting to ask you: Is the baby-girl on the picture your kid?
Anyway, very kute! And one can see she's already pondering the next move! :-)
Castro's picture
(Could it be I get no more answers because no one understands my bad english?... my strugling and boring writing style? Or... what?)
PB's picture
Thomas's picture
Castro, the main reason may be that your posts are often on the VERY long side - try to condense them or maybe split one post into several shorter and 'manageable' ones !?
Regarding the role of strong GM's in opening developments, there are two contrasting theories:
1) Only the top 30 GM's matter at all (GuidedByVoices in an earlier thread).
2) Choices by GM's do NOT matter at all - that's how I would interpret Castro's recurrent and stubborn remarks on the Damiano.
But GM's know something about chess, more than Castro, Thomas and others and maybe even 'significantly' more than IM Jens Kristiansen. So I would separate offbeat (dubious-looking?) openings into two categories:
1) those played by some GM's, at least occasionally: Evans Gambit, King's Gambit, Jaenisch Gambit, Chigorin defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6), Gunderam opening (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qe7), [who wants to continue this list?]. Some people would also include KID and Ben-Oni. And some openings were initially considered offbeat but even achieved mainstream status (Sveshnikov, Grunfeld).
2) those NOT played by GM's: Damiano, Blackmar-Diemer gambit (though popular among some other players). What's wrong with those openings? Clearly something must be wrong ... . The Morra gambit also seems to fall in this category, which suprises me a bit. Is it clearly worse than some d5 gambit lines in the Queen's Indian, fashionable in past and present? There seems to be a theoretical consensus that white's compensation in the Morra is insufficient, but this could change, any GM could try the Morra at least as a surprise weapon (also speculating that his opponent is not, or insufficiently prepared).
Arne Moll's picture
Thomas, I really think the Damiano (which has only disadvantages) falls in a different category than the Blackmar-Diemer and the Morra Gambit (which definitely do have advantages) or even the move 2.Qh5 that Nakamura played once after 1.e4 e5 (at least it attacks e5!).
Besides, some variations tend to cross over those category barriers, such as the Albin counter gambit which had a very bad name until a few years ago, when Morozevich and others started playing it with reasonable success.
Thomas's picture
Arne, you do not need to convince me that the Damiano is simply bad, but you, me or anyone else apparently cannot convince Castro. I will give it one more try: Unlike, for example, Blackmar-Diemer and Morra it isn't even played at club level (excluding beginners) - if my own experience is comprehensive and representative: it spans ~25 years and includes five towns/regions from three countries (Germany, France and the Netherlands).
And of course my definition of categories is both simplistic (one could define more than two categories) and flexible (things can change through time). Taking the Sveshnikov as an example: Maybe some people, including strong players (ELO >> 2000] were laughing or shaking their heads at Sveshnikov when he first played 5.-e5. Back to club level: In my first club, people got a puzzled look on their faces when I played the variation about 20 years ago. It was a small club, most people didn't follow GM games and didn't know much about opening theory - so actually they were even more puzzled that I needed less than a minute for the first ten moves ... . But by now, the Sveshnikov is well-established (accepted and respected by GM's, and even known to amateurs rated 1400-1600).
Repeating and further explaining what I wrote before: If the Albin counter gambit can 'promote' from [my] category 2 to 1, the same might be possible for the Morra (why not?). Maybe it can even reach the status of a relatively common gambit having reasonable success, comparable to the Wolga-Benko gambit. There are obvious differences: the compensation needs to be stronger, more tangible, ... if one sacrifices central rather than flank pawns !?
Castro's picture
You're right, except for the chessy things we don't know yet.
(How to avoid stubborness when confronted recurrently with the same mistake?)
Why thinking we can now see deeply into what are the advantages and disadvantages of a not refuted opening, other than with our present-day weapons, some of which are fated to be refuted themselves?
Why pretend we understand everything now, about something (I agree) is bad to play with that present-day weaponsand evaluations of us?
Jens Kristiansen's picture
Well, Castro, you see, in discussions I prefer to take off from what we do know, the other way around is "mystiscism" in my eyes.
But, any way, it is quite exciting to speculate about this BIG solutions to the game of chess. When wil have it (not in my time I suppose, or what do you think, Castro !? :)), we will quite likely be up for some surprises, but I do not think we will have to completely alter our theoris on chess.
Basically there are only two kinds of positions in chess: Those which are "=", meaning drawn by correct play, and those which are "+ -/ - +", meaning won for one of the parties by correct play. If we assume, as I do just intuituvely, that the game is drawn by correct play, then the SOLUTION - or most likely, the SOLUTIONS - are along paths consisting only "="-positions. The famous "Shannon number" estimates around 10 in 210 possible variations of chess, meaning possible games. Even if only a very tiny portion of these are "correct", then it will still be an enourmous number of games.
And more: In many of these "correct" games it could be that one of the parties along the "="-path has many alternatives that keeps him there, while the other party for a long sequence of moves only has one choice, keeping him on the path. But, even though, this game will still be categorized as "correct".
Well, it could be, even if I doubt it, that, say, the Damiano after 2.-,f6 still keeps black on the "="-path, but I would believe black for a long sequence would have to follow a very narrow path to stay there. And that is what really matters to HUMANS: The Damiano is simply to difficult to defend from.
In this connection, about these gambits where white (some times black) offers a pawn to gain some quick mobilisations as eg. The BDG, The Morra- or the Danish Gambit: I honestly believe they are also "correct", meaning that whites game is not LOST after playing them. So why are they not played by the best players? In my opnion it is simply because they are to easy to defend against, especially in the modern way by simply giving the material back at an appropriate moment. These gambits are simply not played beacuse they are far to DRAWISH!
But there are lots of other gambits at work in modern chess at the highest level. But in these you away material for some more refined, farsighted goals, and that is another matter.
Arne Moll's picture
Thanks for the fine post, Jens. I agree with it completely. Castro, I should add that although we may not know everything in chess, or ever know it for that matter, I don't think that means we should abandon all the knowledge that we have collected in the past centuries. It's very valuable and often proved to be 100% correct! To ignore that would be the same mistake the creationists are making when they argue that because evolution hasn't explained every biological process step yet, the theory must be false or at least shouldn't be taught in schools.
forest's picture
yes Arne, can you do so, because I dont trust forest doing it as he promised!
Castro's picture
Maybe it's somewhat "dangerous" to bring Darwinism here. You may get undesired comments (not undesired on the same way of mine, hehe).
I understand what you mean, but (other than realy being a darwinist myself :-) ) comparing my point of view with that of creationists regarding biology it's a little too much! Of course we say everyday at our clubs (I don't go there for years, though) things like "That opening sucks, it's simply bad".
And in the sense of "knowledge that we have collected in the past centuries" we even can call these remarks as "science". I just think we should know better, regarding chess science, maybe because in this kind of pure logical games either you realy know the solution for some situation already or it's easy to get a big surprise.
Just think the "knowledge that we have collected in the past centuries" before the advent of Grunfelds, Sveshnikovs, and others. It surely condemned them imediately, as strongly as you dismiss the Damiano now.
(But luckilly there were always "crazy players" that assumedly played "bad openings". Even Steinitz were one of the maddest tactitians ever, and he even insisted playing the completely crazy Steinitz Gambit --- a "simply bad" opening, in my opinion looking even worse than the Damiano ---, despite all his strategic theory! And lots of masters grabed lots of bad-reputed openings, believed in them, and sometimes inspire others to play them... That's how openings come... and go!)
Anyway, I never said we should abandon our knowledge now, neither I think for the Damiano to be good we would have to abandon great part. The concept (not easy to concretize, or sometimes even imagine, for the future of this or that opening, before the respective concrete "shocks" happen) is "reformulation", and we hat lots of them along the centuries. And they were "unbelievable" before happening, also.
I liked particularly of your image of Damiano (or other openings) maybe being "=" but with a too much "narrow path" of choice of sequences to atain that (specialy from the present day knowledge point of view).
That's something I think I was also saying, except that I (and everybody outside guessing is forced to) admit posible the other two results: "+-" and "-+".
Look: I'm not saying "believe very probable" (any of the 3)!
As for the BIG solutions: What is that???
Who talked about big? What do you mean by that?
The solution (plural is irrelevant, as I can say "solution" meaning set of solutions, set of all same-minimal-length sequences of best play, for instance) exist.
There are some (rather turtuous or mystical) meanings of that sentence that would be false. For instance, the solution of the chess game doesn't "exist" for me (or you or us all) because it's not proved I will ever see it before I die.
But I think we can agree on the meaning it is true. (Can we?)
Chess has a solution. (Right? Please tell me if the objection starts here!)
Checkers was in the same situation, say, in the 60's. (OK?)
Checkers is solved now. (Not the 10x10 variant, etc, but OK?)
(These previous two were just examples.)
Chess CAN BE about to be solved (Yes?)
I say chess IS about to be solved (10-20 years is my guess, but I CAN BE wrong).
What's the big deal??
Respecting any guesses about what this (posibly composed) solution will consist of (if =, +- or -+, and if one or more identical best sequences), my own guess in that particular is I just don't know, and I'm eager to know! I'd be specialy amused if the solution was -+, but not completely surprised. The other two would amuse me too, of course.
More than living to that day of the solution, I'd wish to live enough to understand someting about it also! Does that make me weard? Maybe...
Imagine that tomorrow (29/05/09) someone proves that the game can never be that very amusing -+.
I'd rejoice anyway! And I'd become curious to know (though maybe not capable to understand?) that proof. Get it? THERE is my own assumed view and subjectivity. THERE I could never say it would be expected that others feel the same way, nor that it has anything logic or scientific (other than the curiosity, maybe).
Castro's picture
Arne, could you please get my post out of the spam filter prision (again)?
Jens Kristiansen's picture
Yes, as far as I know of, it is mathematically proven that there is a solution to chess.
But when (if?) we have that, it does by far not mean that we have solved all the mysteries, and the book can be closen - on the contrary, I believe.
The computers can tell us, the human players, how we should have played in a given position. And one day they may even provide us with a definite answer on that.
But...they will never be able to tell us WHY we choose a given move, how ever faulthy or brilliant it is. As they will never be able to tell us WHY we choose our opennings.
The BIG mysteries are still hidden inside ourselves.
Castro's picture
Woke up from some bad nightmare? :-)
Looks like you wrote something related with my adressing Arne, but it's puzzling what you could mean...
Castro's picture
I don't even pretend to know that enough to allow me to agree with you.
I'll explain:
The solution can have various forms, and some of these forms would even allow human beings to imediatly understand. In the case of other forms of solution, your scenario would become real, and maybe humans wouldn't understand more than being informed by computers of what is the move... at least for some years, or so. (Or not).
But let me give an image of the other kind, the forms I mentioned first.
It's realy (of course) just an image.
As an emerit IM you know (though lots of us untitled also know) that in the endgame (say) white Ka8, Pa7, N wondering the board, but far from this corner, and black just the K (say) on d7, it is easily proved mathematicaly (and as easyly understood) that, regardless of the exact square of the knight, and of the exact future knight moves, Black (on the move) draws or loses the game exactly if he plays (his king) to the one of the two squares {c7, c8} which is of the same colour of the square where the White N stands.
No one can asure that the (for me not far away) solution couldn't be of that type, in terms of "easy to aply", who knows, "easy to understand" (never as easy as my image, that would be outragious, hehehe!!), or even "discovered without computers".
No one knows! (I think). And the great complexity of the game is no garanty of any greatness on the complexity of the solution either! You can have more intricated rules in a game with some childish solution! (The one of chess isn't, I think).
Ah! But even if the solution was to be easy to aply or understand, we wouldn't run out of misteries, for a long time, would we?
If not for anything else, we will always have the psichologic (and brain sciences in general), the computational, and historical aspects... And more!
If not easy (or even not human posible) to aply, then the existence of the solution will also allow us to continue playing (other humans, at least).
Anyway, I'm not a profet, just a simple happily believer ;-)
Castro's picture
Let's get realy mystical: The solution to chess will be revealed on the Maya Calendar's ending, 22th December 2012.
LOL :-)
Castro's picture
Sorry, on the previous post:
(*) or if he makes any other move
Of course!
Castro's picture
I see... One more dead end. Ok. (Not for me, anyway ;-) )
Your comment
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Trend watch: Individual desserts
Baking a single slice of pie and a cake that makes everyone happy.
Little did we know that the cupcake craze was actually a symptom of a much larger desire for individualized desserts. Sure, we've always had tartlets, creme brulee, and pudding. But lately we've noticed a couple of ideas for turning normally communal desserts into single-serving affairs.
(Credit: The Baker's Catalogue)
For example, why bake a whole pie when you can bake individual slices in one of these pans? The 2/3-cup, wedge-shaped stoneware pan, which we first saw on Baking Bites, bakes a perfectly sized slice of pie (or other pastry) so you don't have to worry about the crust falling apart or the filling oozing out of your slice--if you're the kind of person to worry about that. I am not that person, and I imagine that I would end up using these pans to serve nuts or olives at a Trivial Pursuit-themed cocktail party.
(Credit: Core77)
The next example: the S-XL Cake Mold, spotted on design blog Core77. The unusually shaped silicon pan eliminates the labor of manually adjusting the size of your cake slices for both dieters and those with hearty appetites; just cut along the obvious divisions to get a range of slices from small to extra-large. Of course only a masochist would want to frost the highly varied result; best stick to a dusting of sugar or a thin glaze.
Normally I'm all for having things just the way you like them, but I'm not sure how I feel about encouraging dessert-related isolationism. I really enjoy the shared experience of cutting into a cake or pie, dishing it out, and debating who gets the biggest piece or the one with the most filling. Do you agree? Or do these pans seem right up your alley? Let me know in the comments.
Tech to make part of your St. Patty's Day festivities
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Peer Graph - Records
By , 29 Dec 2005
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Microsoft's Peer-to-Peer Graphing technology provides a stable, reliable, and robust infrastructure for Windows peer-to-peer applications to communicate. Peers use the Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP - a serverless DNS) to register and discover other peers within the graph. Graphs are the foundation for connecting peers, services, and resources within a peer network. A peer can be a user-interactive application, service, or resource. Graphing allows data to be passed between peers efficiently and reliably.
Microsoft's entire Peer-to-Peer technology is exposed through the latest Platform SDK as C/C++ API calls. However, the code in this article shows these APIs being used from .NET managed code using C#.
This article introduces the concepts of peers publishing shared data to a peer-to-peer graph. Once a graph is opened, any peer can publish data records. Records have an expiration time. A record could contain the presence of a service, the availability of the CPU to do more work, the status of a resource that is updated periodically, or the URL of your latest blog entry. If the information about the thing being published is static or relatively small, the information can be attached to the record as data. Otherwise, the record's data should typically contain a URL or peer address to access the often changing or large chunk of information.
Any record published to the graph is automatically shared with all peers in the graph, even if they are offline. When a peer that has been offline comes online, it first synchronizes with another peer that contains all the latest records. Provided you know the record ID, you can update certain properties of an existing record. It's also possible to mark a record as deleted. The deletion eventually works its way through the graph, but will eventually be properly deleted when it expires.
This article focuses on the mechanics of adding, updating, deleting, and enumerating records in a graph. The two remaining articles in this series will discuss how attributes (meta-data) is associated with a record and searching for records by matching attributes.
Record Properties
The PeerRecord class is a wrapper for the PEER_RECORD data structure returned and consumed by the unmanaged APIs. The PeerRecord contains the following properties:
Name Description Access
The GUID ID of the record generated by the unmanaged APIs.
Type Application specific record type, for example, a chat message or a file description. Read-only
Version The version of the record generated and maintained by the unmanaged APIs. Read-only
CreatedBy The identity of the user who published the record to the graph. Read-only
ModifiedBy The identity of the user who last updated the record published to the graph. Read-only
Attributes An XML string containing meta-data describing what the record represents. Read/Write
CreationTime Time when the record was first published to the graph. Read-only
ExpirationTime The estimated time when the record will be removed from the graph. Read/Write
LastModifiedTime Time when the record was last updated and re-published to the graph. Read-only
DataAsString Any data attached to the record represented as a string. Read/Write
DataAsStream Any data attached to the record represented as a stream. Read/Write
Creating a Record
A PeerRecord can be created in three ways. The first method is used before adding and publishing a record to a graph. This method involves calling the graph's CreatePeerRecord method:
public PeerRecord CreatePeerRecord(Guid RecordType,
System.TimeSpan ExpirationTime)
return new PeerRecord(hGraph, RecordType,
This method takes two parameters: the record's type, and the time span from the current time when the record will expire.
In the second method, a PeerRecord is created as the result of calling the graph's GetRecord method.
public PeerRecord GetRecord(Guid RecordId)
IntPtr recptr;
uint hr = PeerGraphNative.PeerGraphGetRecord(hGraph,
ref RecordId, out recptr);
if (hr != 0) throw new PeerGraphException(hr);
PeerRecord record = new PeerRecord(hGraph,
return record;
The GetRecord method is called typically after receiving an event which indicates the change in status of a specific record. This method takes the record ID which is always supplied as part of an event notification. The GetRecord method calls the underlying PeerGraphGetRecord API.
The last method in which a PeerRecord is created is the result of enumerating the records in a graph.
Adding a Record
After calling CreatePeerRecord to create a record, set the writable properties with appropriate data and then call the graph's AddRecord method.
public Guid AddRecord(PeerRecord Record)
PEER_RECORD record = Record.Convert();
Guid recordId;
uint hr = PeerGraphNative.PeerGraphAddRecord(hGraph,
ref record, out recordId);
return recordId;
The AddRecord method marshals the data and calls the underlying PeerGraphAddRecord API. If the record is successfully added, the ID of the record is returned.
Updating a Record
Records published to the graph can be updated by any application or user connected to the graph. Only the four writable properties Attributes, ExpirationTime, DataAsString, and DataAsStream can be modified. Other properties like ModifiedBy, LastModifiedTime, and Version are automatically updated by the unmanaged APIs. Use the graph's UpdateRecord method to re-publish the record to the graph.
public void UpdateRecord(PeerRecord Record)
PEER_RECORD record = Record.Convert();
uint hr = PeerGraphNative.PeerGraphUpdateRecord(hGraph, ref record);
public void UpdateRecord(PeerRecord Record,
System.TimeSpan ExpirationTime)
Record.ExpirationTime += ExpirationTime;
Use the first method with a single parameter when you only want to change the data or attributes that is published. This method marshals the data and calls the unmanaged PeerGraphUpdateRecord API.
Use the second method when you also want to refresh the expiration time of the record.
Deleting a Record
It's possible to delete records from the graph before they expire. For example, a file that is published to the graph is deleted locally. Use the graph's DeleteRecord method to delete an existing record published to the graph.
public void DeleteRecord(Guid RecordId)
uint hr = PeerGraphNative.PeerGraphDeleteRecord(hGraph,
ref RecordId, false);
This method calls the underlying PeerGraphDeleteRecord API.
Record Changed Events
The PeerGraph class handles the PEER_GRAPH_EVENT_RECORD_CHANGED notification when changes in a record's status occur within the graph.
private void HandleEventRecordChanged(IntPtr evptr)
PeerGraphRecordChangedEventArgs args = new
ndata.recordId, ndata.recordType);
if (RecordChanged != null)
RecordChanged(this, args);
The internal HandleEventRecordChanged method marshals the record ID and type and fires the RecordChanged event. There are four reasons a record notification is received: a record was added, a record was updated, a record was deleted, or a record has expired. It's only valid for an application to call the graph's GetRecord method when either an add or update notification is received. Record information is not available after a record has expired or been deleted.
Enumerating Records
The PeerGraph class provides several methods for enumerating the records published to a graph. Each method provides a different way of filtering the records being returned.
public PeerRecordCollection Records
return new PeerRecordCollection(hGraph, Guid.Empty, string.Empty);
public PeerRecordCollection GetRecords(Guid Type, string Identity)
return new PeerRecordCollection(hGraph, Type, Identity);
public PeerRecordCollection GetRecords(Guid Type)
return new PeerRecordCollection(hGraph, Type, string.Empty);
public PeerRecordCollection GetRecords(string Identity)
return new PeerRecordCollection(hGraph, Guid.Empty, Identity);
The Records property returns all records published to the graph (no filtering). The first GetRecords method allows filtering by type and identity. The second method allows filtering by type only. The final method allows filtering by identity only. In all cases, a PeerRecordCollection class that supports the standard IEnumerable interface is returned. This class uses the unmanaged PeerGraphEnumRecords API to return and enumerate the matching records.
Using the Sample Application
The sample application lets you first create a graph (unsecured peer name 0.ChatRecords) with an initial identity. The first instance should be opened with this identity. It will pause a few seconds looking for other instances, then begin to listen. Each subsequent instance of the application should open the graph with a different identity. These instances will connect to the nearest peer and synchronize. Each instance of the application is a peer.
The top list shows the ID of all records published to the graph. Select an item to show its properties. Double-click on a record to delete it.
The middle list shows a diagnostic log of all actions and incoming events. Double-click to clear the list.
The bottom text box allows you to enter a message. Click the Send button to publish the message as a record to the graph.
private Guid CHAT_MESSAGE_RECORD_TYPE = new
Guid(0x4D5B2F11, 0x6522, 0x433B, 0x84, 0xEF,
0xA2, 0x98, 0xE6, 0x7, 0x57, 0xB0);
private Guid recordId; // used to update existing record
private void button5_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
PeerRecord record;
if (recordId == Guid.Empty)
record = graph.CreatePeerRecord(CHAT_MESSAGE_RECORD_TYPE,
new TimeSpan(0,0,10));
record.DataAsString = textBox3.Text;
textBox3.Text = string.Empty;
record = graph.GetRecord(recordId);
record.DataAsString = textBox3.Text;
graph.UpdateRecord(record, new TimeSpan(0,0,3));
If no existing record has been selected, then the entered text is associated with a new record. CreatePeerRecord is called to create a record, the text is added as data, and the record is added to the graph. Otherwise, when an existing record has been selected, the record is retrieved, the data is updated with the entered text, and the graph is updated.
The application's OnRecordChanged event is fired when the status of a record in the graph changes. When a record is added, it adds the record's ID to the top list. When a record is deleted or when it expires, it removes the record's ID from the top list. In all cases, a diagnostic message is recorded.
private void OnRecordChanged(object sender,
PeerGraphRecordChangedEventArgs e)
PeerRecord record;
switch (e.Action)
case PeerRecordAction.Added:
record = graph.GetRecord(e.RecordId);
LogMessage(@"Added", record.DataAsString);
case PeerRecordAction.Deleted:
LogMessage(@"Deleted", e.RecordId.ToString());
case PeerRecordAction.Expired:
LogMessage(@"Expired", e.RecordId.ToString());
case PeerRecordAction.Updated:
record = graph.GetRecord(e.RecordId);
LogMessage(@"Updated", record.DataAsString);
textBox3.Text = record.DataAsString;
recordId = e.RecordId;
Points of Interest
In order for the PeerRecord class to be cached by an application, it must make a copy of the unmanaged data. The reason for this is that after the PEER_RECORD has been marshaled, its memory is freed. To simplify freeing memory, Microsoft chose to create a continuous block of memory to store a record and its data. That is, the data follows the record in the same block of memory. As a result, once the memory is freed, the data is no longer accessible from managed code (the IntPtr is invalid). In an effort to maintain the data in marshalable form, the unmanaged data is copied into the unmanaged memory. It's too bad, Microsoft doesn't provide a better way to do this.
private void CopyUnmanagedData(PEER_DATA data)
IntPtr ptr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(data.cbData);
byte[] buffer = new byte[data.cbData];
Marshal.Copy(data.pbData, buffer, 0, data.cbData);
Marshal.Copy(buffer, 0, ptr, data.cbData);
data.pbData = ptr;
I will need to run some benchmarks to determine if there is a more optimal approach to handling this problem, especially if the majority of the time, it's only marshaled for reading.
Links to Resources
I have found the following resources to be very useful in understanding peer graphs:
I hope you have found this article useful. The next article will focus on associating XML meta-data with a record. Stay tuned for more articles on the following topics:
1. Peer Name Resolution - Windows Vista Enhancements
1. Peer Graph - Attributes
2. Peer Graph - Searching
3. Peer Graph - Importing and Exporting a Database
1. Peer Groups and Identity
1. Peer Collaboration - People Near Me
2. Peer Collaboration - EndPoints
3. Peer Collaboration - Capabilities
4. Peer Collaboration - Presence
5. Peer Collaboration - Invitations
If you have suggestions for other topics, please leave a comment.
Initial revision.
A list of licenses authors might use can be found here
About the Author
Web Developer
Canada Canada
Adrian is a Microsoft MVP for Windows Networking.
Comments and Discussions
QuestionBug Pinmemberfala7026-Apr-07 5:01
Questionnot sure what I doing wrong! Pinmemberalexis266-Jul-06 4:46
AnswerRe: not sure what I doing wrong! Pinmemberalexis2621-Jul-06 5:16
GeneralSample not working Pinmemberjimmyjos16-May-06 0:05
GeneralRe: Sample not working PinmemberAdrian_Moore16-May-06 2:47
GeneralImporting Database Pinmembergafferuk13-Jan-06 1:50
GeneralRe: Importing Database PinmemberAdrian_Moore13-Jan-06 2:38
GeneralReceiving records. Pinmembergafferuk12-Jan-06 16:17
GeneralRe: Receiving records. PinmemberAdrian_Moore13-Jan-06 2:36
GeneralSending byte array Pinmembergafferuk12-Jan-06 14:34
GeneralRe: Sending byte array PinmemberAdrian_Moore13-Jan-06 2:27
QuestionStop peers modifying records? Pinmembergafferuk12-Jan-06 13:39
AnswerRe: Stop peers modifying records? PinmemberAdrian_Moore12-Jan-06 14:19
GeneralNot working Pinmembergafferuk3-Jan-06 0:59
GeneralRe: Not working PinmemberAdrian_Moore3-Jan-06 2:47
GeneralSimple way to get total peer count in graph Pinmembergafferuk12-Jan-06 13:22
GeneralRe: Simple way to get total peer count in graph PinmemberAdrian_Moore12-Jan-06 14:11
GeneralRe: Simple way to get total peer count in graph Pinmembergafferuk12-Jan-06 15:04
GeneralRe: Simple way to get total peer count in graph PinmemberAdrian_Moore13-Jan-06 2:26
GeneralRe: Simple way to get total peer count in graph Pinmembergafferuk13-Jan-06 4:01
GeneralRe: Simple way to get total peer count in graph PinmemberAdrian_Moore14-Jan-06 3:29
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Visual tour: Google's Chrome OS
Google's all-Web computers are due to hit stores June 15. Here's a look at what to expect
By Jon Brodkin, Network World
May 17, 2011 06:00 AM ET
The Web is the computer
Samsung and Acer will release the first Chrome OS laptops on June 15, turning Google's browser into a full-fledged operating system. Think of it as a computer that starts up instantly and does almost nothing but browse the Web, with just enough offline access and file management to tide you through a plane ride. Here is a first look at Google's Chrome OS.
Chrome OS
Return to Google 'Chromebook' focuses on enterprise push
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Let me get this straight you love The Walking Dead but hate Heavy Rain?
So The Walking Dead took home Game of The Year at VGA 10 huh?
First, this is no knock on The Walking Dead or the gamers that love it. I respect anyone who loves this game I actually haven’t played it myself yet, (*update I’ve played the demo and liked it) but looove the Zombie culture so maybe one day I will need not only to get into the game but get into the TV series as well; long overdue I know, shame on me (*update I’m all caught up — loved it lmbooo). No, this more goes out to same people who hate Heavy Rain but love TWD.
THE Complaints of Heavy Rain:
When Heavy Rain was first introduced to the public a lot of gamers praised its graphics (near photo realistic) and adult storytelling; addressing a serious topic – a serial killer who targets children. But gamers were skeptical, mainly of the direction Quantic Dream chose to go in — in terms of gameplay, a quick time fest is what worried us the most, the idea of watching more than playing scared some. When the gamers and I’ll throw in journalistic reviewers were actually able to get said product in hand some complained, belittling it to quick time and even went as far as calling it not a game not the good version either (Why I say that is because some felt Quantic Dream changed the game — in a good way).
Now fast forward, the same type of gameplay (The gameplay btw that Heavy Rain received criticism for) and same type of storytelling TWD presents not only gets itself a nomination for the most prestigious award but actually wins the award!!? What part of the game is that? Wasn’t TWD described as a point-and-click adventure? Essentially making it a step down from quick time actually, with quick time being an evolution of point and click. So how is it TWD, as I call it a less sophisticated version of Heavy Rain in the gamplay and storytelling department heaping awards while Heavy Rain receives criticism?
Now if you hate both this is not for you and if you love both of course this is not directed at you either. Even if you like one and hate the other that’s actually cool too. I’m again addressing those who loves one, in this case TWD and hates the other; Heavy Rain, but not only just hate the other but hate the other for the same reasons the one you like implements. You’ll take a point-and-click adventure all day but disregard a sophisticated version of the utilization of quick time events? All I’m asking for is consistency people.
Heavy Rain is one of my favorite titles this generation, I felt it hit on most, if not all cylinders and is a disservice to call it a “quick time fest”. Could it have stood for more traditional gameplay? Maybe, but again I found attack of its gameplay (not all of you) and praise of TWD a bit off.
In the end this probably will be do some good for anyone who skipped over Heavy Rain but loved TWD if your a gamer that doesn’t mind pointing-and-clicking then you probably won’t mind quick timing.
On a side note, Back to the demo, I actually feel since TWD has the spirit of Heavy Rain that TWD would work lovely as a Triple A title. What do you gamers think? CCU wants to hear from you.
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1. 1) Your writing style is atrocious. This could have benefitted from another five or six hours of editing.
2) If you really can’t see the difference between the idiocy that was Heavy Rain and the goodness that is The Walking Dead, I don’t know what to do with you. One was heavy-handed, slow-paced, with two-dimensional characters that you almost have to hate and almost completely nonsense in its contrived story, and the other was a heart-touching story about interesting characters with a cool art style. Plain and simple- one was a good story, and one was not.
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• SchollA
This article is not about which is better nor is it a bash on the Walking dead see paragraph 1 more than its about the argument over quick time events and how Heavy Rain got slighted for the very thing gamers didnt seem to mind in TWD.
2. First of all I’d express an objection to your view that somehow the Walking Dead was a less sophisticated game. (The fact that you hadn’t played it yet notwithstanding)
The execution and pacing of the two games are entirely different. The problem with Heavy Rain wasn’t that it was a quick time event fest, it was that it was a boring quick time event fest. There were events for starting your car on a totally average day, events for putting your child to bed, events for damn near everything. The Walking Dead HAS QTE gameplay, but it’s all used in far more appropriate moments. It paces these events, giving weight, involvement and drama to the scene. Like kicking zombies in the face while struggling to crawl away from them.
This comparison is like expressing confusion about not liking Call of Duty but loving Counter Strike or Battlefield. Come on, guys! They’re all First Person Shooters! How can you like one but not the other?
Execution is why. And if you want to have it put in pure, simple terms here it is: The Walking Dead is a Video Game that tells a good story. Heavy Rain was a story that someone tried to retroactively make into a video game.
Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
• SchollA
I wasn’t saying TWD is less sophisticated overall (even though it may be – haven’t played through it) I was talking more from what I could see and thats presentation (graphics) and the implementation of quicktime (point-n-click).
IMO quick time is an evolution of point-n-click and what Quantic Dream did is an evolution of quick time they found a lot of interesting ways to use the controller so it wasnt a tap x tap square tap circle tape triangle affair. TwD was more to the point (no pun) a throwback if you will of pointing and clicking..thus the sophistication observation.
As far as boring yeah I heard that before but I personally loved doing the mundane things…think about it they’re trying to sell a family man a humanistic element the grind of getting up daily as a human, taking a shower, eating, taking your kid to school and I felt it worked in glorious fashion. But in a world of just give me gun so I could shoot the baddies your comment doesnt surprise me.
As far as comparison thats y I say a key to this whole argument is why? The why is everything in this occasion. If you love TWD because it had a better story I’m not talking about you. It specifically comes down to gameplay mechanics. The parallel you used is wrong the exact parallel would be if you took the same games and said I love Cod but hate lets say battlefield and I asked you why and you said “cause its first person I don’t like the stupid view and thats stupid to just have a stupid hand and a gun onscreen show me the whole character” (Thats a huh moment). Hence the article.
• I think gameplay is not just examined in terms of how events on screen is manipulated through your input. In the Walking Dead game, your goal was to survive in a zombie apocalypse. Everything you did in game went towards achieving this goal. That’s where the gameplay is. It’s like a combined effort between story and your control that gives you a more unique gameplay experience.
Heavy Rain was about solving the murders of the origami killer. The problem there is that a lot of the things you do, like playing with your kids and the entire scene in Madison’s apartment, do nothing to achieve this goal. Those scenes take place before the plot gets underway, but they don’t do wonders for the gameplay at all. I didn’t pay $60 just to have Ethan take a shower and make structure drawings, you know?
Heavy Rain definitely picks up the gameplay a tenth of the way through once the stage is set, but people (especially reviewers) tend to remember the bad as well as the awesome. The reviews were actually pretty good regardless and the game won it’s fair share of awards. It was even nominated for best PS3 game at the VGAs 2010. It lost to God of War 3 because GoW’s gameplay is a little more consistent. A game about killing gods that has you working to kill gods. Shit like that sells.
Reviewers who say nothing about the gameplay except that it’s a QTE-fest is not really saying anything at all. At the end of it all, it comes down to whether you really care about what the reviewers think. In which case if you did, I’d tell you to stop it.
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SANTA CLARA -- In a milestone that is expected to help Intel's (INTC) push into the smartphone and tablet markets, the Silicon Valley tech giant finally has made its brainy microchips as energy-efficient as those from companies using a design by Britain-based ARM Holdings, which now dominate the mobile market, according to a new report.
That's important for Santa Clara-based Intel, which for years got the cold shoulder from phone and tablet makers because its power-hungry chips shortened the battery life of mobile devices. With its new chips, Intel could find its way into a few more of those gadgets, the study by Bernstein Research analysts said Monday.
But they cautioned that the development doesn't mean the world's biggest chipmaker is headed for a huge boost in revenue.
Bernstein noted that the ARM camp has such a commanding lead in phones and tablets that Intel probably won't make much of a dent in those markets for a couple of years -- even with its energy-efficient chips.
Moreover, Bernstein determined that the performance of ARM-based chips has increased enough to be suitable for low-end notebooks, which could begin to challenge Intel's dominance in the personal computer market.
Both chip types "are very close in terms of power efficiency and processing power," the report concluded. As a result, it said, "the competitive fight between the ARM and Intel camps will therefore heat up meaningfully as early as 2013, with likely damages on both sides and no winner."
For its study, Bernstein compared Intel's chip in a Motorola RAZR phone and a RAZR phone with an ARM chip. It also compared both chips in similar tablets outfitted with the Windows 8 operating system.
"In smartphones, Intel is competitive in terms of power efficiency," the analysts concluded, and the company "poses a credible threat to ARM's dominance" in tablets.
But it also said ARM's chips have become more powerful, making them "a very compelling choice" for consumers looking for low-end notebooks.
"Overall, there is no stand-out difference in power efficiency or performance between the two camps," the report said, adding that it all points to "more direct competition" between Intel and the ARM chipmakers.
Nathan Brookwood, of the market consulting firm Insight 64, agreed that Intel will have trouble making headway in mobile devices. Besides its late start in those markets, he noted, the dominant smartphone suppliers -- Samsung and Apple (AAPL) -- prefer to make their own chips. In addition, he said, other mobile-device makers like ARM chips because it's often easier to mix and match certain features with them than with the kind Intel sells.
Another problem for Intel is that ARM chips tend to be cheaper, so the Santa Clara company may need to cut its prices -- and its profit -- to compete, according to a note Raymond James analysts sent their clients.
They said Intel's gross margins -- money left over from revenue after accounting for the cost of goods sold -- has been 62 percent to 65 percent in recent years. But as Intel ramps up its competition with ARM chipmakers, the analysts warned, "mid 50 percent gross margins are an increasing reality."
| dclm-gs1-009960000 |
NAME Data::Password - Perl extension for assessing password quality. SYNOPSIS use Data::Password qw(IsBadPassword); print IsBadPassword("clearant"); # Bad password - contains the word 'clear', only lowercase use Data::Password qw(:all); $DICTIONARY = 0; $GROUPS = 0; print IsBadPassword("clearant"); DESCRIPTION This module checks potential passwords for crackability. It checks that the password is in the appropriate length, that it has enough character groups, that it does not contain the same characters repeatedly or ascending or descending characters, or charcters close to each other in the keyboard. It will also attempt to search the ispell word file for existance of whole words. The module's policies can be modified by changing its variables. (Check "VARIABLES"). For doing it, it is recommended to import the ':all' shortcut when requiring it: *use Data::Password qw(:all);* FUNCTIONS 1 IsBadPassword(password) Returns undef if the password is ok, or a textual description of the fault if any. 2 IsBadPasswordForUNIX(user, password) Performs two additional checks: compares the password against the login name and the "comment" (ie, real name) found on the user file. VARIABLES 1 $DICTIONARY Minimal length for dictionary words that are not allowed to appear in the password. Set to false to disable dictionary check. 2 $FOLLOWING Maximal length of characters in a row to allow if the same or following. If $FOLLOWING_KEYBOARD is true (default), the module will also check for alphabetical keys following, according to the English keyboard layout. Set $FOLLOWING to false to bypass this check. 3 $GROUPS Groups of characters are lowercase letters, uppercase letters, digits and the rest of the allowed characters. Set $GROUPS to the number of minimal character groups a password is required to have. Setting to false or to 1 will bypass the check. 4 $MINLEN $MAXLEN Minimum and maximum length of a password. Both can be set to false. 5 @DICTIONARIES Location where we are looking for dictionary files. You may want to set this variable if you are using not *NIX like operating system. FILES * /usr/dict/web2 * /usr/dict/words * /etc/passwd SEE ALSO See Data::Password::BasicCheck if you need only basic password checking. Other modules Data::Password::Common, Data::Password::Check, Data::Password::Meter, Data::Password::Entropy and String::Validator::Password AUTHOR Raz Information Systems, COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2001 - 2013 Raz Information Systems Ltd. This package is distributed under the same terms as Perl itself, see the Artistic License on Perl's home page. | dclm-gs1-009970000 |
Comments Threshold
By Murst on 1/4/2008 11:58:41 AM , Rating: 4
Sorry to ask this question, but now I'm completely confused by your articles.
Prior to this article, you seemed to have taken a position that there isn't really any warming in the arctic. I seem to remember how you had an article about how the ice is growing, not shrinking.
Now, you have an article about how the warming is natural, which would seem to indicate that you do in fact believe that warming exists. If this was your stance all along, your previous articles would have been misleading (and that's w/ a generous interpretation).
Or pehaps I'm missing something. Are you trying to imply that we're seeing a buildup in ice at the same time as the arctic warms?
RE: Explanation?
By masher2 (blog) on 1/4/2008 12:16:42 PM , Rating: 2
> "Prior to this article, you seemed to have taken a position that there isn't really any warming in the arctic"
No warming in the ANTarctic. I believe you're referring to this article, which identified strong sea ice growth in Antarctica:
The North Pole, however, is a different matter entirely. There isn't any discrepancy in the stories.
RE: Explanation?
By Murst on 1/4/2008 12:22:33 PM , Rating: 2
Hmm... ok, I'll buy that.
So it may be more accurate to say that global warming doesn't exist.
However, we have northern hemisphere warming and southern hemisphere cooling, with their average slightly leaning to the warming side? Or is that not really accurate either?
RE: Explanation?
By masher2 (blog) on 1/4/2008 12:35:25 PM , Rating: 2
The global trend obviously depends on the time period examined, as well as any adjustments, if any, made for urbanization effects on land surface readings, instrumentation changes over the period in question, and a huge number of factors.
Taken since 1998, the average for the planet as a whole has been flat (no increase nor decrease), according to data from the British Met Office:
According to data from James Hansen's GISS center, which does far more "massaging" of the raw temperature data, there is still a slight increase in the trend.
RE: Explanation?
| dclm-gs1-009980000 |
Print 86 comment(s) - last by Gzus666.. on Nov 26 at 9:41 AM
Performance difference is credited to faster CPU in 2G touch
The iPod touch and iPhone are typically considered to be twins with the obvious exception that the touch lacks the phone hardware. Games and applications for the iPhone are usually able to play on the iPod touch as well.
Thomas Fessler, CEO of Handheld Games Corp., says that the 3D performance between the platforms is far from the same, according to Touch Arcade. TouchSport Tennis from the company is one of the most demanding game titles for the platform and according to Fessler; the performance of the game is very different between the iPod touch and iPhone.
Significant performance differences are seen between the generations of the touch device and iPhone as well. Fessler says that his company had to modify its game to run well across all platforms and that the 2G iPod touch is by far the highest performing platform for mobile gaming from Apple.
For play on the iPod touch 2G, Handheld Games used two players with 1,500 polygons each and 32 bones and were still able to get fluid gameplay. The original iPod touch wasn't able to run the game with the same settings, and in some instances, the iPhone wasn't able to get the game to play either. The company had to reduce the polygons to 800 per player to get fluid gameplay on some platforms.
The reason the performance difference is so noticeable on games that push the hardware is that the 2G iPod touch has a processor running at 523MHz, up from 412MHz. The iPhone and the iPhone 3G along with the first generation touch all run the slower 412MHz processor speed.
Fessler says that the GPU in the new touch may have been tweaked as well, but there is no evidence making that change concrete at this time. Those with a first generation iPod touch may not be able to run some of the more hardware intensive games coming to the market.
Comments Threshold
A joke of a portable gaming device
By TerranMagistrate on 11/24/2008 12:44:07 PM , Rating: 3
No matter how hard Apple tries to push the ipod touch/iphone as a legitimate competitor to the DS and PSP, they're destined to fail. It's like comparing a flash-based internet game to a console game.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 11/24/2008 12:58:14 PM , Rating: 1
I really don't care what they aim it at, but as a gaming platform -- I love it.
I have a 32GB iPod touch 2G and I used it to play quite a few games (mostly puzzle games) but it's a good time waster:
Solebon Solitaire
I, however, can't wait until Sim City comes out next month for it. I probably play Uno and Cubes the most, but the real beauty in the iPod touch is that it's a do-everything, take everywhere device. I pop it in my pocket where it doesn't even make a dent in my pants, hop in my car and hook it up to my aux-in and jam to some tunes. Then whenever I get where I'm going, I can play some games, surf the net, check my email, or do any of hundreds of other things with apps from the App Store.
I don't think that many other devices come close to offer a "total package" with such storage capacity and game/application options in such a small form-factor.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By quiksilvr on 11/24/2008 1:16:38 PM , Rating: 1
The price is still too ridiculous for my taste. I'd rather just get the Archos 5. Much more functionality and a more realistic price.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Chaser on 11/24/2008 2:36:18 PM , Rating: 2
The Archos is big for a pocket, its pricing for functionality misleading and it's not a phone.
By quiksilvr on 11/24/2008 7:15:04 PM , Rating: 3
...we're weren't talking about a phone, we were talking about the iTouch.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 2:41:47 PM , Rating: 1
Where can you even buy an Archos 5? The Archos store lists only the Archos 7, and for over $400! How is that cheaper than an iPod touch? 32GB is less storage, yes, but the iPod touch is also more portable!
Amazon lists the 120GB Archos 5 for $389, and much larger too. The Archos 5 won't fit in your pocket.
So it's the old "Creative Nomad with 3.5" HDD vs iPod with 1.8" HDD" all over again.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 5:05:00 PM , Rating: 2
It would be quite the feat to fit a 3.5" HDD in anything but a normal tower computer. Last I checked even much larger laptops use 2.5" hard drives, how would it be possible this music player uses a hard drive that is larger than the device itself?
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/08, Rating: 0
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 7:28:32 PM , Rating: 3
Or maybe you have no idea what you are talking about?,review-12-11.html,review-12-13.html
Looks like a 2.5" to me. Also says it is and it is is 6GB. Also it had USB 1.1.
Do you enjoy being wrong all the time or do you just not know better? The fact that you thought it was a 3.5" drive is amazing, they are like an inch and a half thick on their own. This just makes it even more clear you know all of nothing about anything electronic.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 7:50:54 PM , Rating: 2
You're right! Now I'll have to correct all my future posts on the Creative Nomad Jukebox.
And just so you think I'm right sometimes, I measured a 3.5" HDD on my coworker's desk. It's only 1" high, or 25mm if you're metric, not over an inch and a half. Point for me, yay.
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 7:58:06 PM , Rating: 2
You should refer to my use of "like" an inch and a half. This is called an estimate, cause while I have a 3.5 sitting here, I don't have a tape measure near. An estimate serves perfectly fine, as it is not really the issue. Surely an inch thick is not the point that makes it usable in the device, so the estimate is moot.
By Darth Farter on 11/24/2008 1:18:00 PM , Rating: 2
I fully agree. I'm by no means an apple user or fanboy... a while back I actually preferred a Zen xtra as mp3 player.
However 3rd party support and especially the mobility of the touch (bought last year) and the 3G that I have now (while my GF is getting addicted to poker, puzzles and "pets" on the touch in her free time) gave me lots of respect to the platform.
you basically take it anywhere, and when you have to wait in line, are bored at work, if there's a power outage, or just for productivity (messenger, scheduling, to-do lists, stocks, mailing, etc) I found this device extremely handy when jailbreaked.
anyway, I've never even used a mac, cause I love being able to run everything on my pc's.. but this is also the very same reason the Touch and especially the iPhone as they are extremely handy when jailbreaked (and since firmware 2 with the app store too)
Beejiveim, fring (skype-ish), things, mail, weather, stocks, safari, winterboard, dynolicious, converter, spore, cycorder, mxtube(youtube downloader), tunewiki, Holdem poker, maxefinger, igotchi, asphalt4, facebook, taptapRevenge, bejeweled, Icanhazcheezburger, gpsphone(good gameboy emulator!!), linerider and iphysics can entertain me for days without the need to actually use my pc.
note: I didn't pay anything for these as there's lots of places to get appz for free instead of paying for them ... though if I would be able to from my location I'd prolly pay for some of those for respect.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By kmmatney on 11/24/2008 4:47:51 PM , Rating: 2
I have a DS, with an 8 GB memory card, which is a great system for games and music. Maybe not the best music player, but the games are great (I have SIM city...), and as a music player it works well enough, and the memory is easily expandable. A nice gaming/music system for less than $150.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 4:59:14 PM , Rating: 1
Yes, but your DS doesn't have a phone, so you will still need to carry a phone AND a DS around.
The logic here is that I have an 8GB iPhone that only cost me $199 up front, has a great music player, is good for games, has plenty of memory, and has lots of other functionality on top of that.
Your DS with 8GB... isn't that hacked? Or does the new DSes have the ability to integrate with MicroSD?
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By StevoLincolnite on 11/24/2008 8:38:39 PM , Rating: 2
Not everyone needs or wants a phone, Might sound crazy but I hate phones, I always leave mine at home, I just can't bear the thought of going out to lunch with someone only to spend the whole time on the phone sending text messages or talking to someone. - Then again I live in the country, which I find is less reliant on such devices.
By michael2k on 11/25/2008 6:47:29 PM , Rating: 2
More people need phones than gaming devices, however :)
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/08, Rating: 0
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By omnicronx on 11/24/2008 1:25:18 PM , Rating: 4
The iPhone/iPod have 412MHz GPUs and CPUs and OpenGL support. Essentially it's a DreamCast in your pocket.
How many times do I have to tell you these numbers are not comparable? The OS on a console is basically a bootloader that barely takes up any resources coupled with the fact that the processors(cpu and gpu) are optimized to be used specifically for gaming use.
The playstion was only 33MHZ, yet to emulate a playstion game on a PC, a 450MHZ-500MHZ processor with a good 3D accelerator is required.
You are not comparing Apples to Apples, and who cares about OpenGL support when comparing to a DS, it obviously has its own API designed specially for the platform, (which is always more efficient than a crossplatform API such as OpenGL)
I'm not knocking the iPhone as a gaming device, it think it has potential, but a 333Mhz PSP will outshine the iPhone pretty much any day in terms of performance.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/08, Rating: 0
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 2:42:15 PM , Rating: 2
How would you possibly know if it was "powerful enough"? You don't even understand architecture differences in processors and OS overhead. You tried to have this silly argument before and everyone destroyed your silly clock speed vs clock speed argument, now just stop.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/08, Rating: 0
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 4:27:29 PM , Rating: 2
Just say it, you don't know what you are talking about. You have shown it time and time again. Remember last iPhone article about it becoming a gaming device? You pretty much stopped arguing with the people that pointed out anything to do with your mindless comments you spout over and over, much like now.
Did you copy and paste this from your previous fiasco? This long winded post is pretty much just the culmination of the crap you spouted last time that was shot down then and will be again. Would you really want me to go back through your garbage and quote all the cute posts where you clearly don't understand that ARM has different architectures? You don't understand it, just admit it.
Powerful enough? You have no facts, just a feeling.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 4:32:31 PM , Rating: 1
Yes, powerful enough.
What facts do you want? Like all statistics, give me the requirements and I can give you the right metrics :P
The point being that developers are already writing games for the iPhone and already making money and as long as that is the case, more games will continue to be written. That is my basis for "powerful enough".
I also stopped responding to you the last time around because I didn't want to talk to you, something about you being insulting and such, and I didn't want to resort to being insulting as well.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 4:56:39 PM , Rating: 2
Like that one? Or do you think maybe because you were completely wrong?
Seems like you didn't respond to this guy either...wonder why?
Another fun one.
Little more of people destroying your silly processor clock speed argument.
I will leave it here for now, but I'm sure I could spend days finding gems like those.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 5:17:37 PM , Rating: 1
You really want a reply?
Link 1) An example where a sufficiently powerful PC can compare to a much less powerful PS1, where the PC was an order of magnitude more powerful for comparable graphics in emulation. This is a comparison to the relationship between the DS and iPhone where the iPhone has an order of magnitude more powerful hardware, which means it should be fully capable of running DS quality graphics in emulation. This example also provides proof that a system with a full OS, such as Windows 95, is perfectly capable of running a game like Final Fantasy 7, so is another example that a platform like the iPhone, with OS, can also run a game like Final Fantasy 7 (though at a lower resolution)
Link 2) An example that comparing a DS to iPhone is apples to apples in terms of CPU performance, even taking OS overhead into consideration. iPhone at 412MHz is over 10x more powerful than DS at 33MHz, and the iPhone has a much more powerful GPU than the DS, since the PowerVR on the iPhone is roughly 4x more powerful than the PowerVR on the DreamCast. Meaning DS style graphics should be more than possible (and already seen in many games currently available). The second example was also apples to apples, comparing a Pentium Pro to a Core processor.
Link 3) Hey! I replied to Link 3!
Regardless, I was comparing the iPhone to the Wii in that it targets a different gamer market that is currently untapped by the DS or PSP... one who always has a cell phone where they won't carry a DS or PSP, who has 5 or 10 minutes to kill and will launch Game.App while waiting for coffee or a movie to start, or whatever. That too is already evident in the game sales of the iPhone, and that market will get bigger as more iPhones are sold.
Link 4) I also replied to Link 4! Again, if you keep referring to my clock speed argument, you are totally missing the point. My clock speed argument boils down to saying the iPhone is powerful ENOUGH, and so far you haven't given any proof otherwise.
Your only proof to say the iPhone isn't powerful enough is that I haven't convinced you, and that isn't proof, that just means you are ignorant.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 5:40:56 PM , Rating: 2
You presented the claim that the iPhone is "powerful enough". You presented a claim, it is your job to support it. So far your harebrained scheme has been to compare clock speeds of devices, which has absolutely no bearing on performance when comparing across these devices.
You keep using a PC as an example, yet you don't understand that normal PCs share a completely different architecture and OS design than hand held devices, which means comparison is silly at best. I know I have pointed this out to you at least twice now.
You seriously still think that clock speed makes something 10 times more powerful? You have been torn into about this at least 4 different times, yet you keep bringing it up. They are not comparable, they are different architectures and even though they are both ARM they are different.
Your clock speed argument boils down to you having little to no understanding of how electronics and general computing processors work and how they differ. There are also so many more things to consider when comparing speed of two devices.
Do you compare a Corvette to a Suburban? They share the same base engine, so they should be the same, right? This is how stupid your argument is. There are tons of things to take into consideration, but you chose to use some ignorant metric like pure clock speed. That ONLY works if everything is the same other than the clock speed. An example would be a stock clock and an overclocked PC. Another good one is the iPhone to the iPod Touch, because they are pretty much the same beyond the clock speed and the fact that the iPod doesn't have to run any of the phone aspects that the iPhone does.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 6:13:11 PM , Rating: 1
My claim that the iPhone is powerful enough is backed up by existing games: Monkey Ball, Force Unleashed, and Cro Mag Ralley all display the graphical and CPU capabilities of the iPhone. My examples were only to convince you using other parallels that the iPhone was more than capable, by giving you examples of less powerful hardware that was more than capable of gaming.
And that has 100% bearing when comparing to the iPhone. 486s with VooDoos were powerful enough to play Quake; DreamCast with PowerVR was powerful enough for Virtual On; Pentium 3 with VooDoo was powerful enough for Final Fantasy 7, as was a lowly PSX. The iPhone, by all measures, has more powerful hardware than most of these systems, and is comparable to the rest.
The PC architecture and OS is relevant because it shows that OS overhead isn't enough to stop a PC from gaming, unless you are going to argue that PCs can't play games when every day there is proof otherwise from Blizzard, Id, EA, Activision, and Eidos. That you keep rejecting that comparison means you don't understand the premise. It isn't about how different the PC is from the iPhone, it's the fact that give a PC sufficiently powerful hardware and it can game as well as keep up with consoles.
An iPhone has a PowerVR at 412MHz, a DreamCast has a PowerVR at 100MHz. An iPhone has literally the same GPU, but 4x the clock. That is more than powerful enough to allow DreamCast visuals on an iPhone. My PC comparison is to show that PCs routinely compete against consoles because PCs have significantly faster processors and GPUs, which is valid in this case because the iPhone has significantly faster CPU and GPU than a DreamCast or a DS, and is comparable to a PSP or PS2.
Clockspeed makes something 10x more powerful when it is the same architecture, and that is the point of the DS comparison. A DS uses an ARM CPU at 33MHz and the iPhone uses an ARM CPU at 412MHz. CPU compute intensive operations WILL be 10x faster on an iPhone, there is no way around that. The iPhone may have more interruptions due to background processes, but in terms of raw performance it is, indeed, 10x faster (actually over 12x). ARM architectures are comparable, especially when you have 12x the clock.
As another example I'm sure you'll misunderstand, even a CPU like the original 486-66 can be compared to to a Pentium 3 at 800MHz; both have the same instruction set and there is no question that a Pentium 3 is more powerful. The same extension can be made to the DS and iPhone: 33MHz ARM9 vs 412MHz ARM11, so we have a two generation advancement in architecture (486->Pentium->Pentium 3) and over 10x clock improvement (66->800MHz). I don't know why you can't see it, the parallels are the same. ARM9->ARM11, 33MHz->412MHz. Both examples use the same architectures/instruction sets, so they are like to like analogies.
And if you FAIL to see how to compare a Corvette to Suburban, you fail logic in general. I've never said a DS and iPhone are the same, I only said they were comparable.
A Corvette and Suburban both consume fuel; thus you can compare them in terms of annual fuel costs. They both require maintenance, and you can compare them on maintenance costs. They carry people, so you can compare their ability to move people. They travel at certain velocities, so you can compare their speeds against each other. They happen to both cost money, so you can compare their monthly payments.
You can't say they are equal, but you can say that if you need to go to the supermarket, both will work. One is better if you have 5 people and the other is better if you want to go fast.
In that same sense, the iPhone is better if you need to make a phone call, but the DS is better if you want more battery life. Where they overlap, you can say the DS is cheaper, you can say the iPhone has more CPU and GPU resources, the games on the iPhone are cheaper, but there are more games on the DS. Pure clock speed in this case is like comparing horsepower to horsepower, where one is better at going fast (Corvette, iPhone) and the other is better at pulling weight (Suburban, DS).
Get it? No, I didn't think so.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 7:39:53 PM , Rating: 2
They are not the same architecture, why are you so thick headed?
READ!!! The architecture is different even in the arm family. Not only that, but instruction sets can change, which I'm sure you know nothing about, or factor into your silly comparison.
Your comparison is to compare speed, not these other things. You are babbling again. Corvette clearly outclasses the Suburban in speed by leaps and bounds, even though they comparable horsepower and similar engine. My point is that the CPU (engine) can't be compared by itself just cause they are made by the same people and are similar. There are many more factors.
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 12:11:06 PM , Rating: 2
Would you both just STOP?
Gzus66: Your posts in this topic are rude, and just as full of assumptions and generalizations as michael2K's are. You're smarter than this, and this little tiff just makes you look like a contrarian. At some point if you keep arguing you do take on some of the burden to disprove an argument, and that happens the moment you cease asking for proof and start providing counterpoitns. Besides, the clock speed comparison isn't the point anyway, so just drop it. We all know its a bad comparison, and at this point you've beaten the dead horse so bad we all think a bomb must have gone off...
michael2K: You're probably right in your theory, but your mistake was in comparing clock speeds as if there was some equivalency across architectures. There is not, as Gzus66 has clearly pointed out numerous times. I do get that this isn't your argument, merely one of several points you're trying to make to prove your argument. The other points you're making are good enough to support your argument, so let the clock speed thing go.
The difference in the CPU architecture, the other pieces of hardware, and the software implementation on the varying hardware should serve to prove one thing. No matter what the hardware, the right software can create a successful gaming platform. Period. So, is the iPhone a good gaming platform? Depends on the software...
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Lugaidster on 11/26/2008 2:05:47 AM , Rating: 2
Please quit spreading lies. First of all, the DS has 2 CPU's and ARM7 at 33 MHz and an ARM9 at 66 MHz making it 3 times more powerful than what you state. And, I'm pretty sure that the 2d capabilities of the ds are at least on par with those on the iphone.
Second, both the DS and the PSP have custom made graphic logic for their hand consoles. Something that the iphone completely lacks.
But most importantly is the fact that even though the Dreamcast and the iphone share the same name(PowerVR) in their GPU, that doesn't mean anything. Ati makes many different radeons, as does Nvidia with their geforce range and the performance difference is big to say the least, so the brand is no guarantee. Plus, the iphone just doesn't compare to the dreamcast. Super Monkey Ball/Force Unleashed/Cro Mag Ralley all look like crap when compared to Shenmue graphic-wise.
Also, you state that you need a _relatively_ powerful pc to play a psx game, that doesn't help your argument at all. It just proves that a system designed for gaming is better than a general-purpose system.
You are right on one thing though, the iphone could still make it, though I highly doubt it since controls play a large role in gameplay and the iphone doesn't have a comfortable interface for anything other than puzzle games. Besides, nokia already tried and failed (ngage anyone?). The iphone may be a great casual gamers out there but (most) hardcore gamers will stay away from it (for gaming at least). That is until we see a big name with a big title in the iphone, or they make a new phone with buttons or both.
By Gzus666 on 11/26/2008 9:32:28 AM , Rating: 2
Lugaidster, You hit the nail on the head my friend. But don't think he won't still try to argue the same thing in a week when the next iPhone game article comes out.
By omnicronx on 11/24/2008 3:13:26 PM , Rating: 2
The iPhone hardware is good enough; I will drop the comparisons, I only bring it up to highlight the fact that the iPhone is powerful enough, not that it is necessarily more powerful.
The iPhone will be great for those that want to play games for 5-10, perhaps 30 minutes while they are waiting, but its not going to replace the current market for portable gaming. Brandon Hill points out that he finds himself using it all the time, but was he a portable gaming user beforehand? If not then he is part of a new demographic, not the existing portable game market which you are trying to say that the iPhone will replace.
The main reason why i disagree with the statements that the iPhone will take over the portable gaming world is as soon as smartphones come out with a working version of flash, the chances are you are going to see a dramatic drop on not only iPhone users downloading games, but a lack people buying the iPhone with gaming features in mind.
Nobody is saying the iPhone is not a great device, but I have yet to come across any iPhone user that can regularly sit down and play a game for a significant period of time. Once the WoW factor of the motion sensors sets in, I think peoples view on the subject will change.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By PointlesS on 11/24/2008 1:33:20 PM , Rating: 2
The problem isn't the technology, it's the controls. Yes it's great for puzzle and slower paced games, but without buttons you don't get tactile response which results in a lot of "did that register?" moments. Rotating your iwhatever to steer a vehicle isn't fun when you're constantly overturning, and while you sort of get used to it. It'll never be as accurate as an analog stick or even a d-pad.
It's a good device for certain games like strategy and puzzles, but almost all phones are good for those games. The only thing that separates it from other phones is the horsepower. It'll have significant growth in the cell phone industry, but it will never come close to competing with the PSP or DS.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 4:05:57 PM , Rating: 1
Re: Steering, isn't that how the Wii Mario Kart plays? People seem to do fine (though I agree the analog stick is more precise, turning is also more fun)
Re: Feedback, isn't that already a problem on PC games where latency and lag due to CPU limitations? So long as the game is properly programmed to provide timely visual feedback, you always know when something registers
I can certainly see games like JRPGs, tactics type games, and touch games. The only games that suffer would be platform games (like Mario or Metroid), shooter games (like Gradius), Fighting games (like Street Fighter), etc.
Just about anything else is possible, with creative UI design:
SIM style games, Diablo style games, Doom style games, etc. I can even imagine rail games (House of the Dead, StarFox), as long as you use a point to shoot UI.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 4:46:40 PM , Rating: 2
What the hell are you talking about? When did latency become a problem caused by CPU limitations? My god, read a book or something. Also, he is saying sometimes touch screens don't give you forceful feedback like a keyboard or mouse give or anything that is physical. You rarely wonder if you pushed a physical button. Have you played a game lately, or are you just talking out of your ass? Seriously do you have Apple stock or something? Otherwise you are mildly retarded at best.
Of course you can, cause you lap up Steve Jobs' man juice. Diablo style games? Are you crazy? Doom? That would be painful at best. Starfox would suck on the phone. House of the Dead I will give you, but that is only cause there was no real movement beyond just shooting a target.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 5:35:38 PM , Rating: 2
Latency has always been a problem caused by CPU limitations. There are two big causes; when the CPU can't physically respond to an input fast enough, there is latency because the game doesn't react quickly, and when the CPU can't display updates fast enough. Maybe you don't know the definition of latency? Most people think it is only a problem with networking because the speed of transport causes interruptions in smooth continuous gameplay, but any kind of interruption that can stifle input processing (such as an overtaxed CPU) or display update (such as an overtaxed CPU) can cause latency.
Even the spinning up of a hard drive can cause latency if it means the game can't respond because it is still retrieving game data from the drive.
You can sometimes tell this when the game displays visual slowdown, when too many polygons or enemies are on screen. Dropped frames are another indication, though if the game is smart enough it will drop frames in order to prevent latency. You get a choppy video display but all the inputs from the player is still being processed in real time.
As for feedback, a button only tells you that it exists, without vibration or some other "closed loop" mechanism there is still no feedback. You can press a key as much as you want and if the game display (as I say, visual feedback) doesn't tell you what happens you still get no feedback. A very real example of this is pressing a button on an elevator. If there is no light in the button you get no visual feedback indicating that you actually did anything.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 5:49:25 PM , Rating: 2
I have yet to see a modern PC be limited by the CPU for anything. GPU, Bus and HDD speeds are the limits I have seen. HDD has nothing to do with latency of gaming you jackass, it would only affect loading.
Do you seriously think the hard drive is loading up the game without buffering into RAM? The buffering negates any problems with HDD affecting anything beyond loading, please just stop talking.
Most people don't "think" it is a problem caused by networking, it is the reason in games. Do you ever hear of anyone complaining of latency in a PC that functionally plays the game at 60+fps without being online? Hell no, cause it doesn't exist. On top of that, the latency is never caused by the CPU, it would be caused by either a bus or GPU not processing quick enough.
Visual slowdowns are caused by other things, not hard drives, you really live in a fantasy land. Dropped frames are pretty much always a GPU issue, especially on modern PCs with modern games.
Touching something and it having physical give and return is a feedback champ. There is a reason you are rated down non-stop whenever you post this fanboy garbage. You might notice Omnicronx enjoys his Apple product, but he doesn't blindly make claims of it's greatness.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 6:23:35 PM , Rating: 2
Ah, maybe that's why you don't understand what I'm talking about. You aren't old enough to remember when games were regularly CPU limited or when HDD load speeds affected framerate. Maybe you don't even remember CD latency? This would have been more evident six years ago, but I guess today systems are so powerful that you only care about latency like this in low power systems like a Nintendo DS or a Gameboy Advance.
Of course maybe you don't play modern games either? Viva Pinata was an XBox 360 game that saw visual slowdown when the screen was too crowded... that is an example of a console with CPU/GPU limitations.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By omnicronx on 11/24/2008 7:45:22 PM , Rating: 2
HD load speeds have not dramatically effected performance since the inception of the 3d accelerator, and even then games were made to take advantage of the current hardware, 'HD-Speeds' were barely a factor. The difference between a 5400RPM drive and a 4200RPM drive in terms of framerate would be barely noticeable, especially considering most games were sprite based.
There is also no such thing as CD latency. A CD reads at the speed specified by the drive. 1x CDROM is 1.22Mbps, 2x is 2.44 and so on.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 8:02:47 PM , Rating: 2
No, CD latency isn't the "latency" of reading the CD, it's latency caused by the CD.
Like when a game becomes unresponsive because it's reading from the CD? I know there are PS2 games that stutter if you have a scratched or dirty disc, though this was most visible when loading videos that required constant access speeds. In terms of games this would happen when you're loading textures from CD into ram and the transfer happened to be slightly slower than expected, causing the game to stutter until the access completed.
But I haven't seen that in a game for 10 years now.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By noirsoft on 11/24/2008 8:57:08 PM , Rating: 2
While I agree with some of the points you made above (ooh, and I have multiple degrees in computer science) you are wrong about the definition of latency.
Latency is when the system can process all the data, but it is delayed by a certain amount of time. When you adjust Rock Band so that the audio and video timings are in sync with each other, that is compensating for latency of your A/V system.
You would see latency as something like a game keeping a consistent frame-rate and responding to your controls, but doing so consistently 1 second behind when you issue them. This is not due to a CPU being overloaded at any given time.
Gamers care about latency because, in a FPS, if you line up a shot, you want to know that the point in time where you see the enemy and click to shoot is the same point in time for the server, so the latency doesn't cause your target to have already moved on, but you just don't see it yet. Is that at all clear (not rhetorical, I don't think I worded it well)
Latency is independent of FPS*, and you can't just throw more hardware at it to solve the issue. A friend of mine is getting his PhD by finding ways to use prediction and rendering tricks to emulate zero latency in VR simulations, since there is inherent system latency that cannot be gotten rid of.
*They are tied in one way. If your are running at 60 FPS, then the minimum system latency is 1/60 of a second, since that it the minimum possible amount of time from when you see something on the screen, issue a command to respond to it, and see the result. So, if your system is locked to your frame-rate, faster processing and rendering can improve latency. However, in practice, latency is independent of FPS, and has more to do with lengths of cable, OS protocols, buffering, etc.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 12:54:31 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, that is just one definition of Latency...
Latency to an engineer is simply the time lag between something being initiated and the result becoming evident:
In the Audio world, it specifically refers to the lag that occurs in the conversion between analog and digital signals:
Heck, in Psychology it refers to a stage of sexual development:
Typically, in a discussion, I prefer to use the definition assigned to a word by the original poster for the extend of that argument. Switching definitions mid-stream makes it a semantic argument instead of one about technology...
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 1:14:59 PM , Rating: 2
extent, not extend...
My mistake.
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 7:46:24 PM , Rating: 2
I'm 26 and I have been using computers since MSDOS and my old 286. My father also has been doing it since punch cards and reel to reels and he is the one I learned from to begin with. The reason for slowdown was because old games of that era were directly speed controlled by clock speed of the processor. This was related to programming, not hardware issues.
HDDs are not directly connected to the CPU, there is a bridge and bus in between (depending on the setup, this can vary, but this is common), if they did not buffer this, it would make everything unusable. Do you think RAM just hangs out for no reason? It has a purpose.
Once again, if Viva Pinata was slowing down, it was related to the GPU, as this is the hardware that is rendering, not the CPU. On top of that, if it was the CPU, you can't use that as comparison since the console CPUs are in order CPUs, which work quite a bit differently than your normal processor. You honestly don't understand how hardware works at all.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 1:13:03 PM , Rating: 2
"I have yet so see a modern PC be limited by the CPU for anything."
That has got to be the most unintentionally ridiculous statement I've read on this forum since, well, I can't think of when...
Have you ever heard of Folding @ Home, audio encoding and processing, video encoding and decoding, or Rendering? All these are extremely CPU limited (or were until the latest generation of graphics card offloaded certain encoding and decoding processes from the CPU). Most of the graphics cards currently in computers in this world aren't the newest generation. I know that my two year old HTPC can't effectively decode H264 content on the fly as it stands (fortunately my TV is a POS so I don't need to either). How do I know it isn't caused by storage latency or some other system component? Well, once I decode the stream into a more processing forgiving format it plays just fine (Formats which, by the way, are less forgiving on other latency in the system). I also (just for fun) installed a RAMdisk and streamed video from it to see if it would make any difference - nope.
There are also a ton of server level and scientific applications that are CPU limited, but I'll let that slide since you did say "PC" as in personal computer.
Personally, I experience processing lag from the CPU on my PC on a daily basis. When I have all four cores fully maxed out on a rendering and then open word, or firefox, or just about anything else I can count seconds between typing a letter and it actually appears on the screen. The same thing can and does occur in games. Most games spawn multiple processes. These processes can and do compete for their pieces of the processor's pie. In games that are GPU limited (or multithreaded games as well) you don't have and CPU-related lag because it isn't maxed out. If you either have an older CPU or an incredibly bad-ass graphics card then you very well may be CPU limited. In single threaded games these means the processor is maxed out and some of those processes aren't getting as much as they want/need. In properly coded games frames are dropped and other less critical processes than the UI are the ones that suffer. In less cleverly coded games the UI processes (those translating keystrokes and mouse movements into commands in the game app) can and do experience lag as a result of the processor being over taxed. Call this poor coding, software latency, or anything else you want; but plug in a higher power CPU and the problem goes away.
While it's equally dumb to say that latency is always caused by the CPU (which I don't think was the intent, though it read that way the first time), to say CPU doesn't limit modern PCs shows that you either have no concept of people actually use PCs for, or that you're making outrageously dumb claims out of sheer dislike of someone else's opinions. Either way, chill...
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 1:20:16 PM , Rating: 2
Geeze! I really need to read what I write...
...don't have ANY* CPU-related lag...
...single threaded games THIS* means... concept of WHAT* people actually use PCs for...
I'd claim I was rendering and that any typos were a result of UI lag, but it would be a lie...
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/25/2008 3:09:59 PM , Rating: 2
I didn't make it clear enough obviously that this was in reference to the topic at hand, color me poorly worded. Also, if you want to get technical, Nvidia has shown all these tasks are better performed by GPUs anyway. The general point was that CPU intensive tasks(like the ones you mentioned) are CPU intensive and GPU intensive tasks(games) are GPU intensive (not trying to be patronizing here, just clearing the confusion).
GPU limitations are among the #1 reason games have any visual lag in non-networked games. Behind that would of course start being bus speeds, and video memory on the graphics card. CPU would be pretty damn low on the chart in a modern multi-core CPU, especially when optimized for it.
If it was misconstrued, then I hope this clears it up.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 4:02:27 PM , Rating: 2
I know you know what you're talking about, but I do appreciate the re-wording. You're absolutely correct that most of these tasks are GPU limited, and that in optimal systems with optimal programming the CPU is VERY unlikely (in games) to be the cause of a lag.
Most people don't have that great of a system. There are plenty of game tests to suggest that games with complex AI interactions or non-GPU accelerated physics can actually be CPU limited on even recent hardware. Once again, all this can be resolved by GPU assisted processing, but not everyone has that kind of GPU horsepower either. Also, now we're splitting hairs. A GPU that is processing non graphics data is no longer a GPU. I think, for the context, instead of claiming games are "CPU" limited we should use a different term that refers to non-graphics related processing.
Ultimately, I don't care what piece of hardware is crunching the data, it needs to be crunched by something and if I've only got one mid level graphics card I'm unlikely to sacrifice resolution for better physics thus forcing the CPU to either process the physics or turn it off. If I have to turn it off because a non-graphics process would reduce the performance of my system to unacceptable levels then I'm going to consider it general processing limited (not GPU limited). This whole GPGPU thing makes this conversation so much more complex...
In consoles and other devices where the performance of the individual components is designed with an intentional performance balance, you're actually more likely to see these kind of problems in poorly produced games. However, it isn't the hardware that is to blame in these cases, but the software. If the software doesn't accurately asses the capabilities of such a stable platform, then the developer did a bad job. Period. Because of this, cross-platform developers are probably the best people to tell us which hardware/OS combination is faster because they'll know exactly what compromises they had to make for each hardware platform and OS.
(PS> I'm glad I proofread this time, I wrote "horepower" instead of "horsepower" the first time around...)
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/25/2008 5:57:43 PM , Rating: 2
I tend to generalize things, otherwise you get into so many wacky scenarios, it just gets painfully long winded to try to account for them all. This seems to be a problem for many people, not just you, but I do it for a reason, I promise, ha. Really all I wanted to get across is that the GPU not the CPU is the usual suspect for game lag when networks aren't a factor.
I will completely agree that the cause of lag in games on consoles is usually poor programming for the hardware in front of them, but where rendering is concerned it is usually (generalization again, ha) the GPU that is slacking. Doesn't mean there aren't other things that can cause this, but it is usually the first suspect in a line up.
What it all comes down to is michael2k drives me nuts with his "Apple is perfect and anything they make will rule the world" mentality. He will jump through hoops to make sure it is the best thing ever made no matter what. Leave out Flash? He never liked it anyway. No copy and paste? They are better without it, the list goes on with this guy and I have caught him in a lie with the Flash stuff before. Now, this doesn't mean I don't think the MS fanboys aren't just as bad, cause they are and I get rated down often enough
pointing it out.
Honestly, I know games on the iPhone will be there and sell, but to say something as crazy as they will dethrone the DS and PSP is just pure insanity. We are talking 100s of millions of these things out there meant purely for gaming. I mean, could you honestly see playing Doom, Diablo or any RTS with a touch screen and tilt? Cause I know I sure as hell couldn't.
But, to wrap this up, you argue with facts and well thought out arguments which I appreciate fully. Michael2k argues for Apple no matter what and that gets obnoxious very quickly, know what I mean?
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/25/2008 6:43:32 PM , Rating: 2
Um, when did I ever say the iPhone was going to dethrone the DS or PSP?
I don't think I did. As much as you like being right, here I think you're wrong. I only said that the iPhone is a capable gaming system, that it was more powerful than a DS, and comparable to a PS2 and maybe even a PSP. I never said it was going to dethrone them, any more than the iPod dethroned PDAs (they didn't).
By Gzus666 on 11/25/2008 7:30:48 PM , Rating: 2
You didn't, Apple is trying to say it though, of course Jobba won't come right out and say it, but that is what he is thinking. It's OK though, I can see now that you just strive to be right once.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By MamiyaOtaru on 11/26/2008 3:27:18 AM , Rating: 2
Sure it does. You must not be a gamer. Vsync is a common cause. So is having too large a max pre-rendered frames setting. Gamers are stupidly finicky sometimes. There's a reason some of them go to the effort to use a USB polling rate of 1000hz.
By Gzus666 on 11/26/2008 9:41:51 AM , Rating: 2
If you are getting 60+ fps with V-sync on, it isn't an issue. I have a Razer Lachesis and I use the 1000hz polling, I have no issues. If they are complaining of this crap, their likely upgrade would be a video card. You are basically reaffirming what I said about it being a GPU not a CPU issue.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By CColtManM on 11/24/2008 1:23:07 PM , Rating: 2
But the better you make flash based games, to use your analogy, the better the games are.
It's easy to understand that there are a lot of games that are addicting, and to add you can put hundreds if not thousands on one iPhone.
How many can you put on a PSP?
By omnicronx on 11/24/2008 1:27:34 PM , Rating: 2
How many can you put on a PSP?
Depends ;) I have pretty much any NES/SNES game your can think of on my PSP ;) You just need to unlock it.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Chaser on 11/24/2008 2:42:28 PM , Rating: 2
I dont think its makes any difference what Apple is "touting the iPhone to be". It sells and developers are making a lot of money which perpetuates the cycle. Many of the apps are games. iPhone owners like the games. So whatever you'd like to call it application development for the iPhone is hot and doing exceptionally well.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 2:46:19 PM , Rating: 2
Large profit margins for minimal effort, who wouldn't like that? They retool a bunch of games for the platform and sell them for way too much. This is not a viable gaming platform alternative.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 5:42:20 PM , Rating: 2
Um, why not? Isn't that exactly what Nintendo does every generation (Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, Zelda, etc)?
I mean, it doesn't exactly suit the hardcore gamers, but that is irrelevant to this platform since the iPhone isn't going to target the hardcore gamers.
Games like SimCity, Civilization, BeJeweled, Tetris, Scrabble, etc, would be perfect for the iPhone, and are probably going to set the standard. After that you can have the small avant garde studios, the big franchise studios, etc.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 5:58:12 PM , Rating: 2
Any Nintendo software for the Wii sells like crap. The DS on the other hand has original software galore and sells like hotcakes. Seems like there is a link, huh?
Do you really think that once Flash gets to phones, people will still buy all these rehash games? Also if Apple doesn't jump on the wagon, do you think that everyone will still keep buying the thing?
Winmo, Symbian and Android are all getting new Flash 10, do you really think that many people short of Mactards will put up with a reduced surfing experience? Then when they get it, when you want to play a 5-10 minute game, most of the time a flash game seems like a much better choice.
Free vs. Pay, which do you chose? They would then have to put out much better games and with a touch only interface with some wiggle crap, not much to chose from. What sucks further is trying to do Flash games on the iPhone would suck, gimping it further.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 6:47:45 PM , Rating: 1
I guess it depends on how you define "sells like crap" for the Wii. Given that there are more Wii out there, the total number of copies of games like Sports, Fit, and Play are high, but the number of games sold per system is low, reflecting the different nature of gamers on the Wii than the XBox 360, for example. However when you take the tie ratio and multiply by the number of consoles, you get:
XBox 360, 6.6*22m = 145m games
Wii, 5.5*34.5m = 189m games (essentialy more copies of Wii Sports exist than XBoxes and nearly more copies of Wii Play than PS3s)
PS3, 5.3*16.8m = 89.4m games
So, on a pure numbers front, the Wii is selling more games than the other two platforms.
So that debunks your point of Wii games sell like crap. The best selling games for the Wii outnumber the bestselling games for the two other consoles.
Finally, Flash: Yes, people will buy iPhones because they are better phones, regardless of Flash. People still bought iPods despite a lack of AM/FM capability, voice recording capability, and higher price, why do you think Flash, of all things, will stop people from buying an iPhone?
We've had this argument before. You think Flash is awesome, I think it isn't. No one wins.
But we can talk about Free vs Pay; people will ultimately choose what is better, and developers will choose what will pay the bills. So I doubt anyone will ever code a free Flash game that can compete with Final Fantasy Tactics, though I know we already have Flash versions of Tetris and BeJeweled. My guess is both will flourish, Flash games are simpler and easier to create, pay games for the content rich type of games.
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 7:52:18 PM , Rating: 2
The point is that Wii hardware sales are high, software sales are not. This indicates that a lot of people fell for hype, then got bored of it very quickly and found very few of the games interesting. This is why by proportion, there are terrible sales. On top of that, check out the average scores of Wii games, they are horrid. Compare this to the averages of PC, 360, DS, PSP or 360, it is no contest.
I never said Flash was awesome, I merely have said it is something people want. People complain about not having it on the G1 and the iPhone, they also hate having the crappy one on the other phones. But clearly if we wanted to ask someone's opinion on anything electronic or software based, you would be the last person anyone would ask.
Who the hell is playing Final Fantasy Tactics on a phone for 10 minutes at a time?
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By michael2k on 11/24/2008 8:11:12 PM , Rating: 1
Um, did you read my attach rates? There were still more games sold for the Wii than the XBox 360. People are still buying games, even if it's less games per console. The shortfall is made up by the larger user base.
More people bought Wii Sports than bought XBox 360s; which also translates to more people buying Wii Sports than Halo 3 or Gears of War or Resistance.
Game scores for the Wii games may be lower, but that only shows that the game score system is broken; games with lower scores are outselling games with higher scores. How does that figure? Evidently there is no score for "Fun" or "Interesting", which is what is happening with the Wii.
Finally... the people playing 10 minute pickup games of Final Fantasy Tactics? Just about everyone who bought the DS and Gameboy version, as that is how the game plays. You can quicksave at any point and each mission is roughly 10 minutes long.
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 10:12:29 PM , Rating: 2
Right, so having tons of consoles without selling software is a good tactic? Makes sense.
Yes, the review system is broken, they need to fix it to work around badly designed games based off a gimmick. That makes perfect sense, cause then they can review iPhone games higher as well!
I have yet to see anyone pick up a DS, Gameboy or PSP for 10 minutes. Very few people buy a phone to play games, I would venture to guess 100% of people who bought DS, Gameboy or PSP bought it to play games. Good estimate, don't you think?
RE: A joke of a portable gaming device
By omnicronx on 11/25/2008 9:30:27 AM , Rating: 2
The 360 has an attach rate of 7.5-8.1 (not 6.5) according to the most recent data, while the wii has an attach rate of 5.3-5.5 (the variations depend on where you look)
Keep in mind that the above figure is for the Xbox 360 after September 2007 and for the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii after September 2008.
Also I would like to point out two things, #1 if you look closely at sites like gamasutra (where almost every site on the subject links too) you will see this at the bottom which makes me wonder what the hell they were counting, or if they just did not have the data pre sept 2007.
This being said, the 8.1 mark seems far more reasonable, as they are missing some pretty obvious 360 sales(including halo 3 which just does not make sense). An attach rate of 8.1+ is definitely feasible if you count all 360 game sales, which I cannot find a reason why they would not, unless they are trying to manipulate the numbers. Who cares about sales after 23 months, Microsoft releasing the 360 early was all part of their business plan and thus the full 35 months should be counted. (a closer look at the site led me to find this statement tucked down at the bottom of the article "It is worth noting that Microsoft's current tie ratio after 35 months on the market is 8.1.")
#2 I've added up the number many times and I cannot reach 5.5 games attach rate unless I include wii sports, its just not possible without it. (same goes for the 2.4 attach rate for first party games, its just not possible without wii sports) Obviously a sale is a sale, but it kind of skews the results a bit doesn't it?
All in all, total game sales for both consoles is almost exactly the same, although the wii has been on the market less time (which is the only stat where we should take into account the time in which the product was on the market, attach rate should have no such limitation).
This being said, MS still leads by far in attach rate, especially when you consider that there are almost twice as many wiis on the market, and that wii sports really should not be counted in the attach rate stat (or sales for that matter as it is already counted in hardware sales).
The Wii is definitely catching up, but MS is still leaps and bounds ahead in terms of attach rate.
By michael2k on 11/25/2008 12:12:58 PM , Rating: 2
The attach rate only describes how many games each consumer will buy, but still needs to factor in total game sales. If you use 8.1 for the XBox and about 22m XBoxes, you get 178.2 total games sold. If you use 5.5 for the Wii and 34.55m Wii, you get 190m sold. The Wii number includes Wii Sports, which I consider valid as many people buy it initially for Wii Sports (I did, my brother did, just about all my friends did).
So using more recent numbers, the Wii still outsell the XBox in terms of consoles and games, though the attach rate is lower. More people buy less games, but the volume is high enough that the Wii's market is larger. Pity that third party developers put all their weight behind the XBox 360 and PS3, because it means the resources they have dedicated to the Wii won't actually come to fruition until sometime next year or the year after.
Maybe you can explain why the attach rate is so crucial, because from my perspective it only tells you information about the target demographic: They buy a lot of games. More important to a developer is the number of consoles out (the target market size), the most popular games (the market leaders), and the missing games (market opportunities). The Wii is seriously deficit in many categories, which means if Nintendo doesn't get to them first, a third party might strike gold.
My own Wii, I have Rabbids, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Endless Ocean, Animal Crossing, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Paper Mario, as well as the pack-in Sports. I skew the attach rate up, I'm sure there are plenty of people who skew it down, too. I don't even own Zelda, Metroid, and Excite Truck, and Wii Play, all also very popular games.
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 2:02:52 PM , Rating: 2
Attach rate has been shown to scale directly with time on market. So, the Xbox should have a higher attach rate than the Wii. Wii is coming up on two years on the market, the 360 is coming up on three. Logic says the Wii attach rate should be 2/3(ish) of the Xbox's. Hmm, 8.1\3*2=5.4 Sounds about right.
That being said, I think it is bogus to include games like Wii Sports because the attache rate is meant to capture the post-hardware game purchases. But, then you'd have to ask the question on game bundles - how may would they actually have bought in the bundle? So, I suppose we have to live with the total game count. Also, most 360s came with a game you may or may not have wanted, as did PS3s. So, whatever.
I do think it is impressive that the Xbox 2 years out had a 6.5 attach rate as opposed to the numbers two years out for the Wii and PS3. That advantage may be because they had a one year lead in the console generation and there were no other 7th gen consoles and games to choose from, or it just may equate to some advantage in the platform, games, or demographic. Either way, it is clearly a nice advantage to have.
Last, one man's gimmick is another man's passion. (a little poetic adjustment there.) Personally, I love the way most of the Wii games I own digress from the more classic game-pad interface. I've never liked game pads, I merely find them adequate. Some of the games I have really do a good job, others are less successful. There are some shortcomings with the motion sensing in the Wii (actually being able to tell where you are pointing on the screen exactly, etc...) and the whole means by which they implement "mistakes" in the various games drives me up the wall. (There seems to be little consistency in when you hit the net or hit the ball out in Tennis, or why balls bounce over you in ping pong, etc...) They seem to capture one dimension very well in the games, but the other two are always fudged somehow. This needs improvement, but overall the gimmick works pretty well. Personally, I think force feedback is a total gimmick - I hate it, wish I could turn it off, don't get anything from it at all. But, I don't profess to impose my opinion on others, and it is pretty clear by the rapid adoption of this technology that others aren't interested in enforcing my opinion on themselves either. To each their own.
By silversound on 11/24/2008 1:35:35 PM , Rating: 1
List of CPUs:
Sony PSP
Processor: MIPS CPU @ 222 or 333MHz (selectable)
Nintendo DS
Processor: two ARM CPUs (67MHz and 33MHz)
Processor: ARM CPU @ 412MHz (532MHz in 2G iPod touch)
I think ipod touch's cpu is the fastest in all the above devices
By nhepker on 11/24/2008 2:00:40 PM , Rating: 3
And I suppose you also believe a Pentium D @ 3.6 ghz will outclass a Core 2 Duo @ 1.8 ghz?
By bkslopper on 11/24/2008 6:11:03 PM , Rating: 2
No, but it'd be close since the Core 2 Duo was about 2x as efficient clock-for-clock. Both have 2 cores.
By hadifa on 11/24/2008 6:38:20 PM , Rating: 2
If John Carmack says the iPhone is "more powerful than a Nintendo DS and Sony PSP combined," then probably it is.
That said, I'm not sure if the quote about iPhone's prowess is talking about the device without the OS's overhead or not.
I think the main issue with the iPhone as a all compassing gaming platform is lack of buttons. The DS has both buttons and touch so the developers have more input options and it shows when you see the variety of games available for DS.
Does anyone know of how many hours you can play with an iPhone without a battery recharge?
The PSP 2000 provides about 4-5 hours and the DS I heard to have over 15.
By Gzus666 on 11/24/2008 10:16:50 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, I always talk to programmers when I want to know about hardware to hardware comparisons. What did you expect him to say about a platform his company is making a game for? "It is a pile of crap, but we are going to shovel some junk on it for some easy cash"?
By michael2k on 11/25/2008 12:51:52 PM , Rating: 2
If you don't believe programmers and you don't believe PR, who do you believe? It sounds like you only believe yourself, which is awfully narcissistic. I mean, who would have to say, "The iPhone is a good gaming platform," before you would believe it? Not Sega, EA, Carmack, Will Wright, LucasArts, or Square-Enix moves you, yet on any other platform those are genre defining and unit-moving names. You dismiss them because they make money. Well, duh, if they wouldn't make money, then the platform is unviable!
By Gzus666 on 11/25/2008 1:01:07 PM , Rating: 2
Once again, you fail to see the reasoning, surprise, surprise. A Programmer is not a hardware engineer, they are not the end all know all of this. They understand software, that is why they are programmers. Would you ask the baker on his opinion of plumbing problems? Jesus you are thick.
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 2:34:48 PM , Rating: 2
A better analogy is: Would you ask a Baker on his opinion of Ovens. The resounding answer is YES. Bakers rely on ovens to do their work, thus they are typically a BETTER judge than those who design and engineer ovens on which is the best oven. They actually USE them daily. This is why they have these things called customer surveys. You ask the people who use your products what they think because they are the ultimate judge and jury of your products.
Would you ask a heterosexual woman which woman was the hottest? No, you'd ask a heterosexual male. Why, because they're the ones that are interested.
Would you ask a car engineer which car was the best? No. They're likely biased towards their specific product, their primary evaluation basis is technical, and neither of those things sell cars to the consumer. Instead, you'd ask common drivers of cars which was the best. (Ever heard of consumer reports?)
Would you ask a computer hardware engineer what CPU architecture was the best? NO NO NO. Why? Because the architecture is your primary evaluation basis. You think this architecture is better than that architecture. It may well be, but the OS and Applications running on that hardware are what determine the user experience, and THAT is what sells both software AND hardware. So, you ask common non-technical customers whether they feel like the iPhone as a gaming device is better/faster/slicker/insert value judgement here/etc...
Point being, your technical knowledge of makes you a horrible judge of consumer opinion; and your clear distaste for dissenting opinions is a little disturbing. People like us (some technical knowledge, or in your case perhaps a great deal of technical knowledge) are historically bad predictors of public opinion. The mere fact that this guy clearly knows less about computer hardware than you do makes him a BETTER predictor of whether the iPhone will be a successful gaming platform. It is the curse of the expert to be forever dismayed by the actions of the less informed.
By Gzus666 on 11/25/2008 2:57:30 PM , Rating: 2
You fail to see the analogy to begin with. Programmers don't know hardware well enough to make comparisons like "processor A is faster than Processor B because..." as they have no engineering or hardware background. Now, if the question was "does this software run better on Processor A or Processor B" then yes, they would be fantastic to ask for this.
The point is that programmers will not have the knowledge for hardware comparisons. On top of that they all have vested interest in saying it is a good platform when they talk about it, otherwise they bite the hand that feeds them, which is quite rare in any business. Basically if someone is saying something good about a platform that they are working on and get paid from, I rarely trust their opinion. Apparently this whizzed past people and could be due to my wording, but it should be evident now what I was talking about.
By ZmaxDP on 11/25/2008 4:33:17 PM , Rating: 2
I think most people got the implication that there is a financial relationship between developers and platform producers. However, most of the major developers also develop for more than one platform. So, if they say one is better than the other, and develop for both, then you can probably take their comment relatively faithfully.
While I do understand that programmers typically lack the technical knowledge a hardware engineer does, hardware cannot be evaluated sans software. The purpose of the hardware is to run software, so from an end user perspective the performance of the software on the hardware is all that really matters.
As such, you can't make performance based value judgments about hardware. All you can really do is make structural comparisons. How many and how wide are the FPUs on Architecture A vs. Architecture B. You can say that because A has twice the FPUs that B has, that A must be better. But, processors are never that simple. Comparing current AMD and Intel processors at this level does not yield the same clear cut performance analysis that running Cinebench on both architectures does. AMD had some significant "advantages" over the core 2 architecture when it was released, and the Intel architecture had it's own significant advantages. Yet, Core2 absolutely trounced AMD's processors in most desktop software tests. Why? Because the optimizations Intel made had a larger effect on the software performance than those that AMD had made in that particular iteration. (This isn't an Intel is better than AMD topic, so don't anyone even start. It's just one example)
Ultimately, independent review sites are much better at answering the question "does this software run faster/better on hardware A than on hardware B." Far more so than the developers because they have no financial relationship.
The question we're asking here is deeper than that though. It isn't just "is Zelda faster on the iPhone than on the DS?" because that comparison is meaningless because of the hardware and software differences. Like it or not, the middleman in this case is the Developer. They have the metrics best able to answer this question (we had to reduce the polygon count on the iPhone because it couldn't handle it.). What we need is a cross platform developer to say: We made this game for all three platforms. Here are the scene statistics limitations for each hardware/OS combination.
That still won't answer which hardware configuration is generally faster, I know. But, that was never the question. The question was is it fast enough to run games that would be compelling enough to gain market share from the portable gaming market. (DS, PSP, etc...) If you can get similar frame rates at similar quality out of all three platforms, then the answer is going to be Yes to the fast enough question. That still leaves the UI question up for debate, along with the price argument, the time spent gaming argument, etc....
We'll still have plenty to disagree about. And then, in about 24 months we'll probably have enough consumer data to actually call whether the iPhone/Touch was a successful gaming platform and likely discover that all our arguments were moot, and we were all probably wrong anyway. It will probably be right in the middle of a complete failure and a stand out success. But fortunately, by then they'll release the iTalk/Feel model and proclaim it will gain 50% market share in the portable gaming market and we can start all over again...
By Gzus666 on 11/25/2008 5:39:09 PM , Rating: 2
I agree with most of this except hardware can be evaluated by hardware engineers side to side based on throughput, etc. The problem in the real world becomes software and instruction sets and whatever other hardware people put into things. Intel rewrote their processor instruction sets for the Core 2 line and it clearly shows they did it right. Even with AMDs advantages, they couldn't touch the Core 2.
As for the futility of the argument, isn't that half the fun?
By helios220 on 11/24/2008 2:05:41 PM , Rating: 2
It's been a little while, but I believe the iPhone(s) and iPod touch revisions all actually use the same CPU, a 620MHz ARM processor. The processor is underclocked in all devices, I'd imagine primarily to increase battery life as underclocking the processor reduces power draw.
I'd guess the difference in the extent of the underclocking between devices is all about the overall battery life of the system, on the iPhones you have to power all of those extra radios, cellular/edge, 3G, bluetooth, and wifi, while on the iTouch you just have wifi which frees you up to draw more current on the processor and still have a respectable battery life.
By StraightPipe on 11/24/2008 3:57:03 PM , Rating: 2
If you want to compare ipod vs iphone (hehe, Apples to Apples) then it's fair to measure MHz, because they have very similar operating systems, and thus similar overhead.
but the PSP will slaughter the gaming performance of an iphone with only half the MHz, because the OS is much more effecient.
As mentioned above you cant really compare MHz when you are looking at different architectures, and operating systems.
It's a bit like comparing 2 cars and saying car B must be faster since it has more Horse Power than car A. You're overlooking the fact that Car A may be lighter, and thus has less overhead.
By Enigmatic on 11/24/2008 7:55:43 PM , Rating: 2
Makes sense that the 2G touch would be faster. Crash Bandicoot Racing lags on my buddy's iPhone 3G by quite a bit but runs pretty smooth on my 2G touch.
By SlyNine on 11/25/2008 6:05:46 AM , Rating: 2
Its more like saying car A. is faster because it's RPM's go up to 7k where car B. Only goes up to 6k.
If Intel has proved anything, its that Mhz don't mean anything. The fact that people can still buy in to this just astounds me.
Its like who ever arguing about the PowerVR. But forgets that just because it says powerVR doesn't mean it has 4 times faster buss to connect to the VRam or 4x the Vram or even all the functions of the video card are enabled or are even close to that 11 year old architecture.
By his standard if I overclock a Geforce 256 to 3ghz it's going to be a lot faster then the Geforce 260 , Hell the 260 is only 4 points faster ...
By Indianapolis on 11/24/2008 12:43:57 PM , Rating: 5
[crickets chirping]
RE: Stunning
By SlyNine on 11/25/2008 6:08:07 AM , Rating: 2
then it appears a frog got involved and all hell broke loose.
Google Earth
By CZroe on 11/25/2008 3:54:46 PM , Rating: 2
I just installed Google Earth on my iPhone last night and I have one thing to say: SLOW. I'd like to see it on an iPod Touch 2.0
Related Articles
| dclm-gs1-009990000 |
North Carolina wants a piece of digital sales
Comments Threshold
RE: Hey, North Carolina...
By mdogs444 on 1/29/2009 10:47:41 AM , Rating: 1
the government would own businesses and assuming that they were well managed and prosperous they would yield profits that would fund government programs rather than going to the pockets of investors
I know Jason isn't actually saying that our current forms of partial socialism work in the US, but before someone does...
Lets just point out Fannie May/Freddie Mac. Everything the government touches turns to shit. They can't even balance their own checkbook, yet some people want them to be responsible for all of our daily lives? Give me a break. I think I'll turn to myself instead. Personal responsibility.
RE: Hey, North Carolina...
By superflex on 1/29/2009 1:41:13 PM , Rating: 2
Personal responsibility in a liberal sense: YOU are responsible for making sure the dickhead on the street corner who's too busy drinking and smoking his life away has access to free healthcare, food, shelter and digital TV.
RE: Hey, North Carolina...
By crafty on 1/29/2009 3:36:27 PM , Rating: 1
That dickhead on the corner is in pretty close proximity to you. He might go ahead and kill you and take all your shit. That is certainly the rightwing approach to things.
Related Articles
| dclm-gs1-010000000 |
Accounting error sees HR scrambling to get some of its money back
Comments Threshold
By ashegam on 2/23/2009 9:34:13 AM , Rating: 2
Those that don't pay back the money will be blacklisted from ever working for microsoft again.
RE: a
By mcnabney on 2/23/2009 10:49:35 AM , Rating: 2
That is likely true. If the error was small and you have a good relationship it might be worth giving it back. If you ever applied for another MS job you could mention it during the interview process.
If it was for a lot of money and you never want to work for them again it might be smarter to just keep the money.
The bottom line is that MS is stupid for doing this. And they wonder why there is so much animosity toward their company.
Related Articles
| dclm-gs1-010010000 |
(Source: Smart Power)
Study says skeptics are not well-informed on the topic
Comments Threshold
"Skeptics are not well-informed on the topic"
By drando on 6/29/2010 10:11:11 AM , Rating: 1
Study says skeptics are not well-informed on the topic
The headline says it all . Watching Fox "news" doesn't make you informed. Nor does listening to Al Gore. You actually have to put in a little effort on your own rather than being spoon fed crap from the media. Try reading a research paper for yourself. Or if that's to complicated for you then just read the abstract for it. Science is complicated, if it weren't then we'd have everything figured out already. It amazes me that you people accept science in every other area of your life (because everything you have or know about was brought to you by the cumulative gathering of information of thousands of years of science) then panic and cry foul the moment it produces something that you don't want to be true.
CAUTION: Reality is represented in the following video.
Climate Change - Meet the Scientists
There's links to factual data regarding each and every statement made. You know that report that 32,000 scientists claim that global warming isn't real? What a bogus piece of shit that was; the first guy on the list is a professor of biology and the last guy on the list is a wood engineer. WTF do those guys know about climate change? Any random guy with a degree was allowed to sign that report and call himself a scientist.
By Smilin on 6/29/2010 1:48:13 PM , Rating: 2
I'll give you the short version.
"Why 100 authors? If I were wrong, then one would have been enough!"
| dclm-gs1-010020000 |
HTC EVO 4G owners rejoice: Froyo will soon be here!
Updated 8/2/2010 @ 8:30pm
Comments Threshold
RE: Lovin It
By Chaser on 7/30/2010 7:46:32 AM , Rating: 1
Excuse me. But 2.2 hasn't been out for "ages".
Rooters/modders exagerate everything as if its just so much better compared to everyone else.
Pesonally I don't want to get into some some rooting/modding back door rat race.
1. there is some risk involved when you try and root/mod a phone. Even experts can end up with a bricked phone until tehy franticaly race to restore it. Restore it to an approved version. Funny huh.
2. Once your phone is rooted you are then trapped into waiting until "someone" crafts the next mod to make the next upgrade work. And even then you are relying upon people you don't know to make these things work.
3. Modding voids your warranty.
So while the modders enjoy their Froyo for "ages" and make it sound like its some simplisitic 3 second option you choose I'll wait until HTC releases the real deal. Thank you.
RE: Lovin It
RE: Lovin It
By jithvk on 8/3/2010 1:24:09 AM , Rating: 3
All the points you mentioned are valid while jail-breaking an iPhone. But other rooting-friendly phones out there (like nexus one) wont have the other issues except a void warranty.
Also, you can always go back to a stock rom and do an update if its absolutely necessary.
| dclm-gs1-010030000 |
Print 42 comment(s) - last by KOOLTIME.. on Aug 24 at 7:37 PM
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was talking smack about Google's purchase of Motorola. But should people in glass houses throw stones? Nokia just shacked up with Microsoft. (Source: Boy Genius Report)
He says that Motorola acquisition could lead to waning support from Google
Is Google Inc.'s (GOOGacquisition of top Android handset maker Motorola Mobility, Inc. (MMI) a sign that Google is headed towards a first-party hardware model like Apple, Inc. (AAPL)? Should other Android phonemakers like HTC Corp. (SEO:066570) and Samsung Electronics (SEO 005930) be worried?
It's hard to answer whether the massive deal will even pass U.S. Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice scrutiny, let alone answer far reaching questions like those. But rival phonemaker Nokia Oyj. (HEL:NOK1V) is happy to inject its predictions into the mix.
At a Helsinki, Finland seminar, former Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Canada exec. and new Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was channeling a bit of psychic, predicting the deal would take a dire turn for Android handset makers. He warned that they should "watch out", stating to Reuters, "If I happened to be someone who was an Android manufacturer or an operator, or anyone with a stake in that environment, I would be picking up my phone and calling certain executives at Google and say 'I see signs of danger ahead.'"
Mr. Elop opines that the perceived difficulties with the Motorola Mobility acquisition emphasize why Nokia and Microsoft's partnership was a good idea. He states, "The very first reaction I had was very clearly the importance of the third ecosystem and the importance of the partnership that we announced on February 11, it is more clear than ever before."
Ironically, many see things quite differently and draw parallels between the two deals. While Microsoft did not take ownership of Nokia, it entered a deep partnership, which included IP cross licensing and a complete commitment by Nokia to Windows Phone 7. Many Microsoft executives even have migrated to Nokia under Mr. Elop's leadership.
In related news, Mr. Elop hinted that Nokia is moving along with the transition to Windows Phone 7 was heading along well, commenting that 25,000 to 30,000 new apps (presumably formerly Symbian apps) had been delivered by Nokia's developer community to the WP7 platform.
Comments Threshold
In case anyone still wondered
By bug77 on 8/19/2011 10:17:10 AM , Rating: 3
This guy is completely clueless.
Why would Google head towards Apple's model? Google needs as many handsets out there as possible. Because more handsets mean more ads shown. And more ads shown means more revenue for Google. It's as simple as that.
Either this guy is a complete tool, or he's just spreading FUD. You know, since he doesn't have a phone to show and he won't for a while.
RE: In case anyone still wondered
By Jeffk464 on 8/19/2011 10:53:31 AM , Rating: 2
I think this is right. Also android is based on enough open source software that they legally can't make it proprietary at this point, right?
RE: In case anyone still wondered
By wpodonnell on 8/19/2011 11:02:52 AM , Rating: 2
Is there anything keeping them from changing the licensing terms moving forward?
RE: In case anyone still wondered
By bug77 on 8/19/2011 11:17:33 AM , Rating: 2
No, but the released code can be forked and maintained by anyone.
Also, Google would be just shooting itself in the foot by doing so. If anything, Google may hold on to the patents form Motorola and spin-off the manufacturing unit, but I don't see them building walls around Android just to make their entrance into this market.
| dclm-gs1-010040000 |
Print 33 comment(s) - last by Cheesew1z69.. on Jan 24 at 8:27 AM
Source: Reuters
Comments Threshold
RE: Here we go again..
By messele on 1/20/2012 11:36:58 AM , Rating: -1
God yeah, perish the thought that you might invest a lot of time and money in an idea that moves things forward then actually expect to make some money back on that for your investors.
Anybody who doesn't like it should start their own business, say a retail store, and then invite every hobo to set up a stall outside selling knocked-off crap at half the price.
RE: Here we go again..
By killerroach on 1/20/2012 12:22:53 PM , Rating: 2
Apple actually spends very little on R&D compared to many of their competitors, including Samsung.
Unless you consider industrial design an "invention" (I don't, and typically patent law hasn't either), most of Apple's "inventions" are either vague, obvious, or adding "on a mobile device" to an already existing computer function.
RE: Here we go again..
By Just Tom on 1/20/2012 2:43:06 PM , Rating: 2
Apple's R&D budget is not that far different than Samsung's, when size is accounted for. Moreover, when you ask other business people Apple constantly ranks as one of the most innovative companies in the world.
RE: Here we go again..
By Tanclearas on 1/20/2012 7:59:16 PM , Rating: 2
Business people? That's like asking a kid if he likes cookies. It's irrelevant that the cookie has no nutritional value. The kid is going to say "Hell yeah!"
Business people shouldn't even be given a choice to decide if something is innovative.
RE: Here we go again..
By silvaensis on 1/21/2012 5:47:40 AM , Rating: 3
While I do think that apple is very innovative and they do make great products and sadly are 5 years ahead of anyone else in seeing the trend of where software is going most of these patents should never have been issued.
For one The patent about clicking a date in an email and adding it to a calendar has been around for a very very long time way before ios was even conceived and this patent should never hold up. Hell, my old windows 3.1 PDA had this ability with an application I had.
The other patent should be listed as obvious and never been granted in the first place due to similar preexisting things such as clicking an e-mail address in any web browser and it opening your e-mail program, and many browsers have parsed e-mail addresses and opened a program without a mailto link way before we had touchscreen phones
I actually think it was possible to highlight a number and call it with the older smartphones. You just had to use the stupid pen and highlight it and hold it down on it and not just touch it.
The fact that they literally got patents on preexisting ideas by just using the touch semantic instead of click. This is just insane as when your programming its actually the exact same thing(ontouch event and onclick event are the exact same thing) and should be treated as such for touchscreen devices with the finger as a pointing device. Most of the time for me programming for touch is almost no different than programming for a mouse unless I am doing something with multitouch and even then its usually just a replacement for right click.
RE: Here we go again..
By silvaensis on 1/21/2012 6:05:17 AM , Rating: 2
Addendum: This is the reason that Apple will never go after microsoft on any of these patents. Microsoft could pretty much kill any patent that parsed anything in an e-mail or message and created a link or manipulated it from just prior examples in works/office alone not to mention all the touch patents they could kill from their early windows PDAs.
A good lawyer could probably kill a ton of multitouch patents just from gathering up some old digitizers(wacoms and the like) and software from them, I know a few of the odd ones had gestures and supported multitouch.
The problem is there is such a need for patent reform, they need to have a better system in place with stricter rules and a shorter duration for Technology patents(5-7 years max probably 2 or 3 on many things).
RE: Here we go again..
By Just Tom on 1/21/2012 4:02:04 PM , Rating: 2
Ah, who should then? If you were to survey consumers they would probably rank Apple pretty high. Or maybe you're the only one to get a vote.
RE: Here we go again..
By sigmatau on 1/20/2012 8:14:20 PM , Rating: 2
And your link proves...... nothing. Wrong article or is your R&D like Apple's?
RE: Here we go again..
By Just Tom on 1/21/2012 4:00:13 PM , Rating: 2
I was seeking to proof nothing. I was noting that Apple is considered the most innovative company by other business people. You might not agree with such a ranking, which is certainly your right, but it is a simple fact that Apple consistently ranks among the most innovative companies in every survey taken.
From the linked article
The U.S., of course, still has its innovators. Apple (AAPL) remains No. 1, followed by perennial first runner-up Google (GOOG).
You're right, that does not proof anything. It is however pretty significant evidence that the business community sees Apple as highly innovative.
RE: Here we go again..
By Gondor on 1/21/2012 12:11:45 PM , Rating: 2
Really ? Their CEO has been boasting about his company stealiing ideas from others before he perished. Why do that if they are so incredibly innovative ?
| dclm-gs1-010050000 |
Windows 8 will be released to the public on October 26
Source: ETrade
Comments Threshold
By Pirks on 8/21/2012 4:13:09 PM , Rating: 1
they decided to ruin the user experience on their existing desktop business
They didn't ruin anything. The old desktop is still there. All the old enterprise apps work just fine. User retraining is minimal, just show them how corners work and voila, job is done and typical corporate user is as productive as ever. So you're just fantasizing and following a couple of oldfags here like Reclaimer and Motoman who stuck their beloved 5" PC-DOS floppy so far up their asses that it sticks out their mouth now and obstructs their vision. Don't make mistake following PC-DOS oldfags like these, always think for yourself Tony. MS has done radical UI changes before, they moved from PC-DOS to classic Win 3.x UI then they moved from Win 3.x to very different Win 95 UI and all the Motomans and Reclaimers were wailing about how MS is gonna fail, just like they're wailing now. Think about MS history, think hard instead of following local oldfags.
very big gamble
Just like all of their major changes before. Some of their gambles were successful, some not. I don't see why Win 8 is going to be not a successful one. It blends best touch UI with best x86 desktop app support, this just can't fail by definition. With developer tools that pwn every other tools in the industry (including the joke they call XCode, this one is so lame and ugly compared to VS 2012... man you don't want to dig into it, you'll get depressed like me :P I was of much higher opinion of Apple's devtools before I compared XCode with VS 2012 myself) MS will have no problem getting tons of Metro apps for its new OS, given that these apps FIRST TIME IN MS HISTORY could be easily ported between console, PC, tablets and phones, all on different hardware architectures. This is a grand vision and a huge platform shift, and it looks risky I agree, but which platform shift is not? Don't you remember all the wailing predicting Apple fail after they moved to x86? Or all the negative remarks about early versions of iOS? Come on Tony, what happened with your memory? One sided blindness and anti-MS bias much because you are an Apple stock holder? I told ya people! Heheee
what was needed was an alternative OS for mobile devices
They actually have TWO separate alternative OSes for mobile ARM-based devices, one is WP8 and the other is WinRT for tablets. You just have not a slightest idea Tony what the heck you're talking about :))) Maybe you should read up on some basics first, before posting here? Maybe reading some other sites besides Apple's cock sucking ones like Gruber and Dediu will help? I hope it will. Try it sometime ;)
classic MS error of trying to protect the Windows business
Doh, they were making this classic error for like 30 years already, always guaranteeing their customers best backwards compatibility one can imagine. Win8 can run on some real ancient machines from like 12 years ago if not more, while OS X 10.8 can run on exactly what? Macs from 2009 or something? Tony, don't pretend to be THAT dumb, I know you are not. If you read some alternative sites that do NOT suck Apple's cock you will realize that MS always used their backwards compatibility as their strongest weapon, ESPECIALLY in corporate sector where this is NUMBER ONE PRIORITY usually, 'cause they all have those famous PC-DOS apps written in 1980 that MS still supports you know.
Let me tell you what MS is doing here. I know this because I read a LOT of stuff besides Apple's cock sucking Gruber etc. What MS is doing here is called BRANCHING. They were making enough money on corporate market and on consumer market too because they had no competition for like 15 years and they used their monopoly to get super profits. Now they got competition on consumer market that quickly knocked them down to almost irrelevance. So what they do now essentially is branching their Windows brand into their own hardware/software package for tablets (Surface and other monolithic ARM tablet packages with secure boot OS tightly controlled by MS) and for phones (MS subdivision called Nokia is being assimilated into MS empire as of right now). So what we have here is that MS is coming back on consumer front, trying to attack on both hardware and tight integration fronts, which was always the main market crack'n'conquer weapon of Apple. And while they come back on consumer front they also made sure their corporate customers do not suffer, so they made Win8 100% corporate friendly by leaving old desktop intact and providing very easy transition for corporate users by doing some minimal retraining about using corners with your mouse.
How this very rational and thought out strategy of conquering new market while properly supporting older traditional markets can fail is way beyond me. Your Apple cock sucking friends like Gruber predict failure, and lousy cheapshit producing OEMs wail the same too and even a couple of religious oldfags like Motoman and his twin Reclaimer here predict failure, but tell me, will you really trust 'em all when making a judgement? You trusting WinPC zealots like Motoman, Apple zealots like Gruber and losing businessmen like Acer's Wang is a GOOD IDEA? Really?
Do you see the full picture now Tony? Did my little lesson help you understanding all this better? Please share your feedback, I'm interested. Thank you :)
By Tony Swash on 8/22/2012 5:52:03 AM , Rating: 1
Here's one happy punter
I really, really hope Microsoft doesn't change a thing in Windows 8.
It's perfect just as it's is ;)
By Helbore on 8/22/2012 10:40:42 AM , Rating: 3
To be fair, Tony, that guy is clearly a moron.
He can't even work out how to edit an appointment in the metro calendar app. Ummm, all you have to do is click on it and type into the boody obvious text boxes that appear. Saving is a simply matter of clicking the button that looks like a disk. The button isn't even hidden in any menus.
The worst part - I hadn't even bothered to use the metro calendar app before reading about his problems (I use Outlook for that). It took me all of 30 seconds to work it out - its that obvious how to use it.
Frankly, if that guy is so clueless he couldn't work out how to operate such a simple app, he shouldn't be tech blogging. Perhaps something simpler, like nose-picking, would be more up his street.
| dclm-gs1-010060000 |
Don't hate the playa, hate the game
So, will customers buy into Apple's strategy?
Source: Reuters
Comments Threshold
RE: No reasonable justification
By augiem on 10/24/2012 4:17:17 PM , Rating: 3
It's akin to everyone looking at all the free "fremium" games out there and thinking that $0 is the new price for video games and that anyone charging more is ripping people off, even when those other games aren't built around the in-app-purchase scheme. Shallow thinking.
RE: No reasonable justification
By Bubbacub on 10/24/2012 6:13:39 PM , Rating: 2
but freemium games are crap compared to proper ones
however, the nexus 7 is better than 90% of the competition that is also higher priced.
it doesnt matter why - if you going to make a tablet then you have to compete against the nexus 7 price tag.
if a company cant compete and make money then they should get out of the tablet business
RE: No reasonable justification
By GulWestfale on 10/24/2012 10:10:14 PM , Rating: 2
so this thing essentially packs the same specs as a $150 playbook, but with a slightly larger screen? how dumb does apple think we are?
RE: No reasonable justification
RE: No reasonable justification
By augiem on 10/25/2012 3:36:22 AM , Rating: 2
It's just not the case. Apple has never competed with the low-ball price tags of desktops, laptops, phones, or tablets. They just don't have to. Not everyone buys the cheapest thing out there, it's just that simple. Losing money on the initial sale only to make it up later in secondary purchases has been tried countless times before in many industries and rarely does it stick because the companies taking the losses can't do so forever.
Apple's sales certainly aren't being crushed by Amazon/Google. Apple doesn't have to cut its price until that happens, if ever. That's the free market. An item is worth as much as people are willing to pay for it, and at this time, that price is of Apple's choosing.
RE: No reasonable justification
By augiem on 10/25/2012 4:23:58 AM , Rating: 2
The most obvious successful story of this model (besides the razor blades) would be the game consoles. But consoles were dealing with licensing fees and royalties on ~$60 games. At an average of $1 for an app, making significant revenue with this scheme is going to be a lot harder. So far Amazon's doing okay. I haven't heard any reports on the Nexus 7's sell through rate on media though.
| dclm-gs1-010070000 |
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Comments Threshold
RE: Pathetic
By hiscross on 12/12/2012 5:38:14 PM , Rating: -1
They are mad because their mommies won't give them any allowance. Of course, the could find real work, But that would end their free entitlements. Here's one for you:
Pro Child
Pro Family
Pro Choice
RE: Pathetic
By FITCamaro on 12/12/2012 8:04:33 PM , Rating: 2
I think you're incorrectly combining two groups of people. Many people who love Apple and hate Microsoft are whiny man-children who love to suck off the government. Most people who don't are the opposite.
RE: Pathetic
By TakinYourPoints on 12/12/2012 8:19:54 PM , Rating: 1
States that take the most government welfare are red states with low income. Bizarre but that's the truth. I reckon most of them are too poor to buy Macs, but they sure as hell can buy econoboxes and ultra-cheap (aka - not GS3 or Note) Android phones.
According to surveys a significantly higher percentage of Mac users have college degrees (70% vs about 50% of other web users), are in professional occupations, and make higher income. It makes sense given that many people who buy Macs either can afford them or actually use them for work, as opposed to the bulk of other users who use their machines for simple casual activities like web or games.
I build my own PCs and I've owned Macs for work so I don't have a horse in this race, it is just annoying seeing people drawing weird conclusions out of thin air.
RE: Pathetic
By Cheesew1z69 on 12/13/2012 3:54:52 PM , Rating: 1
Yet, you are all over Apple articles defending them.
RE: Pathetic
By fearrun on 12/12/12, Rating: 0
| dclm-gs1-010080000 |
Anand Chandrasekher (Source: itnews)
Chandrasekher's comments come back to bite him in the butt
Source: CNET
Comments Threshold
RE: Was he dead wrong?
By coburn_c on 10/25/2013 5:12:18 PM , Rating: 0
Nothing running on a smartphone requires nor utilizes a 64 bit register. Nor should it. We don't need bloated apps that require 4gigs of ram, and there is no more 64 bit flash. This is a waste of development, a waste of die space, and will hamper clock speed advances. This is bad for the product. This is a numbers game. Bigger number on the box. Dumber product, dumber customer.
RE: Was he dead wrong?
By inighthawki on 10/25/2013 5:21:00 PM , Rating: 2
I disagree, there are numerous benefits to 64-bit beyond a larger physical address space. 64-bit pointers provide the ability to provide larger virtual address spaces (which can be used to reserve larger chunks of contiguous regions, or memory map files), have native 64-bit processing which will improve performance in any application that relies heavily on 64-bit values (IO is a key area here).
On top of all of that it provides future-proofing for when physical address spaces do need to grow beyond 4GB. And there are more reasons this is beneficial than just because apps get bigger. More memory means more apps open at once. When there is memory contention, the OS may no longer have to terminate apps, and they can now remain suspended in the background until you come back to them. This avoids the startup cost of the app since the working set is still in memory.
You're under a fatal assumption that phones having 4GB of ram means that it needs 4GB to run and it's bloated. More memory is almost always a good thing.
RE: Was he dead wrong?
By TakinYourPoints on 10/25/13, Rating: 0
RE: Was he dead wrong?
By jmerk on 10/25/2013 11:02:26 PM , Rating: 2
my guess that someone said the same thing when AMD release their 64 bit processors in the late 90's. I also remember in the 90's if we need more than 2gb drives because that was the limit of fat16. Would you like to return to 2gb hard drives. You can't even run fully updated windows xp on that now. You are right, nothing on today's smartphones need 64 bit. However you need the hardware first before the software will come. It took years between 64 bit processors and mainstream software to catch up to use it. Even today there are still some software that still works on 32 bit.
RE: Was he dead wrong?
Late 90's¿ More like mid 2000's.
RE: Was he dead wrong?
By testbug00 on 10/25/2013 11:33:43 PM , Rating: 2
You are thinking of 64-bit as AMD did it (copied by Intel) for x86 CPUs.
Moving to 64 bit gives you more performance provided you don't have baggage, which ARM doesn't.
RE: Was he dead wrong?
By chripuck on 10/28/2013 2:30:02 PM , Rating: 2
Since when does ARM not have baggage? Unless they are rewriting their entire instruction set in 64 bit and intend to provide zero backwards compatability for legacy hardware they HAVE to carry that baggage. Now granted they only have 10 years of baggage compared to 30 for Intel, but nevertheless, it's there.
RE: Was he dead wrong?
By nafhan on 10/28/2013 3:16:17 PM , Rating: 2
Let me guess you're using a 386, still? Otherwise, I think you just called yourself a dumb customer...
RE: Was he dead wrong?
By coburn_c on 10/28/2013 4:23:27 PM , Rating: 2
Tons of hyperbole lobbed at me for my assessment of this superfluous feature. Wonder if it's an Apple thing or you all just like to bandwagon. If I wanted a low heat processor and only needed to perform lightweight functions I may well chose a 386, as it will run cooler than any modern desktop CPU. This is a mobile device, it runs on a battery, has a tiny screen with a huge DPI, and only needs to perform functions that can be sustained standing in line at Starbucks. It therefore doesn't need a 64-bit processor, which adds unneeded complexity and cost.
| dclm-gs1-010090000 |
Comments Threshold
RE: seriously
By omyg0t on 3/18/2007 6:43:30 PM , Rating: 0
i'm not scared of anything, that's just my 2 cents and since you are the democrat you shoud know better than calling me ignorant, crazy, or saying i want to disrupt the atmosphere of the forum o searching for "attention" or feel special (i really don't give a f**k having you to read my coments bud, you either do it or don't) cause in democracy i believe everyone is free to give their opinion and think freely as they wish, either right or wrong that has nothing to do with the topic ... the world is not all U.S.A you offence there, and even if it were i don't think all of them believe they really got to the moon (what's so special about it anyway, even if the cinese do i really don't give a f about it :| )
"we did, it's fact" ... what are you trying to say ? that 40 years ago you landed on that great piece of rock insted of feeding half the world with all the money you guys "theoretically" spent to get up there? ...i mean, are you PROUD of it? :| ...were you up there to say it really happend or were you just lying in the bed the day it happend watching it on the television while having tea and cookies being proud you were the FIRST ones there?
"stop deluding yourself" :| ... not much to comment here, i'm pretty happy with myself.
"now, i know you're going to respond here" wtf? are you guys even PROPHETS now??? ..that was hard to find out.
"i know you'll at least consider and listen that you are mistaken" ...prove to me i'm mistaking....all i hear is blablabla we did it we did it, i really don't see any FACTS or scientific proof.
"I put a lot of energy into this post, let's all hope those people like this guy don't get defensive and have just a little bit of humility in them." ...can't say the same thing here, i posted with a louis armstrong smile on my face, and btw i'm really proud of what i said above....alas no offence to anybody...that's democracy.
RE: seriously
By CrazyBernie on 3/19/2007 1:45:15 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, it's BECAUSE of our freedom of opinion that we CAN call you ignorant, crazy, and say that you want attention. Because it's obvious that you fit the bill. So :-p
And I'm sure all those technological advancements that we made to get to the moon TOTALLY aren't worth the money we spent. Oh, wait... you're using the internet, which might not exist as it does today without those advancements! Omigosh! You should sell whatever computer you're using and use the money to feed half the world! :D
RE: seriously
By omyg0t on 3/19/2007 9:20:03 AM , Rating: 2
are you comparing the cost of all types of reaserch you guys made and shuttles or rockets you build with my pc?
*rolls eyes* yea but my pc is probably worth more ...
oh and the net has nothing to do with the moon so please leave it out of the topic ;) you actually know what the difference between internet's evolution and the cost of reaching the moon is? wake up sunshine.
RE: seriously
By Seemonkeyscanfly on 3/19/2007 4:54:05 PM , Rating: 1
Actually the internet was started and developed by the US military, concept started back in the late 1940's. The goal was to provide an uninterruptible line of communication across the US. So, if attacked a line of communication would remain in tacked. Still is used for this propose, just non-military person will not find any evidence of the on the web under address…the military has there own address for security reason.
During the moon missions (which there is tons of scientific evidence of this event happening, you just need to open your eyes and read or visit a few museums’) information would have come in from several locations around the US. They would not want this to be interrupted…so the communications lines would have most likely gone down the line that one day would be know as the world wide web. In the late 60’s it was not open to the public nor to the world (PC was an unthinkable item – a personal computer, no way would have been the thought), however NASA incredible budget and need for uninterruptible communication would have been strong enough that they would have given money to the military to provide such a service, which in turn would have help fund the advance the development of the web.
The US was on the moon, not very profitable so no reason to go back…with advances in technology, (being able to refine material on the moon now, verse not able to do it back in the 60’s) it creates a possible profitable opportunity. Thus, creating a reason to consider going back to the moon.
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| dclm-gs1-010100000 |
At the risk of jostling the hive, the Denver Broncos aren't going to return their future Hall of Fame quarterback after a 30-day trial period. No, three preseason interceptions won't give John Elway buyer's remorse and have him digging around for the receipt.
Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow, Denver fans and Tebow fans. Stir it all up and at times you have one big bowl of hysteria stew. But to what conclusion?
The late Mike Heimerdinger, who had worked for the Broncos and the Jets during his coaching career, long contended Denver was the toughest quarterback town in the league "by far" — for both the quarterback and the local franchise.
Perhaps it's because we have more on-air talking here, per capita, than any place in the known universe. Perhaps it is the deep passion of a season-ticket base that has purchased every seat for decades.
And in the current state of affairs, perhaps it's Tebow's popularity among people who normally wouldn't give organized football a second look if he wasn't playing it.
But it's all why when Elway talks about what he likes in quarterbacks, he has spoken of the guys with the mental capabilities and toughness to handle the job — because he once held the position here.
So start there. Manning's resume is among the league's all-time best. Not the past decade's best, not the best of the past 25 years, not his generation's best. No, he's all-time, as in every guy who has ever played the position at any point in the league's history.
Manning has tossed three interceptions in two preseason games. He didn't throw them because he had four neck surgeries. He didn't throw them because he had an infected bursa sac removed from his left knee in July of 2008 either, but that doesn't seem to come up much.
He threw them because playing quarterback in the NFL is exceedingly difficult and no matter how good you happen to be, if you're learning a new way of doing things you're going to make mistakes.
Those three interceptions were certainly mistakes and you aren't half as upset about it as Manning is.
Manning's line in the preseason thus far isn't bad and it isn't great, it's 20-of-30 passing (66.7 percent), for 221 yards (7.4 yards per attempt) with no touchdowns and the three interceptions.
And for those who are counting those rehearsal statistics as gospel, as the true indicator of where things will go in the regular season, then here's a set for you as well:
Something on the order of 9-of-22 passing for 96 yards (4.4 yards per attempt) with four sacks, no touchdowns and an interception. That's Tebow's line thus far, showing his learning curve appears to be frighteningly steep in an offense that's yet to score a touchdown in two preseason games no matter who has been behind center.
A gaze back into history shows Manning threw two interceptions in the 2010 preseason, his team then went 10-6 in the regular season with a division title. He was sacked five times with just 31 pass attempts in the 2009 preseason and his team then finished 14-2 with a spot in the Super Bowl.
He completed just 59 percent of his passes in the 2006 preseason and his team went on to go 12-4. He had two touchdowns and three interceptions in the 2004 preseason and his team went on to go, yes, 12-4.
That is what's known as a body of work. Manning has a body of work, both in 13 previous preseasons and in 13 previous regular seasons.
So, if the interceptions come in the regular season and the touchdowns do not, that would be the time to break out the paper bags and commence hyper-ventilating. Until then, let the man work.
Jeff Legwold: or | dclm-gs1-010110000 |
An Aurora man embroiled in a multistate terror investigation arrived for a third round of questioning with federal agents today, and his father also was interviewed.
Attorney Arthur Folsom said his client, Najibullah Zazi, 24, is exhausted.
"He'd rather we be done," Folsom said this morning. "He understands that we need to get this done."
Zazi's father, Mohammed, met with the FBI this afternoon. He left the Federal Bureau of Investigation offices shortly before 4 p.m. He said he had seen his son but provided little more information.
"I don't know what's going on," Mohammed Zazi said. "Really, I don't know, and I want to find out what's going on. Nobody tells me."
Multiple news agencies — citing anonymous sources — have reported that the investigation is focused on possible al-Qaeda-linked individuals and a potential plot involving peroxide-based bombs concealed in backpacks. The Associated Press quoted an unnamed official Thursday as saying that Zazi had contact with a known al-Qaeda associate and that agents had been monitoring five people in Colorado, including Zazi. The official did not provide more specific details.
Folsom said Zazi is not connected to al-Qaeda and isn't a terrorist.
He said Thursday that he was confident Zazi, who has proclaimed his innocence, would not be arrested.
Agents of the Joint Terrorism Task Force executed search warrants at Zazi's apartment near East Smoky Hill Road and E-470 and at the nearby home of Zazi's aunt and uncle on Wednesday.
There was no word Thursday regarding what, if anything, investigators recovered in those searches.
Today, the FBI declined to provide full details giving a legal basis for the searches. But they had a proper affidavit, said Kathleen Wright, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Denver.
"There has to be one, since we had a search warrant. But it is not publicly available," Wright said.
Folsom said he has not yet seen all of the legal paperwork from Wednesday's searches.
"I haven't been shown the supporting affidavit for the warrant. The warrant looks legitimate," he said.
Zazi was born in Afghanistan and moved to Pakistan when he was 7, Folsom said. As a teenager, he moved to New York City, where his family had settled. He operated a coffee cart in Manhattan before moving to Denver earlier this year. Zazi has a wife in Pakistan and said he visited her several months ago.
Federal officials stepped up their investigation after Zazi rented a car Sept. 9 in Colorado and drove to New York City. He said he was traveling there to deal with an issue related to the coffee cart, which his family still owns. While he was there, police stopped him on a bridge leading into the city and searched the rental car. They later towed the vehicle.
Zazi flew back to Colorado and learned from friends who called him that FBI agents had raided three locations in the New York City borough of Queens. | dclm-gs1-010120000 |
What are heavy drinking and urination symptoms of?
| May 10th 2007 | 0 Contributions
I have noticed one of my Boxers is really drinking a lot of water. She
also seems to be urinating more. I am concerned
about diabetes. Are there any other illnesses with
these traits? I am a nurse, but do not know much about disease in dogs.
There are three things you can say to a vet that are guaranteed to get his attention. The first is that your pet is having difficulty breathing. Pets with breathing difficulties are always a vet's highest priority, and they always get seen before all of the other pets in the waiting room. It's an emergency.
Another way to shock a veterinarian into action is to tell him that you have a male cat who is trying to urinate but can't. This can be a sign of an incredibly serious and life-threatening syndrome called urinary obstruction. It is unique to male cats, and almost unheard of in dogs or female cats.
The final way that you can be assured to catch your vet's ear is to tell him that your pet is drinking more water and producing more urine.
Fortunately, unlike animals suffering from the first two problems, a pet who is drinking and urinating more usually isn't in the throes of a serious emergency. So don't panic. But increased thirst and urination almost always mean that something is wrong.
Precipitous increases in thirst must, by necessity, be accompanied by precipitous increases in urination (and vice-versa). However, often people only notice that one side of the equation has changed. Regardless, if your pet is suddenly drinking more water, or producing more urine, or both, you should take her to the vet.
In people, diabetes is the most common cause of increased thirst and urination. Dogs and cats also suffer from diabetes, but there are a number of other issues, such as kidney disease, urinary infections, thyroid problems, endocrine (glandular) disorders, and certain tumors, that can cause the symptoms you describe.
The long and short of it is that you should take your dog to the vet. A panel of blood and urine tests will probably determine what is causing her to drink so much water.
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Fiery Angels Kiss the Sky
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Fiery Angels Kiss the Sky
Few people shoot sunsets. And the ones that try often fail. Why is that so? One tends to think that the colours of the blazing sky are enough to make a good picture. But far from it. Always choose a point of interest apart from the sky! In this case I chose that post-like thing on the left, which gives the image a tranquility and serenity it wouldn't otherwise possess.
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Captured: Oct 9, 2005
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Focal length: 16.8 mm
Shutter speed: 1/350 sec
Aperture: F9.5
ISO: 80
Exposure comp.: ±0.00 | dclm-gs1-010140000 |
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OpenAjax Alliance Moves Towards More Secure Mashups
The OpenAjax Alliance has announced approval and availability of OpenAjax Hub 2.0 as an industry standard for more secure Web 2.0 mashup applications. Advances in security in Hub 2.0 can help protect enterprise mashups from malicious intent, giving IT staff greater confidence in adding these features to their Web sites.
The major addition to Hub 2.0 is a JavaScript Library for Secure Enterprise Mashups created to better protect widgets and mashups from hackers and malicious intent. It addresses concerns among IT managers that may have inhibited adoption of mashup software within companies.
"OpenAjax Hub 2.0 is a major step forward for the OpenAjax Alliance towards its mission of promoting Ajax interoperability," says the OpenAjax Alliance's David Boloker. "In order to realize the potential for mashups across the industry, there needs to be standards. Hub 2.0 defines a key industry standard for how widgets can be isolated into secure containers and then how widgets can talk to each other through a mediated messaging bus."
Hub 2.0 isolates third-party widgets into secure sandboxes and mediates messaging among the widgets with a security manager. For example, suppose a Web site includes a third-party calendar widget. That widget itself might be malicious or might become malicious if its code has vulnerabilities that allow a site to hijack the widget. Malicious widgets could transmit hijacked data to a scamming web site or piggyback user credentials to read and write from company servers. Hub 2.0 prevents attacks by isolating untrusted widgets from the main application and other widgets, and by preventing access to user credentials. It protects against widget hijacking due to its features around careful widget loading and unloading and message integrity.
The OpenAjax Alliance is an organization of vendors, open source projects and companies using Ajax that are dedicated to the successful adoption of open and interoperable Ajax-based Web technologies. OpenAjax members include more than 100 organizations including Adobe, the Eclipse Foundation, Google, IBM and Microsoft working towards the mutual goal of accelerating customer success with Ajax.
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| dclm-gs1-010150000 |
This Xbox has been submerged in oil, and it still works
This amber-colored tank full of electronics is actually a fully-functional Xbox (the original, not a 360). Thanks to the non-conductive cooling properties of mineral oil, a modder was able to take the guts of his old console and submerge them in a fishtank full of the stuff.
He kept the DVD player and HDD out of the tank, but everything else is in there. Heck, the CPU is actually running 10 degrees cooler than it was in its natural housing! Pretty awesome stuff.
Llama's Forums via Technabob | dclm-gs1-010160000 |
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Google vows 18-20 Android phones in 2009
updated 10:15 am EDT, Thu May 28, 2009
20 Android Phones in 2009
Google's Mobile Platforms senior director Andy Rubin late yesterday said that the number of Android phones on the market would swell dramatically in 2009. While there are just two official phones today, the T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream) and the HTC Magic, Rubin anticipates between 18 and 20 phones shipping by the end of the year. He doesn't detail the phones for the New York Times but expects most of them to be European, as North American carriers and cellphone producers are more likely to customize the OS than others. Rogers' upcoming HTC Dream and Magic releases, for example, have links to the Canadian company's services.
The official additionally explained Google's approach to licensing Android, which is free but puts different conditions on what devices can include depending on the level of branding. A completely unfettered version only allows apps that don't specifically use Google services; another adds the Google apps but requires a distribution agreement. A third version gets Google branding but also requires that developers not restrict either the apps or the Android Market, even if third-party software does something objectionable but legal.
Of the upcoming phones, the majority at 12 to 14 will use the mid-tier option while the remaining 5 to 6 will use the full Google-branded hardware.
The expansion of Android's presence promises to significantly increase competition for key rivals like Apple and RIM. Both of these have had the advantage of relatively few Android phones on the market and often on separate carriers. In the US, most Android phones are still expected to head to T-Mobile, but AT&T was recently confirmed to be getting the HTC Lancaster late this year.
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1. testudo
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You'd think they'd vow to sell more than 20 phones for the year...
1. Mr. Strat
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Well, with the economy as it is...
1. eldarkus
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as a stock holder, I was hoping for at least 30.
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Love, Loss, and What I Wore: Jane Smiley
I made the date, I made the dress; I was getting hitched. Was the cat trying to stop me?
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The story I usually tell about my one and only wedding gown is the one about the cat, but first, there was the proposal. I was sitting around with the other Vassar girls, discussing where I should live once my boyfriend graduated from Yale (I still had a year to go). One of the girls said, "Get married; they're bound to give you a car," and so that very night, I proposed. It took him 24 hours to consent, and two more weeks for my parents to...offer us a car.
The gown itself I found in a fashion magazine. It was a faux Victorian/peasant/ fairy-tale thing with a high neckline, pleats, ruffles, and floating satin ribbons, in the purest white. I adored it. It somehow represented everything that we were not (we were: tall, gawky, Marxist, bespectacled, middle-class, suburban). I was, of course, going to make it myself. French couture— what could be hard?
I sewed. My sewing machine was set up on the desk in my dorm room. My main responsibility was to clothe my fiancé, who was 6'10" and limited in his fashion choices to catalogs for big and tall men, which meant no striped bell-bottom pants or loud hippie shirts. I filled in the gap. For myself, I experimented, usually without success. I loved the strapless nightgown I had designed, but if I took a deep breath, the snap would pop and the whole thing would fall to the floor. I also liked the red polyester double-knit jumpsuit, but it was too hot to actually wear—and I mean caliente, not picante. Undaunted, however, I went to the nicest fabric store in St. Louis (no mill ends for me) and ordered 18 yards of real peau de soie. I showed the salesclerk the picture in the magazine. She told me I could order the fabric already pleated, a godsend because pleats were the essence of this gown—pleats from neckline almost to hem, pleats from shoulder almost to hand, all bound together at strategic points (waist, elbow) with those satin ribbons.
I set up my sewing machine in our furnitureless one-bedroom summer apartment in Cambridge. In July, I designed and sewed the underbodice and the lace cap (Marxist compromise with veil). In August, I commenced upon the ruffle. Here's where the cat came in.
It was almost five, rush hour in our neighborhood, and I was putting a narrow hem in what would be the bottom of the ruffle. The cat, a nine-month-old Siamese named Timaeus, had been sitting in the window and then strolling around the room. Now he coughed a couple of times. I looked up and saw that he was stroking the side of his face with his paw. He coughed again. I picked him up. He had a needle, a long one, stuck in his mouth, behind his teeth.
The closest vet was one stop away on the streetcar. I carried the cat down the stairs and onto the crowded carriage. When we got to the stop, I went to the front to pay the fare. The cat was now struggling in my arms. I reached into my back pocket for two dimes and two nickels. My jeans were so tight that when I pulled my hand out of my pocket, the money exploded into the air. The driver growled, "You getting off or not?" and sped away from the stop. The money was gone, and I burst into tears. Some kind woman paid my fare. I got off at the next stop and walked back to the vet.
When I could not hold the cat down in the vet's office, the vet's son, in elbow-length sheepskin mitts, replaced me, while I sat in the corridor listening to the yowling. Finally, the vet emerged with the cat in his arms. The needle had either popped out or "gone down." Since there was no telling which, he wouldn't charge me. I carried the cat home. He seemed fine.
That weekend, we went to Martha's Vineyard, leaving a friend with the cat and the wedding gown. When we returned, there was a present for us, left by the cat next to his cat box. It was the needle. I still don't understand how he survived.
In the wedding portrait, we look good, the dress and I, pleats fanned out, ruffles springing, satin ribbons drifting about, glasses hidden away, marriage as a strange performance put on by and for the parents. There was no honeymoon—the happy couple went back to arguing about the withering away of the state almost immediately. By now, the peau de soie and the pleats have outlived not only the cat and the marriage, but also the Soviet Union and my career as a needlewoman. I never did it again, but I did do it that once.
This Is A Developing Story
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Escapist News Network: XBox Platinum
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Don't know if said already but they forgot "The cake is a lie".
I still don't get that joke. Yes I've played Portal, (three times through) but I never really found that joke that funny...
Nobody can repeat terribly silly memes quite as solemnly and wonderfully as Graham and Kathleen - I mean, you see the joke coming from a mile away, but it's just delivered so methodically and un-nuanced that you can't help but chortle to yourself through the entire line. It's like if David Ortiz was playing in a Women's softball league: Here's the underhanded pitch, right down the middle, no strings attached, Ortiz winds up, aaaaand HOME RUN! AGAIN!
All the DNF jokes will just transfer to Half-Life 2 Episode 3.
Blasphemy will not be tolerated. Burn the heretic.
You forgot PS3 has no gaems in your gaming jokes!
You know I'm starting to pre-emptively feel sorry for Gearbox, they aren't bad people but they are getting the duke nukem piled on them already. I mean sure they annoyed us with the claptrap, but now we are getting to blow them up in the new Borderlands DLC.
XBox Live Ultra-Platinum: Real-time real life consequences doled out to everyone who you deem to be playing the game improperly.
For your basic level cheaters, suspected hackers and foul mouthed tweens, a specially crafted subscriber-only controller (only $299.98 + shipping) has the guide button replaced by a deaths head, that instantly red-rings the console of anyone in the game with you when you ragequit to the dashboard.
For those truly dedicated members of Xbox Live, Microsoft will be unrolling Xbox Live Omega 2012. This invitation-only membership level will cost 4.8 million Microsoft Points per year, but comes with a range of benefits and matchmaking enhancements.
Someone getting a suspicious amount of one shot kills in Halo? Based on your pre-set voice command ("douchebag!"), that person will instantly have his controller explode, removing a guaranteed 80% of his or her hands.
Knife runners and akimbo 1887s in Modern Warfare 2? Simply by uttering "faggot!" into your Xbox Live headset, a professional hitman is dispatched to the players house, with guaranteed behavioural correction within 48 hours.
In addition, you are entitled to download TWO premium dashboard themes of your choice.
PS3 has no games is still a cornerstone. It's even more hilarious now, since fanboys will freak out given there is currently a plethora of games and they still can't shed the label.
And then 3/4 of The Escapist users will break into tears.
I posted the "No computer can run Crysis" joke on *Shameless Plug*
Most of our members would scoff at this joke as this was true 3 years ago but is becoming more and more not true.
Link to thread:
I thought that's what Gold already was.
I'ma start working on a list for uber platinum.
You forgot about episode 3 never coming out.
Don't worry. We'll always have Daikatana.
Ninja'd! Although its quite likely Duke Nuke may end up replacing the Daikatana jokes...
Oh and you forgot Ubisoft's PC DRM that needed always connected to play!
Anyone else having issues streaming the video? I can't seem to get ENN or ZP to play right now :(
This makes for a most disappointing Wednesday
And when that gets released?
Just FYI, the Big O computer from Origin PC STARTS at $7600 and goes to $17,000 at it's high end config.
I also LOLed at the Xibit joke. :)
Having bought an Alienware computer at 8300 Euro back in March 2008, I can safely say, it's not worth putting money in these high end Uber machines. they often don't function (properly), customer service is poor, and it's almost impossible to get your issue resolved, legally or otherwise.
After my problems with Alienware arose, I learned that I was not the only one by a long shot. What I've taken from that is that companies like Alienware, VooDoo PC and the like should be avoided like the plague. If you want "The Best of the Best of the Best" Find some whiz-kid locally and ask him to assemble a great machine for you. You're cheaper off, can still have a nice casemodded machine, And it's much more likely to work.
XBox Platinum
Finally you can play in peace. Or not. Your choice.
Watch Video
EPIC urealms reference!
.... and not even a credit for that end joke? I'm disappointed in you guys.
Well, at least the cake is still a lie, but that'll change when Portal 2 comes out and the pie will be an actual, physical (well, metaphysical) object (thank God...)
Good Episode, but you forgot one joke. Episode 3 is never coming out =P
After at long hard day of school and work. It's very nice to come home and find this piece of gold waiting for you
Many thanks to all the people of LRR
"Duke Nukem Forever will still be a joke after it comes 'oot'."
So love the Canadian accent and the Canadian take on humor.
Love to all of you at LRR. Thanks for the laughs and look forward to more.
ENN is something I look forward to each week. In addition to all the contributions the LRR crew makes to The Escapist. Your various efforts are my favorite things each week on the site and brighten my day each time I find a new installment of your many excellent recurring bits.
It is seriously impressive that you all generate the quantity and quality of humor weekly through so many titles. That is a lot of funny and a credit to your talent.
Thank you!
XBox Platinum
Watch Video
1/ Kathleen, you look amazing.
2/ Kathleen, I really, really miss (y)our hairflip. One more time?
Platinum sounds awesome. A gold headset with an attached monocle = AWESOMENESS!
Microsoft doesn't understand how good of an idea this is. I would totally pay extra to have gentlemanly conversation on Xbox Live.
Yo dawg, we herd you like internet humour so we put a meme in yo' ENN so you can lol while you lol.
That's okay, Half-Life 2 Episode 3 will take Duke Nukem Forever's place in the "never coming out" joke seat.
Also, say what you will about the behavior of some players on Xbox Live, but at least you also have options to avoid playing with those people. If you run into that kind of stuff on Playstation Network, your only option is to leave the match and hope the game doesn't put you back in with the same players again. Which it does. A LOT. Or maybe Red Dead Redemption on the PS3 just hates me.
Of course they could all just go the Wii route and not even offer in-game communication. Never hear anyone complaining about swearing and racial slurs on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection do you? :p
You can't go below absolute zero, it's just not possible :/
I want that monocle headset! It would go well with my top hat.
I know that it's because Arkham Asylum has failed and all the prisoners has escaped to the city. But not calling it Batman: Gotham City is just wrong.
PS Bring on Catwoman!!
Actually it's called Arkham City because the Warden has become Mayor of Gotham City, and has moved Arkham to what used to be a series of slums in Gotham. It develops it's own government and structure thanks to it being cut off and all the inmates being able to run free.
OT: That was pretty funny. Sounds like the Xbox guy agrees with Will Wheaton.
Really? I still don't like the name though. It seems to promise a Lovecraftian horror/superhero fusion game which I doubt they have any plans to deliver on.
Wow we really are going to loose that Duke Nukem forever joke.....NOOOOOOO!!! Maybe half-life episode 3 will become the new duke nukem forever.....that or kingdom hearts 3(not eve a bloody trailer or preview in bbs of kh3. What. the. fuck?!!)
He forgot the joke about them remaking final fantasy 7
Don't worry guys we can still make fun of Episode 3 which is never coming out.
It's not that this isn't funny. But I really think the Loading Ready Run team gets too much exposure on this site. It might be three series of videos, but it's still the same team, and that team puts out three a week. It kind of upsets the balance of flavor on the site.
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Star Reporter
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Star Reporter
In this newspaper drama, a young man's father, a prominent newspaper publisher is violently murdered by famous gangsters. The young man uses the power of his newly inherited press to get revenge upon the killers by exposing them. Unfortunately, the young man's schemes go awry when he learns the identity of the trigger man. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi | dclm-gs1-010200000 |
Paris: Places to Explore
view-mapView Map
Once a warren of artists' studios and swinging cafés, much of Montparnasse was leveled in the 1960s to make way for a gritty train station and Paris's only—and much maligned—skyscraper, Tour Montparnasse. Over the years, this neighborhood has evolved into a place where Parisians can find more reasonable rents, well-priced cafés, and the kind of real-life vibe lost in some of the trendier parts of the city.
Despite the soulless architecture, the modernity of Tour Montparnasse has its advantage: the rooftop terrace has the best panoramic view of Paris. It's okay to feel smug during your ascent, as you consider yourself savvy for avoiding long lines at Tour Eiffel. And you can reward yourself with a fancy cocktail at Le Bar Américain on the 56th floor.
The other star attraction of Montparnasse is belowground. The mazelike tunnels of the Paris Catacombs contain the bones of centuries' worth of Parisians, moved here when disease, spread by rotting corpses, threatened the city center.
The café society that flourished in the early 20th century—Picasso, Modigliani, Hemingway (where didn't he drink?), Man Ray, and even Trotsky raised a glass here—is still evident along the Boulevard du Montparnasse. The Art Deco interior of La Coupole attracts diners seeking piles of golden choucroute.
Along the Boulevard Raspail you can see today's cutting-edge art stars at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson or the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, or pay your respects to Baudelaire, Alfred Dreyfus, or Simone de Beauvoir in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.
See Also
Travel Deals in Paris
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* Some taxes, fees additional | dclm-gs1-010210000 |
QA: Alexa Ray Joel sings one of dad's songs, calls celeb bloggers 'vermin'
Published October 01, 2013
Alexa Ray Joel is a budding singer-songwriter who possesses a sultry voice. She also happens to have some pretty famous parents. The 27-year-old is the only child of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley. She's also featured in the latest Gap campaign performing a stripped down version of 'Just The Way You Are.' She spoke to FOX411 about taking on such an iconic song.
FOX411: How did you become involved with The Gap ad?
Alexa Ray Joel: I heard they wanted me to be a part of their new ad campaign and I thought that was cute because The Gap are always so fun and creative. I was immediately interested and flattered that they thought of me. They gave me a couple of my songs from my father's catalogue to choose from.
FOX411: Does it bother you singing one of your Dad's songs?
Joel: Of course I always want to be perceived as my own person but I kind of thought it was an interesting challenge. It was a huge risk but I thought I could pull it off creatively and make it my own. There were a couple of other options, 'Piano Man,' 'New York State of Mind.' I personally felt that if I had done one of those songs it would have been an issue because they are such iconic Billy Joel songs that have a very masculine feeling to them.
'Just the Way You Are' is also an iconic song but there is ambiguity in the sense that it could be sung from a male or female's point of view. I thought it would be interesting to do it from a female perspective in an R&B, pop way. When I first played it for Dad he said, 'Don't you want to get a rhythm section going?' I said, 'No! Then it will just like your version. I want to break it down and make it totally different.'
FOX411: Would you ever do a tribute album like Natalie Cole?
Joel: I would not do that. I enjoy sitting down and breaking his songs but it's just not the right move. I don't want to take it (The Gap ad) and exploit it. I want my own credibility and voice.
FOX411: You were in the news a couple of years ago. Why did you decide to speak out about it? (In December 2009 Joel ingested a large amount of Traumeel, a homeopathic alternative to ibuprofen, and was taken to hospital. She blamed the incident on the breakup of a four year relationship).
Joel: I wanted to get some control back over this crazy, explosive media frenzy with stories that were inaccurate, that I was suicidal. It took a very dramatic, negative turn. It was affecting my family. I wasn't suicidal.
I also did it because I wanted young girls to hear about depression. Anti-depression medication seems to be a very taboo subject and I frankly don't understand that. I know so many people that have struggled with it and deep heartbreak. For me they were very closely linked, which is why I termed it heartbreak depression and I don't know why people are so afraid to be vulnerable and why it was so shocking.
I wanted to say to young women, this is what I went through. It was traumatizing but you can come out of it stronger and all the better for it.
FOX411: How do you deal with trolls on Twitter?
Joel: I make a point of not looking at what other people post about me on Twitter. I don't look at the bloggers. It's sort of like the vermin of this society, I know that sounds brutal. People that want to spend their lives blogging so negatively and in such a hostile way about someone they don't even know, it's more of a reflection on their own personal issues than me. | dclm-gs1-010230000 |
Iran's police have fired the head of their cybercrimes unit over the case of a blogger who died while in police custody.
The semi-official Fars news agency says Saturday that Gen. Kamal Hadianfar was fired due to "failure and lack of sufficient supervision over the performance of personnel under his command."
Iran's judiciary confirmed last month that Sattar Beheshti died in police custody and that wounds were found on his body.
According to Iranian officials, Beheshti was detained Oct. 30 for alleged "cybercrimes" and taken to Evin prison in north Tehran the next day. He was handed over to cyber police for interrogation the same day. Beheshti died Nov. 3. | dclm-gs1-010240000 |
Question for the PvP Gods....
#21deathisajerkPosted 4/17/2013 2:25:03 AM
Fast rolls are your best friend in PvP. Often times, I dodge twice when my opponent swings his weapon once because of the potential lag hit. That's about all I can say in that regards.
If you're reffering to Great Scythe's dead angles through shields or the newer 'Ravioli Step' that really throw people off guard, again, dodging constantly is your best bet. It's all about finding that moment. Then again, I've gotten my arse handed to me a couple times by the more dedicated vets so what do I know?
#22sciicersPosted 4/17/2013 3:10:53 AM
I love it when i get lagstabbed even if i am two rolls away. Or when someone with 0 poise lag-poisestabs me
Why dost thee hurry toward thine death?
GT: Jesaiya PSN: sciicers | dclm-gs1-010250000 |
Empire of Ice enemy goal...
#1comittoxcellPosted 1/14/2012 9:46:16 PM
Has anyone completed the enemy goal for the Empire of Ice chapter? I've played the chapter numerous times and still can't figure it out. Any ideas on how to get it?
#2RossmacdaddyPosted 1/15/2012 7:39:26 AM
I got it on the Wii version no problem (first try). I know some of the ice blocks that have ice fiends in them are a little out of the way by the key... maybe you missed one?
Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.
#3mechslavefongPosted 1/16/2012 6:21:04 PM
Ps3 here. I have played the map many times now killing every enemy. Even the snowmen and many cannons at the end have fallen and I have yet to get it. This star plus the ones from the unreleased dragons peak are all I have left.
#4comittoxcell(Topic Creator)Posted 1/16/2012 9:58:04 PM
Still no luck... Anyone on the 360 or ps3 get this star?
#5Neo_RizerPosted 1/22/2012 10:25:24 PM
Play as Sonic Boom and take her skill path with the birds.
Throw eggs against a wall and have the birds fight off every enemy in the stage. By the end of the stage they will have died so many times they count towards the enemy goal.
I did this for Quicksilver Vault and had the Enemy Goal at the 40% mark in the stage, I just ran past all of the enemies and FINALLY got 100% game completion.
I haven't played Empire of Ice yet but I'm assuming the same strategy will fix the glitch of their not being enough enemies in the level. When her birds die, they count towards the enemy goal....yes I know, stupid, isn't it? But there you have it...
#6WickedRoguePosted 1/23/2012 6:15:56 AM
Doesn't those level have respawning pods?
"A delayed game is eventually good, but a bad game is bad forever." - Shigeru Miyamoto
#7Neo_RizerPosted 1/23/2012 6:55:38 AM
Not Quicksilver Vault...not sure about Empire of Ice though, haven't played it yet.
Just use Sonic Boom's birds...it's the only way to reach the enemy goal in Quicksilver Vault, same strategy should apply to all other levels where the enemy goal is an issue for some people. | dclm-gs1-010260000 |
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Miss Moxxi's Weapons List?
#1Mr PottymouthPosted 1/23/2013 9:48:35 PM
Does anyone know of a good Weapons List resource online?
I'm trying to collect all the Miss Moxxi weapons.
So far I have:
Miss Moxxi's Good Touch (Maliwan Fire SMG)
Miss Moxxi's Rubi (Maliwan Slag Pistol)
Miss Moxxi's Creamer (Torgue RL)
Miss Moxxi's Heart Breaker (Hyperion Fire Shotgun).
#2IxblackenedxIPosted 1/23/2013 9:49:35 PM
youre missing miss moxxi's bad touch, moxxi's endowment, and idk what else
#3NightmareNigntPosted 1/23/2013 9:51:32 PM
-Good Touch
-Bad Touch
-Sniper from Hyperion Arena (Can't remember name)
-Slow Hand
Might be a few more but that's most of them to my knowledge.
#4capnovanPosted 1/23/2013 9:54:26 PM
sniper is Chere-Amie
#5Flow_149Posted 1/23/2013 10:25:16 PM
. . .and Hail from the Bandit Slaughter dome. :)
#6genesis42Posted 1/23/2013 10:28:22 PM
The Hail's another one.
GT: SevenDeadIySin
#7CywynPosted 1/23/2013 10:36:56 PM
#8Mr Pottymouth(Topic Creator)Posted 1/23/2013 11:32:10 PM(edited)
Currently I have:
Miss Moxxi's Bad Touch SMG
Miss Moxxi's Chere-amie Sniper
Miss Moxxi's Creamer Rocket Launcher
Miss Moxxi's Good Touch SMG
Miss Moxxi's Hail Assault Rifle
Miss Moxxi's Heart Breaker Shotgun
Miss Moxxi's Rubi Pistol
Miss Moxxi's Endowment Relic
Looking For:
Miss Moxxi's Kittin Assault Rifle
Miss Moxxi's Slow Hand Shotgun
Miss Moxxi's Kiss of Death Maliwan Grenade Mod
Would like to dupe/trade for the missing 3.
#9NekoZamPosted 1/24/2013 12:06:37 AM
Just have a couple questions since I kind of like collecting the Moxxi weapons too. Are the ones you have all level 50? And do they actually have "Miss Moxxi's" in the name? If so, I would be interested in getting a couple duped maybe. I have a full set of elemental Kittens and quite a few Slow Hands but they don't have Miss Moxxi in the name. I'm not sure if it's possibly to legitimately get "Miss Moxxi's Kitten" and "Miss Moxxi's Slow Hand" though. Maybe someone could clarify. But yeah, I have those available if you don't care about the name or they aren't possible with a Moxxi name.
GT and PSN: NekoZam
#10AlleRacingPosted 1/24/2013 12:12:02 AM
Miss Moxxi's is the prefix that spawns when the weapon doesn't have an attachment. It's the worst prefix to have. | dclm-gs1-010270000 |
Stage 33 - Earth Route - Black Avenger
#1frik1000Posted 5/7/2012 10:56:38 PM
I'm just curious, to those that understand the game's story, what's going on in this stage? I'm asking cause it seems almost all my deployed units have something to say when they first attack an opponent, and I'm just curious as to why.
#2Cashino0Posted 5/7/2012 11:41:14 PM(edited)
It's the Pillar incident of Gundam 00, when the A-Laws shoots at the Orbital Elevator in Africa with Memento Mori. The people that went up to space reenact Celestial Being's assault on Memento Mori. The people on the ground are handling an evacuation of refugees (I think that's the correct word) that were in the care of Kataron that are in the immediate danger zone where fragments are going to land. Of course, Invaders (and Shin Dragon) decide to show up to make things even worse.
Everyone is pissed that the A-Laws would do something like that.
I'm pretty sure that's what's happening. Can't remember exactly, though.
#3frik1000(Topic Creator)Posted 5/7/2012 11:44:58 PM
Ohhh. So that's what's happening. Here I thought the town / city was destroyed by the Invaders themselves, and that the city was important to the characters on a personal level. Nice to see that the two routes actually, in a way, are affecting each other.
Thanks for the reply.
#4180223Posted 5/8/2012 4:58:18 PM
Cashino0 posted...
And then Ryoma in Black Getter appeears and starts delivering indiscriminate justice on the invaders. Notice Black Getter = Black Avenger.
#5sb6Posted 5/8/2012 5:21:18 PM
Also worth noting is that Ryouma tries to go off after Saotome and abandon the refugees. He gets an earful from everyone there, even being compared to how Tieria used to be and how he changed. Then in the story after the level, he asks someone (maybe it was Hayato) to say thanks to Tieria for him. I thought that was a good bit of crossover lulz. | dclm-gs1-010280000 |
Would you play the following game type?
#1AceronPosted 4/20/2013 3:32:04 PM
Game type: Clone Draft.
Prior to character select, each summoner is randomly placed in order 1 to 5 and one team is randomly selected to go first. (For sake of example, we'll say the blue team goes first)
On the character select screen, summoner blue 1 is up first. Summoner Blue 1 has to ban a champion.
Once summoner Blue 1 bans a champ, summoner purple 1 has to select a champ.
Then purple 2 must ban a champ and blue 2 must pick a champ.
Blue 3 bans, purple 3 picks.
Purple 4 bans, blue 4 picks.
Blue 5 bans, then purple 5 picks.
The 5 champs picked are now the 5 champs that both teams will use. Each team has 90 seconds to decide which player will play which champ.
Then game as normal.
Believe in yourself. Not you, that believes in me. | dclm-gs1-010290000 |
Best way to spread Club Nintendo coins?
#11ObtuseAnginaPosted 4/25/2013 8:43:46 PM
the gold prize is normally just a calender for the next year. so the platinum prize is always better pretty much
./|,-``\(o)_\,----,,,_ But if you're gonna cheat,
( `\(o),,_/` : o : : :o `-, might as well be a fairy while you're at it.
#12Sharky8Posted 4/29/2013 9:34:44 AM
They reveal some time in July.
Also, it's not always to best strategy to register only enough to reach platinum. Some of the older games, especially, might no longer be eligible for coins next year. So if you are going to stop at 600, register only the older games first and save some of the newer ones for later. But even with that strategy, the coin value next year will likely decrease.
You need to decide: if you can get 50 coins for a game this year, what if next year it's worth only 30? Would you rather register it now, even if you've already reached platinum, so you can have more coins to get rewards? Or, would you rather wait until next year and register it for fewer coins toward your platinum status?
I always just register everything after I get it. That way, I can maximize the number of coins per purchase.
#13GhetsisPosted 4/29/2013 9:43:10 AM
Emeraldrox posted...
Most of those games in that 8 year span won't be worth any coins.
This is very true. I've registered well over a dozen GC and GBA games, such as Crystal Chronicles and FFV Advance, and though it lets you register them to your CN account, they gives no coin. | dclm-gs1-010300000 |
Review by grimakis
"Semi-New to the Series, already hooked."
I have played some Final Fantasy games before. But they were FFTA, and FFCC. People usually don't count them as the true FF's. They are probably right. They are good games, but this one tops them both. I have been playing only for about 1/2 day and I am hooked. This game gets a perfect score for these reasons.
Gameplay: 10
It has wonderful gameplay. It remind me of Pokemon in some way. The Turn Based Battle System. Its like FFCC and Pokemon. It truly is a wonderful RPG. Send blows at your opponent, they strike back next. There are a handful of Jobs to choose from. These jobs have strong and weak points. Of course some jobs, notably mages seem to be similar. A combo of Black Magic and White Magic, Summon Magic and Black Magic. But those slight differences can make, well, differences. It has the same FF look at other games. But that goes in the next category.
Graphics: 10
Good graphics is all I can say. Maybe not to console standard, but appreciate 3-D. Remember when all you had was the Game Boy Color. Having color on the handheld was an achievement at the time. Now we have 3-D on our handhelds. Just remember what it used to be like and don't take this for granted.
Sound: 10
Sounds like an FF game. Music is relaxing at times, while at others its intense. Adds and element to the game that is otherwise unachievable without music. It puts the player into a perfect mood for playing FF. Something about the music causes you to think differently and get into the game
Multiplayer: JOKE
I'm not scoring the multiplayer because I probably would give it a 0. There's no fighting involved. It seemed that Nintendo added the Mognet because they could do it. There's nothing more intense than sending mail to someone once per hour. This is a joke on Nintendo. I'm sorry Nintendo, don't do this again.
Overall: 10
Good game. Don't rent it, you will want to keep playing and when you give it back you will have to restart. Buy this if you like Final Fantasy. If you never played an FF game or an RPG for that matter, don't get this. Get a Zelda game or something. This may be too hard for FF newbies.
Got Your Own Opinion?
| dclm-gs1-010310000 |
"A great start to a great series...with a few flaws, of course."
I first played the Final Fantasy Legend games while spending summer vacation with a few of my cousins. Unfortunately, I lacked a Game Boy at the time. I vowed to own one however, and as soon after that as I could, I resolved to own the Final Fantasy Legend games. Back then I didn't know there were three. In this review, I'll talk about the first game in the series.
Gameplay 9-10. Traditional RPG style turn-based battles are a part of this game. You buy and equip weapons and spells, find items, talk to people and defeat monsters. FFL's one big flaw in this department is its weaponry system. You could only use a weapon a limited number of times before it would lose its powers. The magic system was also a bit messed up. Only certain characters were capable of effective spellcasting, and those are called Mutants. Unfortunately, Mutants have an annoying habit of changing one set of abilities for another, usually with absolutely no warning. You might find a set of abilities you like only to have the character switch on you. Sometimes you might get lucky and get an ability that is just as good as the one you lost, but you weren't usually that lucky.
Control 10-10. It's pretty much the same as most RPG's. You have your confirm and cancel buttons and your D-pad. Simple and straightforward.
Audio 9-10. The music in Final Fantasy Legend, while not incredibly varied, is good. Battle themes are fitting, as are the few dungeon themes. The town themes (there are just two), can get a little annoying after a while. My favorite is the ending theme, which is basically a composite of all the major themes in the game (sans the battle themes of course).
Sound Effect wise, FFL isn't great, but it gets the job done. It might have been better if each spell had had a unique sound effect to it, but oh well.
Story 9-10. The game's story revolves around a mysterious tower in your home town. According to legend, the tower is a gateway to Paradise. Dreaming of a life in Paradise, many mortals challenged the tower's secret. No one knows what became of them, for none have ever returned. Now you, as the leader of a party of four adventurers, are up for the challenge...once you've sorted out the troubles here at home of course.
Overall 10-10. It's fefinitely a game that's worth at least a few hours of your time. I know i sure wouldn't sell my copy for anything.
Reviewer's Score: 10/10 | Originally Posted: 03/03/01, Updated 03/17/03
Got Your Own Opinion?
| dclm-gs1-010320000 |
Question from xVeloseraptorx
Asked: 5 years ago
How can I start as an Alien Sim?
Is there a cheat code??
Additional details - 4 years ago
OMG sorry you can type in boolProp TestingCheatsEnabled true on the cheat bar in the neighborhood view and go to create a family and press shift n for aliens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry for answerers I wish I knew this when I asked. Sorry
Submitted Answers
As far as I know, you cannot 'officially' start as an alien in Create-A-Sim mode: you can, however, change their skin and eye colour to make them appear to be aliens. Enter the boolprop cheat, and once you get into Create-A-Sim mode, press SHIFT+N. This will enable Maxis skintones, eye colours, clothes, hairstyles etc. that normally would only be available to NPCs, or Sims that are aliens and zombies and whatnot. (Press SHIFT+M to disable it.)
To have a 'legitimate' alien, you can either get two alien Sims to have a baby, OR you can hope your Sims get abducted. There is a 'hacked' telescope that you can download on a website called; it is basically a normal telescope, except every time you use it, there is a near 100% chance of being abducted by aliens, so you could download this and hope one of your Sims return pregnant with an alien baby.
Hope this helped :-)
Rated: +0 / -0
I wish you could start out as a alien!
Rated: +0 / -0
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Question from digaro
Asked: 4 years ago
What are the abilities the download camos do?
I know the grenade camo gives you infinate grenades, but I dont know about the other camos.
Submitted Answers
Mummy camo prevents broken bones. None of the others have any special properties.
Rated: +1 / -0
Also, the grenade camo gives you unlimited grenades, pretty useless if you already have the IFP...
Rated: +1 / -0
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How the WonderBook Could Actually be a Must Buy Peripheral
Wonderbook PS3 Sony Persona Diggs Nightcrawler Disgaea Valkyria Chronicles Ni No Kuni
When we first saw Wonderbook crash and burn during Sony's E3 press conference earlier this year, I'm sure much of the gaming world wrote it off as just another bad idea that Sony would be sweeping under the table in the next few months. I still have my doubts about the thing, but have to admit I became slightly more interested in the idea when I saw the trailer for Diggs Nightcrawler.
It certainly could have just been all the puns being thrown at me, or it could have been the slightly more mature aspects of a crime noir book starring a freaking inch worm. I'm not quite sure at this point, but at least the trailer got me to thinking, "What if the Wonderbook isn't just for kids? Where can Sony go to really get an audience?"
Atlus Is King When It Comes To Storytelling
I was trying to figure out just who could make the Wonderbook a must-buy peripheral when the obvious brick hit me in the form of Persona 4 Arena. Don't mistake this purely for a fighting game, because it clearly isn't. The fighting is just there to move the story along.
If the Persona series can translate so well into a fighting game, who's to say they couldn't do the same with a point-and-click adventure? They already have the perfect Wonderbook setup with the Persona Compendium (I'll talk about this more in a bit) The main problem however is the gameplay aspect of it all.
Posted Image
I couldn't find a good image of the Persona Compendium, so here is Margaret holding it.
My answer to this lies in Persona 3 Portable. Unlike the Playstation 2 version of the game, P3P required the player to interact with different static points in the game world instead of walking around as the player. If they could apply this same setup to monster fights, then I see no reason why it shouldn't exist.
While Atlus doesn't pull the biggest sales numbers, its hard to argue against the niche following that they do pull in. The people that buy the Persona games would kill for a more expanded Universe. Just look at the sales for P4G. Imagine what that fan base could do for the Wonderbook.
A Freaking Tactics Game (Come On!)
Come on people, this should have been done years ago! What goes into the usual tactics game? A lot of talking, menus, and grid based combat with intense unit management. Games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea would work perfectly with the Wonderbook's setup and show off the peripheral's neat little gimmicks. Maybe even games like X-COM could make an appearance.
Posted Image
Why couldn't a Valkyria Chronicles battle take place on this?
The game's grid based combat would fold out of the book and spread across the floor, you would point towards where you wanted them to go, yadda yadda yadda. We all know how it works. Stuff like this was even teased during the original Move demonstrations all those years ago. Nothing ever came of it, but the Wonderbook would be perfect for it.
Turning the book around to get a better look at your enemies or to follow characters that have gone behind barriers, I don't care how it gets done but the Wonderbook needs a game like this. Instead of just showing off a bunch of books with waggle function they really need to start showing off games that make use of the book gimmick instead.
Just Think Of The Collector's Editions
I mentioned the Persona Compendium earlier, and for good reason. I'm sure you've all seen the Wonderbook peripheral itself. Its just a large black book with an AR image inside it. Not really something that would make people want to buy it. But with the recent announcements of the Journey art book and the Persona 4 Solid Gold Edition it all hit me.
You see, the Persona 4 Solid Gold Edition sold out in as quickly as two days after it was announced. There are still a few places you can get them, but they aren't going to hold out for much longer. People are pretty crazy when it comes to collector's editions, so why shouldn't Wonderbook have them too?
Posted Image
Great. Now I want one of these.
Sure it wouldn't be anything special, but wouldn't a Persona Wonderbook game be even better if it came with a book cover that resembled the Persona Compendium held by Elizabeth and Margaret in Persona 3 and 4? Now let's move on to the Journey artbook. In the book you'll find AR images spruced about, just like what you'll find in the Wonderbook.
You point a special camera at the image and bam, an animated scene will appear. The Wonderbook could take this one step further and add in interactive artbooks to their different collector's editions. I'm not entirely sure how this would work but I'd imagine it would be things like model viewers and special scenes from the game.
Of course, everything I just talked about is wishful thinking on my part. The Wonderbook still has a long road ahead if it ever hopes to be taken as a serious peripheral in the eyes of Playstation gamers. But if Diggs Nightcrawler has proven anything, it shows that the Wonderbook at least has a chance. As always, thanks for reading.
Wonderbook could be really awesome, but I doubt Sony will support it with good titles.
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About Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes are an influential Brazilian psychedelic rock band linked to the Tropicalia movement of the late 1960s. Fronted by Sergio Dias, the band released Fool Metal Jack, an album unlike their previous releases in that the lyrics are mostly in English. Fool Metal Jack crackles with depth, confidence and complexity.
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Originally a great rival to Sakura, Ino has had some fairly drastic character changes. She works in a flower shop with her parents, she's a Ninja, and she's blond. Aside from that she's taken a journey that has completely changed her personality.
In the beginning Ino was something of the Queen Bee in the School, very popular, pretty, and charismatic. She and Sakura were good friends right up until the time they started noticing Sasuke, and than they (like many other of the girls) started plotting to date him. Up until that point Ino was very encouraging to Sakura trying to break her out of her shell, but after that point focusing on sabotaging her.
They both were quick to insult each other and belittle the abilities of the other. This conflict didn't come to outright blows however. At least not until the Chunin tournament.
Ino in Action
At that point they both turned from generally nice girls who happened to have a crush on the same guy to outright warriors looking for blood. The fight was among the most violent up to that point, as they were both fueled by their respective loves for Sasuke. This was the real highlight for Ino so far, because she rarely fights. When it was over both were laying face first in the dirt. What's notable however is that this was the first fight Ino copied something Sakura did. Sakura cut her hair short so it would be less of a liability in combat. Ino did the same during this fight. As the time goes on Ino becomes a medical Ninja, which Sakura already had decided to do, and Ino's attitude became much more accepting of others, again like Sakura.
Ino really isn't a character who has her own style and that's why her time on-camera is fairly low. If she has any constant across the anime and manga it's becoming increasingly less aristocratic and more common.
Her power is unique, to leap into the mind of her enemy and control them, but aside from that her realtive unpopularity makes her a rare sight in the Naruto universe. She's taken interest in Sai, another relative newcomer, but nothing has yet developed between them.
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The 20-year-old American midfielder has extended his stay at Upton Park, signing a new professional contract as he seeks his first-team debut.
U.S. youth international Sebastian Lletget has extended his stay at West Ham, signing a new two-year professional deal at the club where he has risen through the youth ranks.
Lletget, 20, signed his first pro deal with the Hammers in September 2010, and he has become a fixture on the club's Under-21 developmental squad. He has also been selected for the first team by manager Sam Allardyce on five occasions -- including once against Manchester United -- but he has not featured for the senior squad on the field.
"I sure feel my debut's coming," Lletget told West Ham TV. "All I can do is get my head down and keep doing what I'm doing. I know it will come. As long as the first-team keeps getting results, we'll get in a comfortable position, which is what the whole club wants. Then I'm sure I'll get my chance.
"It has been what, five years or something like that at West Ham, and I just wish I can stay here for as long as I can.
"I was quite relieved [to sign the new deal]. Obviously my contract was running up this year. So in the first half of this season, I was just trying to impress the manager really, and fortunately everything worked out."
Lletget was a member of the U.S. U-23 player pool during the last Olympic qualifying run, and he told West Ham's official website that he would be open to a loan move if the circumstances were right and as he gains more notoriety.
"Sooner or later, a club will show some interest, and it will be the right move, a good loan wouldn't be a bad idea," Lletget said. "My mind is a bit settled. I feel good at the moment, everything's working out."
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2008 Tennessee Titans Draft Analysis
Discussion in 'NFL Draft' started by goTitans.com, Apr 27, 2008.
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1. Gut Starter
You must be kidding! lol You mentioning only his 'avg' number of sacks as a measure of his worth is WORSE than simply giving his size and speed...but neither is sufficient. How many draftniks do you know who ONLY look at a player's size and speed? REALLY!
Pretty simple...he didn't play against top competition, he played at a tiny school, he doesn't have prime size (at 6'2 he's a little short for even LB) or weight (258lbs is light for a DE), is 3 years removed from wrecking his knee so he only has 2 years of real stats and Kiper doesn't know what he's talking about half the time if it's not a prospect in everyone's top 100.
GBN? At least Draft Countdown is decent stuff.
All DE's under 270lbs MIGHT be a 3-4 type OLB type.
Yeah, coming off 2005 when he blew out his knee (3rd game in so he was back in less than a year), his 2006 season sucked(?) with 57 tackles (25 solos), 6.5 sacks, with 13 stops for losses and two pressures. He also recovered two fumbles, caused another, picked off a pass, and blocked a punt that he recovered for a 12-yard return. Yeah, that sucks coming back less than a year from hurting his knee.
And how was 2007? The 2007 All-American led the nation with seven forced fumbles and tied for 10th nationally with a team-high 19 stops for losses. That's not just Division II...that's NATIONALLY!
He added 8.5 sacks and 78 tackles (46 solos). 78 tackles sucks? And that's the second highest total on his entire team.
He also set a school record with two touchdowns on four fumble recoveries, and added three pass break-ups.[/quote]
For comparison, Gholston had 8.5 sacks in 2006, 15 stops for losses, added a quarterback pressure with two pass breakups and an interception. He also finished sixth on the squad with 49 tackles (21 solo). Does that suck?
In 2007, Gholston had 37 tackles (25 solo), with 15.5 stops for losses and 14 sacks. He also scooped up a fumble and returned it for a 25-yard touchdown.
Of course Gholston had more sacks and played in a much higher level of competition, but Gholston was a top 10 pick and Hayes was aquired in the 4th rnd. Point is, Hayes was dominant and explosive against his level of competition and his physical numbers compare to Gholston who's the best pass rusher in the draft. Of course being a great DE is a lot more than just having the right size and speed and there's no guarantee that even Gholston will be as good as the Jets hope (though I think he will). But taking a gamble on a player like Hayes in rnd 4 is a good idea...not a bad one - even if we had to give up a 5 as well to get him. It's worth the gamble.
Unfortantely, the Titans have been taking these gambles in the 1st/2nd rnds in the past (Woolfolk, Calico), not the 4th like they should!
Lets' hope it works out.
And you can knock it off!:hyper:
2. The Playmaker pineapple pizza party
Lavelle Hawkins hasn't been talked about much. He seems as if he could become a very good WR. If you would've asked me halfway through the college season last year I thought he would've been drafted at least in the 2nd round. He might have been in Desean Jackson's shawdow at Cal. but I think he has the tools to become a starter within 2 years. Not to mention he's been compared to Mason which isn't bad.
3. RollTide Pro Bowler
Gut WTF? By your own admission hayes is under sized and has a history of significant injury. Coming from a small school is a reason he is over looked in the earlier rds but not a reason to be completely ignored. Mel kiper doesn't automatically ignore all small school players.
I have no problem drafting this kid in the 4th rd it just irks me that we used our 5th to move up. Looking back we would have had much better value drafting an end in rd 1 and then moving up to get tashard choice in rd 4.
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Helpful? 0
Good News Bad News With Climate Change
Climate change will cause a drop in heating degree-days but a rise in cooling degree-days
Posted on Feb 23 2012 by Alex Wilson
During these spring-like days in mid-February in Vermont, it's hard not to think about climate change. It's been reaching the mid- and upper-40s over the past few weeks in a winter that really isn't. Yes, this particular year might be an anomaly (after all, Europe is experiencing record cold this winter), but increasingly, scientists believe the long-term trend is clearly warming.
The good news with a warmer-than-normal winter in a cold climate is that homeowners save a lot on heating costs and, with a lack of snow, municipalities spend less for snow removal. Sure the ski and tourism industries suffers from winter-deficit, but at least we save some money.
In Vermont, warmer temperatures aren't just a future possibility; the trend has been pretty clearly demonstrated over the past half-century. In the fifty-year span from 1960 to 2010, the average summer temperature in Vermont has risen by 2°F, and the average wintertime temperature has risen by 4.5°F, according to Alan Betts, Ph.D., an atmospheric researcher based in Pittsford, Vermont.
Vermont's climate is heading south
Already, Vermont's summertime climate has "shifted south" since 1960 by about the north-south length of the state — so that the climate of the northern Vermont today is similar to what we had in southern Vermont 50 years ago, and southern Vermont is now more like central Pennsylvania in the '60s. A 2011 paper by Dr. Betts, "Climate Change in Vermont," includes a map showing this effective southern slide of Vermont over this period — and what will likely happen by 2080 under high- and low-emission scenarios for greenhouse gases (click on images).
The long-term projections have wintertime heating loads continuing to drop over the coming decades. If we continue on our present course with a high-emissions scenario, by 2080 Vermont's climate is expected to be like that of northern Georgia today.
The agricultural implications of these changes aren't all bad. Vermont could become a great place to grow peaches, for example, and our growing season will lengthen considerably. The new USDA Hardiness Zone Maps, released in late January, show most of Vermont shifting by about a half-zone since the hardiness zones were last published in 1990 (each zone represents a 10° difference in minimum winter temperature, and a half-zone represents a 5°F shift). Maple syrup production could well disappear from the state, however, while apples may be harder to grow and certain agricultural and forest pests could become far more of a problem.
Dropping heating degree-days
In terms of our energy costs, climate change is expected to result in a significant drop in annual "heating degree-days." (Heating degree days are calculated by measuring the average Fahrenheit temperature for each day — maximum plus minimum divided by 2 — and subtracting that from a "base temperature" of 65°, then adding up the cumulative total of those degrees for the heating season.)
This reduction in heating degree days that is predicted for the future will save us money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, accordingly. That's good news, especially for folks heating with expensive fuels like heating oil, propane, and electricity.
Increasing cooling degree-days
In the summer, though, cooling energy needs will increase, and that's bad news for most of us. Cooling demand may not increase as quickly as is occurring with the reduction of heating demand, but the impact is greater. For the engineering inclined, annual cooling demand is typically measured as the cumulative Cooling Degree Days. These are typically calculated from a base temperature of 75°F. If the average temperature is above 75°F, that day earns some cooling degree days, and by adding those up for a whole year, we get a cumulative measure of cooling demand.
For most homeowners, a Btu (British Thermal Unit) of cooling is more expensive than a Btu of heating. We almost always use electricity for cooling, while heating may be from natural gas, heating oil, propane, electricity, or a solid fuel such as cordwood or pellets. So, if Vermont's climate really warms to that of northern Georgia's today, we are likely to be impacted significantly with summer energy bills — something many of us don't worry about at all today.
The bottom line is that it's fine to enjoy this warm winter weather and the energy savings it's delivering. But be aware that warmer summers could have a significant energy cost — unless we do what we can to minimize cooling loads and rely more on natural cooling when conditions permit. Fortunately, there's a lot that we can do to reduce those cooling loads, as I covered in this blog a few weeks ago.
Tags: , , , , ,
Image Credits:
1. Barbro Hansson
2. Alan Betts, Ph.D.
3. Alex Wilson
Thu, 02/23/2012 - 10:37
HDD Reduction
by Doug McEvers
Helpful? 0
For Minneapolis energy calculations we used to use 8007 heating degree days, in the 2000's we used 7876. The new 30 year average has us at 7581. The 2000's were very warm, enough to move the 30 year average 295 hdd lower.
Thu, 02/23/2012 - 12:04
Edited Sun, 02/26/2012 - 19:06.
Lake George is Open Water
by aj builder, Upstate NY Zone 6a
Helpful? 0
Lake George is open water. We normally would have 12-18" of ice. In the 70s and before we built on islands by driving our trucks to work. Boats this year. We have had 4 bad ice years since 1990. Before 1990 an open lake was last recorded back near 1900.
A century is not proof though. We may actually be saving ourselves. Sun activity is said to be a cooling effect at the stage it is in. Who knows....
As to skiing. Skiing is fantastic this year. Get on the slopes and see for yourself. And support your local economy.
Lake George, NY and No Ice, Feb 2012
Thu, 02/23/2012 - 12:30
I seem to be missing ...
by Eric Sandeen
Helpful? 0
... the actual "good news" part. :(
Thu, 02/23/2012 - 14:11
Climate change is a wildcard...
by Lucas Durand - 7A
Helpful? 0
I'm with you.
I wouldn't be counting my "Vermont peaches" before they fall off the tree...
Thu, 02/23/2012 - 14:37
Yes, but...
by Alex Wilson
Helpful? 0
Eric and Lucas,
My town of Dummerston is celebrating how much money it has so far saved in snow plowing this winter, and some residents in our area who wouldn't have been able to afford enough heat to stay warm all winter haven't run out. So there are some near-term economic benefits of a warmer winter, even though the prognosis of climate change, from a big-picture standpoint, is indeed mostly bad.
Thu, 02/23/2012 - 22:08
Europe's Cold & Global Warming
by David McNeely
Helpful? 0
Alex, re: your comment, "... after all, Europe is experiencing record cold this winter"
Source: Planetsave (
This was written in 2010. It was the first listing in my Google Search: "Climate Change cooling Europe."
Here in Knoxville, TN we also had no winter. Saw a tree full of cherry blossoms this afternoon, and a Magnolia full of buds about to burst. I see no reason to celebrate, especially when the conservatives continue to label climate change a hoax, and shut down rational discussion of pragmatic alternatives.
Climate change may seem like a vacation from cold winters now, but this bucking bronco is just about to leave the gate: I think we are all in for a hell of a ride.
Fri, 02/24/2012 - 05:36
Peaches in Vermont
by Martin Holladay, GBA Advisor
Helpful? 0
If the Vermont climate becomes favorable for peach orchards, it will be disastrous to Vermont's forests. If the climate allows peach cultivation, all of our balsam firs will be dead or dying. Our sugar maples will be in very rough shape, and the maple sugaring industry will be gone.
That's just two species I can think of.
Fri, 02/24/2012 - 10:58
by Doug McEvers
Helpful? 0
In the years ahead, superinsulation in Minnesota and Vermont might be a 2x2 wall, think positive.
Fri, 02/24/2012 - 20:04
Cost of a Btu
by James Morgan
Helpful? 0
This, while it may be true, may also be misleading for two reasons: first that the Delta-T that the Btu is working to achieve is generally much less in the cooling mode (think 90° external/82° internal vs 20° external/68° internal) and second that the most of that cooling work is done removing humidity rather than cooling the air: in other words it's a false equivalency. The actual net result of a warming climate is that Vermonters are going to be spending a lot less on their annual energy bill in the future.
Sat, 02/25/2012 - 08:39
by James Morgan
Helpful? 0
That last sentence should read: "The actual net result of a warming climate is that as long as their homes are properly air-sealed to control the humidity issues, Vermonters are going to be spending a lot less on their annual energy bill in the future.
Sat, 02/25/2012 - 09:07
Edited Sat, 02/25/2012 - 09:08.
re: Martin
by 5C8rvfuWev
Helpful? 0
You have to look at the bright side -- Kudzu will have a new slogan ... "The Vine that Ate Vermont"
kudzu lg.jpg
Tue, 02/28/2012 - 12:45
You could grow figs & bananss in Vermont right now
by William Rau
Helpful? 0
Martin, You could grow figs, bananas, papayas, etc, in your backyard right now with a "climate battery" or phase change greenhouse: very small energy draw. Your solar system could run the small fans in a climate battery operation. See:
Tue, 02/28/2012 - 13:08
Response to William Rau
by Martin Holladay, GBA Advisor
Helpful? 0
Sorry, but the northeast corner of Vermont is not Colorado. Colorado gets far more sun during the winter than Vermont.
Here's a map that tells the story:
Typical winter peak sun hours in Colorado are between 4.5 hours and 5 hours. Where I live, I get 1.6 hours. Big difference.
It's fairly common to get no sun at all for three weeks straight in November -- so, no, I don't have any extra PV-generated electricity to help me grow bananas in Vermont.
Marc Rosenbaum and Amory Lovins had a long e-mail exchange on this issue years ago, with Amory assuming that it's possible to build a house that needs no heating fuel in northern New England, and with Marc patiently explaining to Amory why he was wrong.
Hey, if I lived in Colorado, I could do all kinds of amazing tricks, too.
Tue, 02/28/2012 - 13:21
Thanks for the map. I see the off-grid problem.
by William Rau
Helpful? 0
Was the Lovins-Rosenbaum exchange concerning annualized geo-solar design or passive annual heat storage? These techniques store heat from the summer sun in dry soil to be used to heat homes in the winter. Is there some flaw in these technologies, or some geographical constraint that limits their use in the Northeast or elsewhere?
Tue, 02/28/2012 - 13:27
Response to William Rau
by Martin Holladay, GBA Advisor
Helpful? 0
The exchange concerned the question of whether it was possible to design a building with a big solar thermal system that could store enough heat to allow the building to do without any source of space heating other than passive solar gain and the active solar thermal system (presumably a system with a very large hot water tank).
Here's a link to the discussion:
Tue, 03/13/2012 - 22:11
climate chang
by david aronson
Helpful? 0
How did the Norsemen survive on Greenland with their annimals for more than 100 years? After time the group was frozen out.
Wed, 03/14/2012 - 04:53
Response to David Aronson
by Martin Holladay, GBA Advisor
Helpful? 0
The Norse settlers on Greenland arrived during a warm period, and they just barely managed to keep their flocks and herds alive through the long winters for several decades. Then an extended cold snap, called the Little Ice Age, gripped Greenland beginning in the 1400s. The Norse settlers either died or left. For more information, see Climate helped drive Vikings from Greenland.
The fact that there was a "Little Ice Age" in Greenland in the 1400s doesn't mean that late 20th century global warming is not a reality. Here's the real takeaway from the story of the Norse in Greenland: established patterns of agriculture don't always survive periods of climate change; nor do some human populations.
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Hate crimes alleged at party
A Thibodaux resident robbed and punched people while yelling racial epithets at a party Saturday night, Thibodaux Police said.
Demond Johnson, 29, of 616 St. Charles St., was at a get-together about 10 p.m. in the 100 block of St. Patrick's Street when he stole someone's cellphone and began yelling racial slurs when the owner asked for it back, police spokesman David Melancon said. He then allegedly punched another person walking by, knocking him unconscious.
He also used racially charged language on the dance floor, allegedly asking other party-goers why they rented the facility from Caucasians.
He was charged with simple robbery, second-degree battery and hate crimes. He was taken to the Lafourche Parish jail and is being held on a $35,000 bond.
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A marathon session of Wikipedia by a group of pioneering women in science aims to correct the staggering omissions of female scientists on the reference site.
Friday's event at the Royal Society, in association with Wikimedia UK, will be a group "edit-a-thon", using the Royal Society's library of biographies and studies of famous female scientists, from doctors to botanists, palaeontologists to physicists.
Professor Uta Frith, professor in cognitive development at UCL and a fellow of the Royal Society, wrote in The Huffington Post UK: "It is one of those pesky facts, that apart from the amazing Marie Curie, there are few heroines of science. Be honest, how many famous women scientists can you name?
"In the network I have set up for high flying women in science we took a quiz set by Rosalind Franklin Prize winner Eleanor Maguire.
"We did embarrassingly poorly on this. For example, none of us knew Alexa Canady, the first female and first black resident in neurosurgery). You too can test yourself by taking this quiz."
"Eleanor Maguire is a scientific heroine. She has made major discoveries about the memory of taxi drivers - yes, that study that showed that the training that London taxi drivers undergo results in increases of the anterior parts of the hippocampus and shrinks back again after the taxi drivers retire. But she doesn't have a Wikipedia entry."
"How many more stars are there and why are they so hard to see?
"Fellows of the Royal Society often talk of the alienating effect on young female scientists produced by a lack of role models, or concretely, lack of portraits of women to adorn the walls of the Society, and we are keenly aware of the pervasive but usually unconscious sexist biases, that exist."
The event is part of many celebrations of the legacy of mathematical engineer Ada Lovelace, who worked with Charles Babbage on an "analytical machine" 163 years ago considered the foundation for all modern computers.
Nathalie Pettorelli is one of the female scientists working to correct Wikipedia's gender gap
Women under consideration for Wikipedia entries are Dr Elsie Widdowson who introduced vitamin supplements to food during World War II rationing and Mary Buckland, mentioned only in her husband William's Wikipedia entry although the pair of palaeontologists worked as a team on fossil discovery in the 1800s.
Nathalie Pettorelli, from Institute of Zoology at the Zoological Society of London and L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellow, is one of the women participating in the edit-a-thon.
She told The Huffington Post UK: "I've never created or edited a Wikipedia page before, but it's such an important way to make women in science more visible.
"Obviously there are fewer women in science overall, that's why there's fewer Wikipedia page, but there are still so many glaring omissions.
"For example, there is ecologist Emily Williamson, who was the founder of the Royal Society for Protection of Birds, that's one of the largest and most important charities for ecology in Britain. And she doesn't have a Wikipedia page. No-one knows who she is."
Pettorelli said she hoped that, by hosting the event, the Royal Society itself would take a good look at the poor showing of women among its own fellows.
"It's around five per cent of its fellows who are women, it's a shame. Maybe they will give more thought after this initiative about how they can promote female scientists, show their work online and give them more opportunities." | dclm-gs1-010450000 |
[b-greek] re: To be born of water
From: Jack Kilmon (jkilmon@historian.net)
Date: Fri Sep 15 2000 - 13:52:04 EDT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Core" <jesuslover@neteze.com>
Cc: "Biblical Greek" <b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 15, 2000 2:29 AM
Subject: [b-greek] re: To be born of water
> I also don't know of an idiom, but if it was a common Hebrew idiom, it
would fit
> with the statement "Born again". The second birth is of the spirit so the
birth that
> precedes it must be the natural birth otherwise actual first birth is not
> counted, or else the term "born again" doesn't refer to a second birth but
a third,
> but I see that as doubtful and the emphasis on being born of the Spirit.
> in Christ -chris
"Born again" is a 2 dimensional western translation but the Semitic
languages are
more 3 dimensional and other meanings are often intended. Aramaic Min d'rish
can also
mean "from the first beginning" This is the same root as bereshit at Genesis
1:1 and lo and behold
Genesis 1:2 speaks of the breath of God moving upon the face of the WATERS.
mystical Jesus appears to be telling Nicodemus to start the creation process
all over again.
| dclm-gs1-010460000 |
The Source for Crime and Justice Data
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Crime Victimization in the US: A Data-Driven Learning Guide
Crime victimization is defined as the involuntary, personal exposure to criminal acts. Victimization can be economic, physical, psychological and/or emotional.
It is difficult to know exactly how many crimes are committed and how many people are victimized every year because a significant percentage of crimes (almost half of violent crimes and about one third of property crimes) go unreported to, or undiscovered by, police. Criminologists refer to this unknown as the "dark figure of crime." By polling a large number of households, victimization surveys such as the National Crime Victimization Survey are able to uncover some of the crime incidents that were never reported or discovered by police. They also provide more detailed information about the crime, victim, and offender(s), than other official sources of crime statistics such as the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports. Victimization surveys are therefore an important source of data for criminologists, but they are not without their limitations. For example, they rely on respondents' honesty and ability to recall facts accurately; since they typically survey only people 12 and older, they provide no data on crimes committed against children; and since they survey crime victims, there is no data on murders either, for obvious reasons!
The goal of this exercise is to explore crime victimization in the US. Frequencies, crosstabulations and comparisons of means will be used.
Access Provider:
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
Place of Access Provider:
Data Accessed:
Related Studies
This publication is related to the following dataset(s): | dclm-gs1-010470000 |
September 29, 2013 by
Mario & Luigi Dream Team
The Mario & Luigi series makes its debut on the 3DS for the first time and delivers a long but enchanting adventure. With plenty of humorous moments, a delightful art style and satisfying battle system, Dream Team will quench anyone's thirst for a charming RPG to play on the go.
by Travis Sokolowski
Spending fifty hours playing an RPG on the 3DS was something I never anticipated on doing. Using up such a large amount of time is usually restricted to console gaming for me, but that was until I played Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. The length of Mario and Luigi's latest adventure allows you take in most of the main content but it also creates the game's biggest downfall in the process.
Running around as the famous duo is just as fun and entertaining as it has been in the past, but whether or not you can withstand that for hours on end all depends on your level of patience. Is getting lost in a goofy tale with Mario and his friends what you've been craving for? Then this is the game for you. If not, then Dream Team might come off as a tad pompous.
The story starts with Princess Peach receiving an invitation to the sunny Pi'illo Island, bringing along the Mario Brothers, Starlow, and Toadsworth with her. Shortly after arriving, the group finds out that Pi'illo Island was once the home to an ancient race known as the Pi'illo folk. Mario and the others also learn that Luigi has the ability to fall asleep as soon as his head hits a comfortable surface.
After knocking Luigi out of his slumber, the brothers come into contact with Prince Dreambert, one of the many Pi'illo folks spread across the island. Dreambert warns everyone that the evil nightmare creature Antasma has returned after being defeated by the Pi'illo folk years ago, and it's up to Mario and Luigi to put a stop to his reign of terror and despair.
Much like past entries in the Mario & Luigi series, Dream Team's narrative will have you chuckling all the way through thanks to the witty sense of humor and likeable personalities. Mario and Luigi speak in fake Italian accents but the rest of the characters express their thoughts through normal text dialogue. The banter between the cast never grows old and it's always sharp.
All of the characters are brought to life with a beautiful art style that really makes them pop off the screen (no 3D effect required). The environments and enemies look gorgeous and it's hard not fall in love with the pure innocent look of the game. Visually speaking, Dream Team is one of the 3DS' most unique offerings to be released thus far.
When you're not reading the amusing dialogue or admiring the graphics, you'll be exploring Pi'illo Island and all of its surrounding areas. Controlling Mario and Luigi remains the same as it did in the earlier titles, with the A button making Mario jump and the B button doing the same for Luigi. The camera is positioned above the two heroes and it can give you a good sense of an area's size.
Coming into contact with an enemy will initiate a combat sequence that involves the same mechanics that have been seen in the past. Timing is essential in order to deal out the largest amount of damage to your foes and it helps keep the battles from feeling stale as they play out. Hitting the jump button just as you're about to land on a foe's head is still extremely satisfying.
If a certain group of enemies is too powerful, you can choose to flee from the battle or use a Bros. Attack on them. The Bros. Attacks use up BP but can eliminate large groups of foes if they're preformed correctly. Upon activating one of them, you'll then have to hit the A and B buttons in the proper sequence to make Mario and Luigi strike with the highest amount of force.
At the end of each battle you'll receive a select amount of EXP depending on what types of enemies you fought. Earning enough EXP will cause Mario and Luigi to level up and improve their various stats such as Health, Speed, Defense, and many others. You can also choose to enhance one stat by a few points if you time your button press well on a spinning slot.
The better your timing is, the stronger the attack will be.
Once you reach a certain level as Mario or Luigi they'll earn themselves a brand new rank. Both of them start with the Mushroom rank but will work their way towards the Shell, Flower, Star, and Rainbow ranks as they level up. Earning a new rank will give you the chance to pick a permanent enhancement for the individual bros. but you'll have to choose wisely.
Pi'illo Island might have some problems with nasty creates running around, but so does the Dream World. Thanks to Luigi's impressive sleeping skills, Mario can enter the Dream World through a portal that appears over Luigi's head as he sleeps on a Pi'illo folk while they're in their pillow form. Unlike the rest of the game, the Dream World is navigated on a 2D plain.
Mario will be joined by a recreation of Luigi known as Dreamy Luigi while in the Dream World, and he can help you navigate with the use of Luiginary Works. This means that Dreamy Luigi takes control of an aspect of the environment and manipulates it so he can help Mario explore the terrain. The Luiginary Works make great use of the 3DS' touch screen and are surprisingly well varied.
Seeing as how the real Luigi isn't in the Dream World, Bros. Attacks are replaced with Luiginary Attacks. Dreamy Luigi will explode into smaller versions of himself called Luiginoids and combined them together for Mario to attack enemies with. From an unstoppable rolling ball to an oversized hammer, the Luiginary Attacks are always pleasing to watch.
The boss encounters play out as standard battles while in the land of reality, but the ones in the Dream World are entirely different stories. Dreamy Luigi will grow enormous and force you to turn the 3DS on its side before starting the brawl. All of these boss fights will keep you on your toes and they're a blast to take part in, and thankfully there are multiple ones.
Platforming is a much larger part of Dream Team than any of the other Mario & Luigi games that came before it. Both the real and Dream Worlds contain sections that will have you jumping from platform to platform just like a classic Mario title. The platforming mechanics are tight and responsive but they don't offer much of a challenge over the course of the game.
The full map of the world is huge to say the least. There are multiple landmark regions to explore and Warp Pipes that will take you beneath the land. Being thorough reaps great rewards such as finding extra coins, valuable equipment, Attack Pieces, and Pi'illo folk to rescue. Discovering all of the games secrets will take a great deal of time to do, but the benefits are worth it.
There's a lot of ground to cover on Pi'illo Island.
There's a lot of ground to cover on Pi'illo Island.
Coins are used to purchase items and equipment for use during battle and there are plenty to be found. Equipment can improve Mario and Luigi's stats but they can also create negative effects that could potentially harm the two plumbers. Studying how the different types of equipment can alter Mario and Luigi's stats is vital to maxing out their performance during the multitude of brawls.
The most valuable items available for purchase are Badges, which can change the tide of any battle when used at the proper time. Mario and Luigi can purchase individual Badges for them to then combine into one, giving them a special ability once they build up a mandatory energy meter. The effects range from simple healing benefits to damaging enemies and they're all worth experimenting with.
Everything within Dream Team holds a high mark of quality, but the game's main problem is its overall length. On one hand, it's nice to have a full-fledged RPG on the 3DS but the game overstays its welcome on the other. I loved interacting with the world surrounding the two lovable heroes but playing through a seemingly endless amount of fetch quests on a handheld is no easy task.
Sure, having a huge adventure in your pocket at all times is great for those who want that core experience but the it might come off as daunting for others. All of the elements that compose the game are executed nicely but I can't shake the feeling that Nintendo overcompensated this time around. What might work on a console doesn't necessarily translate perfectly to handhelds.
It also doesn't help that a tutorial is activated nearly every time you unlock a new ability or encounter a puzzle in the game. Dreambert and Starlow will never stop pestering you about how to preform new moves and it can get irritating very quickly. I understand that Nintendo is trying to appeal to a mass audience, but that doesn't mean that everyone is new to gaming.
Dream Team might be a little too long for its own good but I still recommend playing through it. The story has enough charming moments to keep a smile on any gamer's face and the battle system is consistently engaging. It's the core gameplay that makes the game rise above the bloated narrative it has, and I never found myself bored with any of the enemy or boss confrontations.
The 3DS has built up a strong library of games with plenty of excellent titles to choose from, with Mario & Luigi: Dream Team being one of them. Seeing Mario and Luigi cooperate like two close brothers is will leave you in a pleasant mood by the conclusion. You might end up spending a bit more time on Pi'illo Island than you would have liked to but it's a vacation spot worth visiting.
Score: 8.4 out of 10 - "Great"
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Ghirahim you said?October 10, 2011 by
Ghirahim... the new vilain? I don't think so... When you find the Triforce, the Godess and Zelda in a zelda game, the is always Ganon to be found somewhere. You remember Twilight princess?
And if you agree with me, you will think that Ghirahim looks like Agahnim... You remember "A link to the past"? For the first part of the game, Agahnim was the vilain abducting the girls of the wise men to be able to create the path beween the light and the dark world.. That way Ganon could cross over and take on the other world.
What do we know from now? Ghirahim kidnaped Zelda who is the daughter of Gebora... Does that sound familiar? I'm just speculating right now, but I found some similarities between the 2 titles. I'm sure Skyward Sword will be awesome... And I hope to find something like that in the upcoming game.
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Nintendo: where are you?September 2, 2011 by
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Skyward Sword... wild guess?August 27, 2011 by
The game remains a mystery... until now.
We have a logo, we have a vilain but what about the story.. the main plot of this upcoming game? Well, I have an answer for that one. And even though it's my personal guess, there are some things telling me that it's not a crazy one.
First: The title of the game. It's no surprise that game is going to explain the origins of the Master Sword. That powerful blade capable of banishing evil. If I remember right, that sword only appears in games directly related to Zelda, Ganon and the Triforce...
Second: The bad guy: He is strange, almost IMO looking... not exactly what we look for in a vilain... No Ganon here.... (well, continue the reading)...
Third: The game's logo: Here it is: An "old" look at the bird's shield and the most important part of the logo: The Triforce. It's there.
The wild guess: The games speaks about the origins... of what exactly? Everything. I think that game will teach us how it all started. How Zelda will become the princess of Hyrule (even though it seems she's not from that world). Link will take refuge there, hiding himself from evil to protect it's future. The Triforce will be discovered and hidden away from evil minds for some reason... and... Ganon will rise, being attracted by power. Somebody will give him that will.
Ok I heard Ganon won't be the main focus in the game but nobody said he won't be a part of it (In twilight princess, we heard of him later in the game).
This is only a guess... a dream I had about the game. But if you want to tell a tale about how it all started, maybe, just maybe, it will tell us how Ganon was raised in a desert, far away from the Triforce and the princess, and conducted to become what he is...
Your ideas are as good as mine. We will find out soon enough. But meanwhile, let's have wild guess... Maybe one of us will hit the target.
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What means HARDCORE gamer? Pokemon lover, blood bath maker...?!?August 12, 2011 by
What I often hear or read about hardcore gamers is that they consider themselves "hardcore gamers" because they like FPS games where you can kill everybody endlessly. But is this the right definition?
I consider myself a hardcore gamer: When my two kids are sleeping, when my girlfriend is sleeping, I often find myself playing video games. I like RPGs (JRPGS are my fav...), some plateformers... I can spend hours and hours playing the same game, just to find everything. But I don't like "shooter" games. When I was a kid (13-15 years old) I played "DOOM" and "DOOM 2" and I really liked them but after that, I had enough of that kind of games. They are just not my type anymore. So am I a hardcore player? YES.
I admit it, I play pokemon games and enjoy them. Spending so many hours trying to catch some stupid monsters and evolving them. I just can't stop playing. When I play (and replay) a Zelda Game, I still want to get every item hidden in that world. When I play an old Final Fantasy game, I want every chest opened even though I know some are just not worth it... When playing Mario RPG game, it's the same.. when I play MArio Galaxy, I want all the stars... When I play Torchlight, I want the best possible weapons and gears for my character... Don't tell me it does not fit the "hardcore" definition...
Now, tell me I am wrong, but I consider myself a hardcore gamer who love time consuming games, but no FPS anymore.
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PS3.. where is your personnality?August 10, 2011 by
I own almost every video game consoles since the nintendo 8-bits. But I do not own a PS3... Why did I not buy this particulary performant gadget? Because it has no personnality.. And by this, I speak about the games we can play with it.
After all, a console is nothing more than a disk-drive used to discover universes created to be used in the specific format of the device... Then this mean, at least for me, that the games made specificaly for the PS3 have nothing particular.. nothing worth buying that thing.
I recently saw an article speaking about franchises PS3 is "proud of" having for itself... Well, there is nothing of interest for me.
XBox was the first device I used to play with my friends from a distance, being able to compare my average stats against others. PS3 has it too... but nothing new here so I passed.
Nintendo has a lot of "child" games... Mario, Zelda/Link, Samus... great caracters great games. It was worth it from the begining and still doing it... even though the company is in deep trouble at this point...
PS2 had the FF series (literally stealed it from Nintendo) for itself until recently... XBox got its hand on it too...
You know where i'm going... I did not found something for me in the PS3 and I would be very surprised if it ever happens. This is why, for me, the PS3 has nothing to offer more than others... the lack of personnality keeps me far from it.
UPDATE: Wow.. I never tought this little post would attract so many PS3 lovers. It's good to see some people love that console. But what surprise me the most is the lack of vision they seem to have :) . Because I found nothing great with the PS3 does not mean this thing is bad for everybody... Think about it :) No offense to PS3 users, but this thing give's me nothing but "meh" feelings when I use it.
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The Grey Zone (2001) Poster
Plot Keywords
auschwitz jew
sonderkommando prisoner
jewish uprising
gas chamber death
nazi holocaust
hungarian ss
girl concentration camp
revolt doctor
final solution cigarette smoking
crying flashback
bombing jewelry
machine gun smokestack
water sprinkler tears
brzezinko poland shot in the back
gallstone dynamite
prisoner revolt twin
vomit electrocution
medical experiment beating
motorcycle with a sidecar friend
fire female frontal nudity
headache narration from the grave
guard dog factory
murder polish
crematorium beaten to death
torture gunfire
color in title burned alive
topless female nudity gunpowder
food dormitory
budapest hungary gun
guard smelting works
revolver explosion
corpse dump truck
train color in title
unconsciousness nazi uniform
dying 1940s
electric fence world war two
shooting blood
shot in the head friendship
mass murder hypodermic needle
drinking subjective camera
dog oven
joseph mengele female nudity
nudity drink
gold smothering
suicide by electrocution voice over narration
prison birkenau
suicide third reich
wristwatch eating
liar washroom
munitions factory clothing
asphyxiation smuggling
escape nazi occupied poland
tattooed number on arm drunkenness
dead child germany
husband wife relationship motorcycle
pit shot in the face
truck interrogation
survival bare breasts
collaborator tattoo
undressing wine
gas mask yiddish
lie family relationships
collaboration dead body
orchestra experiment
execution based on play
based on book based on true story
independent film
See also
Taglines | Plot Summary | Synopsis | Parents Guide
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Lincoln MP reacts to hosepipe ban end
As Anglian Water prepares to end its hosepipe ban at midnight for customers in Lincolnshire, Karl McCartney MP shares his views.
I also share my constituents’ disappointment and dismay that they have not received a rebate from Anglian Water for being prevented from using their hosepipes, especially if they have a water meter and so pay for the water they use. They pay for a utility service, but that service has sadly been lacking from Anglia Water . Once again, it seems, profit is being put ahead of treating customers fairly.
I am very pleased that the hosepipe ban will now end, but water companies must do more to ensure that they discharge their responsibilities to their customers more effectively in future.
– Karl McCartney, MP for City of Lincoln
Hosepipe ban to end
Anglian Water is to end its hosepipe ban for customers in Lincolnshire. | dclm-gs1-010510000 |
A Dying Regime
A Dying Regime A Dying Regime is a 5 piece Punk/Metal band from Orlando, Fl. With an emphasis on musicianship, creative song writing and freedom of expression, the group is currently in the process of promoting their first studio album, which was released March 2,2012.
A Dying Regime was formed in 2011 when a group of friends, who had played the local circuit in other bands and had collaborated with each other in previously casual sessions, decided to perform at a benefit show for a close friend who had been in a terrible automobile accident. While the group rehearsed for the show, each band member concluded that A Dying Regime would become a full time commitment. | dclm-gs1-010520000 |
I believe that Austin Trout deserves and apology. You ruined him on the front page.
Darn it Austin can't you just stay out of trouble and thank God for the fortunes you have been given?
Now that the World Boxing Association champion, Austin Trout, is out of jail, maybe we should have another parade for him. That way they can ride him in the car with handcuffs.
It is absurd for City Council to hire a contractor to do a survey of selected citizens and ask them what they would like their government to do. When citizens sign petitions and attend council meetings and tell the council what they would like council to do, council instead does what the developers want them to do.
I'm pleased that Republicans are dropping their quest for a voter suppression ID law, but one suspects that part of the reason might be that our one and only voter impersonation case was a Republican.
I agree with others who have complained about the Sun-News weather report. Wednesday's report said absolutely nothing about having snow.
A recent letter to the editor said that you should poll your readers as to who should be doing the op-ed pieces. I say that you can get rid of Harbison and Krauthammer.
Mr. Krauthammer explains that President Reagan brought us "low taxes" and now that taxes are even lower, he says we have a "high tax economy." I will never understand Republican math.
The stupendous tax hike passed by Obama and the Congress, breaking promises to the people, is a disgrace. No spending cuts, tax and spend as usual. Tea Parties will strike back at the next election.
The fierce, no-compromising Congressman Steve Pearce sadly opposed essential legislation to avert the fiscal cliff. He'd rather protect his wealthy buddies and pierce the very soul of the middle class, retirees and the poverty-stricken in New Mexico.
Steve Pearce and the House Republicans are at it again already. The first bill that they are going to introduce, they want to repeal Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act, which was approved by the Supreme Court of the United States. Wasting time already. Do something real.
I am personally tired of bailing out the storm victims, whether it's Sandy or Katrina. What are insurance companies for? Why do these people in cities have insurance if the taxpayers have to pay?
The Bush tax cuts were sold with the (Heritage Foundation) theory that they would bring the debt to zero by 2010. Perhaps we need to keep Republicans out of office until they have a new theory.
It didn't take President Obama to jet back to Hawaii on Air Force One for the second time in two weeks after raising taxes. I would like to see what that costs the taxpayers.
There goes part of Holloman, Fort Bliss, Los Alamos and White Sands and the protection that goes with it. Thanks to all you good people that voted Obama back in office, and this is just the start of it.
There are dozens of people killed every day in this country by guns and some people will say well there are dozens of people killed every day by automobiles, but there is a difference. By guns it is done intentionally. | dclm-gs1-010540000 |
- Linux - Kernel (
- - /proc output max length (
IshmaelMD 08-21-2013 07:29 PM
/proc output max length
Is there a maximum size limit to the number of bytes I can print through a file in /proc directory ?
I created an entry under /proc. I am trying to display some driver data there but there are quite a few data to display. The display gets cut at ~80% so I was wondering if there is an upper limit on number of bytes that can be displayed in /proc that anyone knows of and if there is a way around it.
sundialsvcs 08-22-2013 11:48 AM
I would suggest that you ought to further refine your /proc interface, so that the requesting programs can be more specific as to what they are asking for, or can ask for a subset of it (in the flavor of MySQL's LIMIT verb). Don't give the requesting program indigestion ... and don't consume an unnecessary amount of kernel memory preparing the response to any given request.
For example, if I want to "find out about all the processes in the system," one request gives me a set of PIDs. Then, by looping through that list, my program can individually request information about each PID and in so doing build up the complete set of information that it requires. But at no point did the kernel have to prepare (nor did the program have to deal with) a huge amount of data.
IshmaelMD 08-22-2013 12:00 PM
To elaborate further, I need to display spectrum information of 4 chains in the wireless device. Each chain displays 256 words. This is what I am trying to display in /proc/spectrum and am not able to display all. I split it into /proc/spectrum/chain1,2 etc. But when the sample size is higher, I can't think of any other way of displaying them except further subdividing the proc folder.
Other than /proc, is mmap perhaps the only way to make this available to user space upon request ?
Thanks. Appreciate the replies.
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An organization conducting bingo games shall maintain a record in writing for three years of the dates on which bingo was played, the number of people in attendance on each date, and the amount of the receipts and prizes paid on each such day. The organization shall also maintain a record of the names and addresses of each individual to whom a door prize, regular or special bingo game prize or jackpot for the playing of bingo is awarded, as well as the amount of such award. The organization playing bingo shall also maintain an itemized record of all receipts and disbursements; including operating costs and use of proceeds incurred in operating bingo games. (Ord. No. O-94-301, 11-22-94, eff. 1-1-95) | dclm-gs1-010560000 |
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02-28-2012, 11:29 AM #199
ADV.1 Matt
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Matthew - I'm not trying to argue and I don't feel I've acted unprofessionally with anyone on this forum. However, please don't confuse me trying to address the blatantly false accusations being made about our company and product as trying to act unprofessional. I'm simply trying to interject a few facts into the discussion and like most "arguments" on internet forums no one ever gives up an inch on what they believe or what they've heard from their mothers brothers aunt's mailman about the topic regardless of actual firsthand knowledge of the topics discussed and things quickly spiral downward. It's the nature of the beast unfortunately but we NEVER call people out, act disrespectful, or try and berate members. Period. End of discussion.
Per Jordan's argument on L4P - It must've been before my time because we have a stellar reputation on that forum and no bad blood with anyone i've seen in my time with ADV.1. My job for the first 6 months was simply to be online forums and interact with communities, answer questions, etc and i've seen no evidence of that forum rejecting us. Again - i'm not trying to be disrespectful to you - simply stating that my experience hasn't been that and i've seen no evidence of that.
Now onto addressing the TUV certification more in depth and why only having one set certified for the M3 platform...
What we haven't been able to explain well enough apparently is that with TUV certification you can have a 20X8.5, 20X10.5 setup for the M3 that is built and TUV certified. Another wheel built next in line with the identical materials, in the same factory, on the same machine, at the same time, but running a 20X8.5, 20X11 M3 setup (or even an identical 20X8.5, 20X10.5 but with a different spoke design) is considered by TUV to be a completely different wheel and thus won't have certification.
From a structural and quality standpoint there is NO difference between the 20X10.5, and 20X11 wheel - the only difference is the paperwork. Our wheels haven't changed in their manufacturing process since day one which means getting all of our wheels TUV certified is simply a matter of paperwork.
This is why we've been able to achieve a TUV manufacturing certification and why now we can pump paperwork through on tons of wheels to make things official on anything our customers need TUV certified. But understand - paperwork or no paperwork the quality and safety of the wheels on the 20X11 wheel (or different spoke design wheel) isn't compromised simply because it doesn't have the paperwork. They are ALL made in accordance to TUV standards and have been since day one.
If that wasn't the case we would not have been able to achieve TUV manufacturing status. Now i'm sure someone at this point will say "But X company says their entire line is TUV certified". Most wheel manufactures that don't build custom offsets can do this simply because there is a finite amount of widths and offsets possible to achieve this. They may only offer a 19X8.5 19X10.5 in 4 offsets, and as such only have to certify 8 wheels to have that entire line TUV certified.
For us on the other hand as we can build ANY offset you'd like to have our entire lineup TUV certified we'd have to build and test a 19X10 +0, 19X10 +1, 19X10 +2, 19X10 +3, and on and on and on. And then after we certified 150 wheels for the rear at 2k a pop for certification we'd have to do the same for the front wheel. No company has done this before and this is why we haven't - there is no reason to as the actual structure and safety/load rating of the wheel doesn't change with a different offset. Which is why we don't TUV certify "every" wheel.
For our 1-piece wheels alone it would require 40 different forgings (wheel sizes), x 12 spoke designs x roughly 100 different offset permutations which would only require about 48,000 wheels to be certified to have our entire 1-piece line officially TUV certified in every fitment configuration possible. And then we'd have to start in on our 3-piece wheels. Do you think any other big name wheel manufacture did that to TUV certify their entire line? Of course not.
Hopefully this can help claify why this whole TUV certified/not TUV certified thing is a slightly ridiculous discussion to begin with. The facts are this - our wheels are up to TUV standards or we wouldn't have been able to get TUV manufacturing certification. Every ADV.1 wheel on the road can pass that certification but are we going to certify every style and option? No. And no other company would either. For our customers in Germany - where this certification is actually necessary, those are the applications we're going to certify for on their specific orders.
I hope this can clarify the TUV certification and any concerns with the safety of our product line.
ADV.1 Matt is offline
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The fact that your husband has no memories but his abuser/brother does says that he may hold the key for helping your husband. Since you already confronted your brother-in-law and he gave you info that your husband doesn't have, he is in a position to help your husband and maybe help the marriage.
Why not ask his permission to bring up the topic with the therapist, either in a joint session with your husband and the therapist, or allow the therapist to call you for this information? | dclm-gs1-010580000 |
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Linearization of Models with Delays
This example shows how to linearize a Simulink model with delays in it.
Linearization of Models with Continuous Delays
You can linearize a Simulink model with continuous time delays blocks such as the Transport Delay, Variable Transport Delay, and Variable Time Delay using one of the following options:
• Use a Pade approximations of the delays to get a rational linear system through linearizations.
• Compute a linearization where the delay is exactly represented. Use this option when you need accurate simulation and frequency responses from a linearized model and when assessing the accuracy of Pade approximation.
By default, Simulink Control Design uses Pade approximations of the delay blocks in a Simulink model.
To open the engine speed model used in this example, type
model = 'scdspeed';
The engine speed model contains a Variable Transport Delay block named dM/dt in the subsystem Induction to Power Stroke Delay. For convenience you can store the path to the block in a MATLAB variable by typing
DelayBlock = 'scdspeed/Induction to Power Stroke Delay/dM//dt delay';
To compute a linearization using a first order approximation, use one of the following techniques to set the order of the Pade approximation to 1:
• In the Variable Transport Delay block dialog box, enter 1 in the Pade Order (for linearization) field.
• At the command line, enter the following command:
Next, specify the linearization I/O to throttle angle as the input and engine speed as the output by running:
io(1) = linio('scdspeed/throttle (degrees)',1,'input');
io(2) = linio('scdspeed/rad//s to rpm',1,'output');
Compute the linearization using the following linearize command:
sys_1st_order_approx = linearize(model,io);
You can compute a linearization using a second order approximation by setting the Pade order to 2:
sys_2nd_order_approx = linearize(model,io);
To compute a linear model with the exact delay representation, set the 'UseExactDelayModel' property in the linoptions object to on:
opt = linearizeOptions;
opt.UseExactDelayModel = 'on';
Linearize the model using the following linearize command:
sys_exact = linearize(model,io,opt);
Compare the Bode response of the Pade approximation model and the exact linearization model by running:
p = bodeoptions('cstprefs');
p.Grid = 'on';
p.PhaseMatching = 'on';
p.XLimMode = {'Manual'};
p.XLim = {[0.1 1000]};
f = figure;
h = legend('sys_1st_order_approx','sys_2nd_order_approx','sys_exact',...
In the case of a first order approximation, the phase begins to diverge around 50 rad/s and diverges around 100 rad/s.
Close the Simulink model.
Linearization of Models with Discrete Delays
When linearizing a model with discrete delay blocks, such as (Integer) Delay and Unit Delay blocks use the exact delay option to account for the delays without adding states to the model dynamics. Explicitly accounting for these delays improves your simulation performance for systems with many discrete delays because your fewer states in your model.
To open the Simulink model of a discrete system with a Delay block with 20 delay state used for this example, run the following.
model = 'scdintegerdelay';
By default the linearization includes all of the states folded into the linear model. Set the linearization I/Os and linearize the model as follows:
io(1) = linio('scdintegerdelay/Step',1,'input');
io(2) = linio('scdintegerdelay/Discrete Filter',1,'output');
sys_default = linearize(model,io);
Integrate the resulting model to see that it has 21 states (1 - Discrete Filter, 20 - Integer Delay).
State-space model with 1 outputs, 1 inputs, and 21 states.
You can linearize this same model using the 'UseExactDelayModel' property as follows:
opt = linearizeOptions;
opt.UseExactDelayModel = 'on';
sys_exact = linearize(model,io,opt);
Interrogating the new resulting model shows that it has 1 state and the delays are accounted for internally in the linearized model.
State-space model with 1 outputs, 1 inputs, and 1 states.
Run a step response simulation of both linearized model to see that they are identical by running the following commands.
h = legend('sys_default','sys_exact',...
Close the Simulink model and clean up figures.
Working with Linearized Models with Delays
For more information on manipulating linearized models with delays, see the Control System Toolbox documentation along with the examples "Specifying Time Delays" and "Analyzing Control Systems with Delays" .
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Non-linear Simultaneous Fitting/Solution
Asked by Avigdor on 6 Sep 2012
I am trying to model two vector data sets f1(x) and f2(x) using two non-linear equations with common variables.
For example:
f1(x) = a0 + a1(k1,t)*exp(-l1*x) + a2(k1,t)*exp(-l2*x)
f2(x) = b0 + b1(k1,t)*exp(-l1*x) + b2(k1,t)*exp(-l2*x)
I would like to simultaneously fit f1(x) and f2(x) to these two equations. Then graphically display the data and fits. The a1, a2, b1, and b2 are expressions which are different but contain the variables k1 and t which will be determined from the simultaneous fit. I would like to use matlab script to do this.
Is fsolve the way to do this? If so, can somebody please give a little direction as to setting this up?
Edit: I have been trying fmincon, but need the minimization to output a global minimum for the vector data sets, not a minimum at each point. Is there a way around this in simple code?
No products are associated with this question.
1 Answer
Answer by Matt Tearle on 6 Sep 2012
Edited by Matt Tearle on 6 Sep 2012
You can treat this as a least-squares problem with 6 parameters: a0, b0, k1, t, l1, and l2. Then make your objective function the total square error ((y1 - f1(x))^2 + (y2 - f2(x))^2). So something like
function err = myerrorfun(c,x1,y1,x2,y2)
f1 = c(1) + [function of c(3) and c(4)]*exp(-c(5)*x1) + ...;
f2 = c(2) + [function of c(3) and c(4)]*exp(-c(5)*x2) + ...;
err = (y1-f1).^2 + (y2-f2).^2;
Then in your main program, call a minimization routine like fmincon:
x1 = ... % enter/load
x2 = ... % all
y1 = ... % the
y2 = ... % data
% make a function handle of one variable (the parameters), with the data embedded
objective = @(c) myerrorfun(c,x1,y1,x2,y2);
% do the fitting
c_fit = fmincon(objective,...);
Avigdor on 9 Sep 2012
Thank you for the information and concise code!
Do you have any suggestions as to estimation of goodness of fit, or error in fit from such a method?
Matt Tearle on 12 Sep 2012
In this case, myerrorfun is actually returning the sum of the squared error. You can get the function value as a second output from fmincon (or whatever minimization function you used). But if you want more detailed info, you could make functions to evaluate f1 and f2; call these with c_fit and x1 or x2; take the difference with y1 and y2 and now you have the residuals. Apply whatever standard analysis you normally would to the residuals of a regression -- hist, normplot, scatter(resids(1:end-1),resids(2:end)), etc. Or, of course, apply your favorite goodness-of-fit formula (eg adjusted R^2).
Matt Tearle
Contact us | dclm-gs1-010600000 |
Bandwidth-Limited Communication Channel Modeling
This example shows how to model a communication system that sends frames of video data over a channel. By dropping frames that wait too long to reach the end user, the model also illustrates how to use timeouts to implement point-to-point timing constraints.
Structure of the Model
The model includes the sections listed below.
• Video source - Attaches frames of video data to entities at a constant rate using matrix-valued attributes of the entities. The source also uses the Schedule Timeout block to establish each frame's time-to-live (TTL) value, which is the duration until the channel drops that frame if it has not yet reached the end user.
• Bandwidth-limited communication channel - Buffers the incoming frames and delays them for a period of time. If the TTL for a given frame elapses before it has reached the end user, then the channel discards the frame. Removing outdated video data from the system results in an improved quality of service because the channel focuses on newer data that is more relevant to the end user.
• Video end-user - Buffers the received frames and forwards them to a viewer block at a constant rate.
Watching the Video Viewer
When you run the simulation, the Video Viewer block opens to display the received video. You can observe the following behavior:
• The viewer is initially blank and does not start to display the video until T=10. The reason is that the block labeled Flow Control changes its output value from 0 to 1 at T=10, which enables the periodic release of frames to the viewer.
• The video repeats a few times, but has a discontinuity near T=37. Also, between approximately T=31 and T=36, the plot of timed-out entities rises steeply. Frames time out when they experience a delay in the channel equal to their TTL value. Around T=31, accumulated delays cause many consecutive frames to time out, leaving a gap in the video data. Even when the channel resumes sending frames to the end user, you notice the gap when you watch the video in the viewer.
Results and Displays
Scopes in the model plot the following quantities to help you understand its performance:
• The size of the input buffer shows how many frames are waiting in the channel. Frames accumulate in the input buffer until they either progress through the channel or time out.
• The size of the reception buffer shows how many frames are waiting in the receiver. Before T=10, frames accumulate in the reception buffer because the block labeled Flow Control keeps the path closed between the receiver's buffer and the video viewer.
• The status of underflow events in the receiver has a value of 1 whenever the Release Gate block permits a frame to advance from the reception buffer to the video viewer, but no frame is present. For more about this, see Experimenting with the Model below.
• The communication delay per frame shows how long the channel delays each frame that has advanced beyond the input buffer. In this model, the delay is periodic.
• The number of timed-out entities shows how many frames have timed out in the channel. The end user does not receive these frames and can observe a gap in the video if many consecutive frames time out.
Experimenting with the Model
To vary the simulation behavior, decrease the initial delay in the end user's viewing by changing the Step time parameter from 10 to 3 in the block labeled Flow Control. As a result, the simulation has some instances at which the gate opens to let a frame advance, but the reception buffer is empty. You can see values of 0 in the plot of the reception buffer's size and values of 1 in the plot of underflow events.
Note: To run this simulation, you must have a license for the Computer Vision System Toolbox™ product. | dclm-gs1-010610000 |
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Enter Statements in Command Window
As you work in MATLAB®, you can enter individual statements in the Command Window. For example, create a variable named a by typing this statement at the command line:
a = 1
MATLAB immediately adds variable a to the workspace and displays the result in the Command Window.
a =
ans =
The value of ans changes with every command that returns an output value that is not assigned to a variable.
b = 2;
To enter multiple statements on multiple lines before running any of the statements, use Shift+Enter between statements. This action is unnecessary when you enter a paired keyword statement on multiple lines, such as for and end.
You also can enter more than one statement on the same line by separating statements. To distinguish between commands, end each one with a comma or semicolon. Commands that end with a comma display their results, while commands that end with a semicolon do not. For example, enter the following three statements at the command line:
A = magic(5), B = ones(5) * 4.7; C = A./B
A =
17 24 1 8 15
23 5 7 14 16
4 6 13 20 22
10 12 19 21 3
11 18 25 2 9
C =
3.6170 5.1064 0.2128 1.7021 3.1915
4.8936 1.0638 1.4894 2.9787 3.4043
0.8511 1.2766 2.7660 4.2553 4.6809
2.1277 2.5532 4.0426 4.4681 0.6383
2.3404 3.8298 5.3191 0.4255 1.9149
MATLAB displays only the values of A and C in the Command Window.
To clear a command from the Command Window without executing it, press the Escape (Esc) key.
You can evaluate any statement already in the Command Window. Select the statement, right-click, and then select Evaluate Selection.
In the Command Window, you also can execute only a portion of the code currently at the command prompt. To evaluate a portion of the entered code, select the code, and then press Enter.
For example, select a portion of the following code:
Was this topic helpful? | dclm-gs1-010620000 |
It is San Francisco Ballet's 80th season, and on Tuesday at the War Memorial Opera House, the company pulled out some big, shiny dances in a flourish that reveled in wit, daring and neoclassical tradition. This is a ballet troupe that can dance anything, and on opening night it nearly did, from a big, cheeky 70-year-old ballet right for a Parisian nightclub to a strobe-filled dystopic/utopian premiere to a neurotic beauty from 1970. That's quite a range for any performing arts group.
But as versatile as the company is, and as thrilling as it is to watch in all its parts, there is still something this octogenarian can't do: lead us into a daring new future of dance. The birthday news from S.F. Ballet is that the company lacks a reliable radical edge, and that's despite the valiant efforts over the years by artistic director Helgi Tomasson to find one.
Tomasson seemed to have located a new dance maverick in Wayne McGregor in 2007. He is resident choreographer for the Royal Ballet in London, and six years ago he premiered his brainy collaboration "Eden/Eden," created with path-breaking minimalist composer Steve Reich and videographer Beryl Korot. It was a hit. But stripped of mesmerizing text and visuals, last year's "Chroma" by McGregor turned out to be built on a dance language much thinner than the earlier work promised, even if the overall conception dazzled.
McGregor's newest work, "Borderlands," is in the same league -- captivating, obliquely topical, but not the game changer one might hope for. Mostly, it tries too hard. Weighed down by allusions to the German Bauhaus, "Borderlands" puts the dancers into a beautifully illuminated cube of light (designed by Lucy Carter) and launches them into action like so many poisoned worms squirming in a giant box that changes colors and moods.
The movement breaks the body into fragments -- an elbow, a rib cage, a bottom, a foot -- but the physical squiggles and protruding body parts fail to coalesce into a point of view. The too-tame score by Joel Cadbury and Paul Stoney reinforced the timidity of the project.
Yet "Borderlands" offered dancers extreme physical challenges, and stunning moments abounded -- Pascal Molat dancing like a dystopic 21st-century Petrouchka, Frances Chung giving new meaning to the passé position of the leg, four dancers walking in sensuous, rocking lock-step along the wall, like soldiers, prisoners or mourners. And eye-popping blasts of purple or green or blue grey light.
By contrast, the night's opener was an entertaining and ravishingly outré one-act ballet, "Suite en Blanc," by expat Serge Lifar, who left Russia in 1921, and beautifully mounted by Maina Gielgud, former dancer with the London Festival Ballet among others. It promised nothing more than amusement and delight but offered more. The "pure dance" ballet, propelled by its Spanish melodies and Russian mazurkas, was arranged as a series of dance numbers, and set to Edouard Lalo's "Namouna."
This "white" ballet, which refers to the classic-era ballets of dying swans decked in white tutus, was surrounded by black and leavened by the spirit of the Folies Bergere while inspired by the ingenious designs of Busby Berkeley. Lush, rigorous Russian classical and neoclassic dance from the ballets of August Bournonville, Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov to George Balanchine undergird it all. The result was a dance arranged as a show number that brought ballet into new terrain, where the endless quotes from the 19th-century classics were made fodder for modernist wit and expression.
It also gave us a parade of stunning individual and Hollywood-big corps performances. Tiit Helimets and Shane Wuerthner partnered with a radiant Vanessa Zahorian in "pas de trois." Sasha De Sola in "serenade" made herself queen of the black stage with its hidden stairs as she executed leg extensions and fouette turns with imperious femininity. The bounding quartet of Daniel Deivison-Oliveira, Steven Morse, Myles Thatcher and Hansuke Yamamoto sprang into the air in relentless beats, jumps and turns. Frances Chung talked with her legs, and Sarah Van Patten danced a subtly witty "cigarette" with signature steel-like clarity. Maria Kochetkova nailed the silkiness of "flute," and Davit Karapetyan was wonderfully sultry in "mazurka," as eight men danced on the ingenious upper landing that gave the whole its nightclub aura.
Between these two concept ballets came Jerome Robbins' Chekovian study set to Chopin nocturnes (impeccably played by pianist Roy Bogas) that examines love at three stages of its arc. It is embodied by a trio of couples whose costumes, deepening in color from couple to couple, reinforce the trajectory from innocence to propriety to volcanic rupture. Despite its 19th-century trappings, this is a 20th-century ballet of interior life made public, and it is a slightly neurotic beauty set against a backdrop of dreamy stars -- a welcome whisper between two claps of dance thunder.
san francisco ballet
Presents the world premiere of Wayne McGregor's "Borderlands," the S.F. premiere of Serge Lifar's "Suite en Blanc" and Jerome Robbins' "In the Night"
Where: War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness, S.F.
When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30, 8 p.m. Jan. 31 and Feb. 1-2, 2 p.m. Feb. 2 and 3
Tickets: $20-$135, 415-865-2000, | dclm-gs1-010630000 |
User Score
Mixed or average reviews- based on 29 Ratings
User score distribution:
1. Positive: 12 out of 29
2. Negative: 9 out of 29
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1. Jan 26, 2011
You can tell that Schwarzenegger was losing a step filming this movie, that or the editors need to find a new profession, because some of the fighting scenes were so off they were laughable. If you can overlook that you have an enjoyable action movie that isn't anything special but good enough for a movie for guys. Leguizamo adds some flair to the movie with his quick tongued delivery as a drug trafficker. Expand
2. PatC.
Jan 13, 2004
Travelogue, with Arnold as the conde nasty tourist. Move over Mel, Arnold wants to use the revenge-by-a-shell-of-a-family-man gimmick. If you're an Arnold fan, find it, view it, get it over with. To the rest of you, if God hadn't wanted you to see it eventually he would have smitten the hundreds of cable channels that every day have to fill thousands of hours of programming.
3. GilbertMulroneycakes'VideoCasseteRecorder
Dec 4, 2002
No. No. NO. Get the HELL out of here. Now. And here was I thinking that claims that certain films insulted the audience were exaggerated. Ha!
4. Arthur
Oct 30, 2002
A movie that was better than I expected. The tedious beginning eventually leads to a pretty suspensful ending. Definately farfetched but fun to watch. There is pretty of action, but what would you expect from Arnold.
5. JackD.
Oct 10, 2002
Better-than-average Arnold flick.
6. PaulD.
Oct 8, 2002
Unbelievable is too mild a word for this stinker.
7. PrêtreB.
Jul 31, 2002
Simply written "Arnold-against-all-the-bad-guys-to-save-the-US" story. Despite the bad context of this moive, it still can be enjoyable.
8. RickJ.G.
Jul 7, 2002
I wasn't expecting a Hollywood production to accurately reflect the current realities of Colombia ravaged by more than $1 billion in U.S. military aid to the country's brutal military and para-militaries. The movie also insults historical memory when the term "Collateral Damage" is introduced in the movie by a representative of a Colombia solidarity organization. An irony considering the term was brought into common usage during the Gulf War by the administration of President Bush, Sr., who Schwarzenegger campaigned for when he made his two presidential runs in '88 and '92. A dreadful movie. I wish I hadn't put myself through it. Expand
9. ZacharyW.
Apr 21, 2002
I am a huge Arnold S. Fan. I had to see it the first day it came out. I am nine years old.
10. MichaelF.
Apr 1, 2002
This movied flat-out sucks. It's bad from beginning to end. Bad writing, directing, acting etc... Silly and stupid, its only fun to laugh at. And what action? The only good thing about this piece of ... is the finale, which is entertaining but doesn't make up for all of the ... the movie is throwing at us. Andy Davis, what ever happened to The Fugitive?
11. Jason
Feb 10, 2002
A lot of action. Good portrayal of the tradgic events of Sept 11. Enjoyable.
12. AdamG.
Feb 10, 2002
The worst part thus far is not that he movie openly ignored the US role in the drug trade or the brutality of the right wing militias trained by the US and funded indirectly via Plan Colombia by us but that it occasionally getrs close to giving the movie a point and then bloodily runs screaming from any kind of intelligent and worthwhile conclusion.
13. ChadS.
Feb 9, 2002
Picking on Schwarzenegger's limitations as an actor is asinine and beside the point since his job is merely to serve as emcee for the explosions. But because of the context "Collateral Damage" finds itself in, I must. Schwarzenegger, a former bodybuilder, is our first cinematic representation of those left behind following a terrorist attack. In this otherwise competent action film, he seems to be accepting condolences for a dead goldfish. Expand
14. BobH.
Feb 9, 2002
The movie is unrealistic on many fine points and the storyline is simply unbelievable. If you can look past all this and just enjoy the movie for what it is - another Arnie "end-to-end" continuing fast action flick with a surprise ending, then you will enjoy it.
Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 34 Critics
Critic score distribution:
1. Positive: 7 out of 34
2. Negative: 16 out of 34
1. There's nothing special about this movie -- it's just business as usual for today's debased action-movie genre.
2. 50
In a way, Collateral Damage is redeemed by its implausibility, because the closer it comes to reality, the more disturbing it gets. For once, viewers have reason to be grateful for having their intelligence insulted. | dclm-gs1-010640000 |
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Worth a listen - 60%
The_Blacksmith, July 6th, 2007
Having finally deciding the cease and desist with death metal (Thank God…), Suffolk based Cradle of Filth decided to change their sound to black metal that would eventually lead them to the “love it or hate it” sound they play today, and the Total Fucking Darkness demo was the first step in the path they chose.
Production wise, as can be expected from a 90s black metal demo, is awful. I’ve never been one to understand why so many black metal fans like to have their music with terrible production; I’ve always thought sounded like it was recorded by people who didn’t much care for music. But since this is just a demo the poor production can be somewhat overlooked.
The music style is very like that of the band’s first full-length album, with lead vocalist Dani Filth’s vocals baring very little resemblance to what they sound like today. The odd shrill shriek appears every now and then but for the most part he grunts and snarls his way through the music. At various points throughout the whole demo though, he uses a really annoying echoing effect that sounds a bit cheap. The guitars are used effectively, with good hard riffs spread throughout the whole demo, although the bass, for all I can tell, doesn’t seem to have been used at all. The drum work, while not as good as it would be on later releases, is still very solid. We have Darren White on the drums here, and while he is no Nick Barker, he certainly shows that he is a more than capable drummer.
The keyboards though are the shining point of the demo. Benjamin Ryan really knows how to create a dark and chilling atmosphere, with his use of organ and choir sounds he really does help form what would always be a figure point in Cradle of Filth’s sound. Just listen to his work on the song As Deep As Any Burial, and of course on the instrumental outro, Fraternally Yours 666, which for the record is one of the band’s finest instrumentals to date. Sadly, neither of these songs, or any of the other songs apart from The Black Goddess Rises (Which despite being one of their most well known songs often labelled as a classic, I’ve never been a huge fan off) would ever find their way on to a full-length album. Shame really, because they could really benefit from the better production and go down as classics along with such songs as Summer Dying Fast.
In short, the demo is really worth listening to if you’re a fan of the band, and maybe even if your not such a huge fan. It really shows just how much this band has evolved, taking on several different sounds throughout their career rather than sticking with the same sound, and never evolving at all.
Necro Dani !!! - 85%
Ouijamage, March 25th, 2005
For a demo recorded onto a cassette, the inferior quality can be overlooked as a somewhat necro sound to a band waiting to unleash themselves upon the UK as the answer to the Scandinavian black metal movement at the time.
For those of you familiar with Dani's infamous screech, you can forget that here. He growls and snarls his way through the tracks, sounding just like what you would expect a black metal vocallist to sound, punctuating with death metal grunts when required.
Opening with "The Black Goddess Rises", this track is very similar to the Principle... version, including bass solo and subsequent guitar solo. This is an excellent track and will always remain one of Cradle of Filth's masterpieces, with a beautiful slow and melodic part in the middle.
"Unbridled at Dusk" begins with some haunting keyboard effects, setting the atmosphere, whilst the guitars perform a spiralling riff over the top. As the song gets going, the heavy, fast paced rhythm kicks off, before soon slowing down as an eastern sounding keyboard melody gives the song a sinister touch. The song ends with a bizarre effect which sounds like a tape being rewound at high speed.
"The Raping of Faith" is another great track, opening in pure Cradle style with the sounds of women screaming, then some of Dani's most evil sounding vocals on the record. For what is presumably the chorus, there is a Hitchcock's Psycho style synth effect (you know what I mean!) in the background, which adds a nice menacing touch. Roughly halfway through the song, the guitars give way to another classical melody, this time much more familiar to their more modern gothic melodies. As the song winds down, it returns to its original opening riff and verse construction.
The next track, "As Deep as Any Burial" opens with a pipe organ melody, with heavy chugging guitar over the top. A fast, more thrashy song than the others, this song has small solos littered all over the place, accompanied by fast drumrolls and given breathing space by only the occasional organ melody. Again, like many Cradle song endings, this one has its own, a short piano bit, which sounds like something from a dark music box.
The final piece is, in my opinion, one of Cradle's better instrumentals. "Fraternally Yours, 666" is a short pipe organ solo, a jolly rolling bass laced with a sombre treble melody on top, providing an effective contrast. Short and too the point, this makes a nice outro to the demo which doesn't have time to go wrong.
I have given this demo a high rating because I can overlook the quality to see a varied and well-constructed piece of work, which clearly paves the way for Cradle's invasion into the black and gothic metal scene.
Not bad - 69%
hallowed_be_my_name, December 21st, 2003
This is only a demo, so it isn't some of their best work. The recording quality isn't very good on here, as it was originally recorded on tape. The drumwork on here is quite good, Darren was a really good drummer. The guitars play pretty simple riffs, but sound cool, just listen to "The Black Goddess Rises" about halfway through, they create such an atmosphere. It has church organ style keyboards most of the time. Now, Dani's vocals are what lets this record down. Nowadays, he is a really good vocalist, and uses a harmoniser to make it sound like there are two voices going at the same time. But on this record, he is doing his deep growl most of the time, nothing wrong with that, but on every track, he has this weird echo on his voice the whole time, which makes what he is singing hardly audible. As always, there are his infamous screeches, about 7 of them on "Fraternally Yours 666". In my opinion, this would have been really good if Dani Filth didn't have that echo on his voice as much. | dclm-gs1-010650000 |
Kwame Kilpatrick trial: The word on the streets of Detroit
Gus Burns | By Gus Burns |
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on September 21, 2012 at 4:00 PM, updated September 24, 2012 at 2:02 PM
Kwame Kilpatrick Day 1 trial.JPGKwame Kilpatrick leaves the U.S. District Court in Detroit after the first day of his corruption trial.
DETROIT — Donning a blue-gray suit and a gold bow tie, Kwame Kilpatrick proved elusive to journalists looking for the perfect shot as he left the U.S. District Court in Detroit Friday.
Heading east on Fort, Kilpatrick acted as if he would cross to the south side of the street, but hesitated. He then decided to avoid the sidewalk entirely and walked along the middle of Fort Street before entering a building on the south side of Fort.
"We still love you Kwame," said a man named Tony, as he watched the mass of reporters and Detroit's besmirched mayor pass by.
Read a recap of the first day of trial including openings statements from the prosecution and defense.
After speaking with more than a dozen people walking in the area of the federal courthouse, it became clear that most did not know a lot of the details related to the 38-count federal indictment against Kwame Kilpatrick and his co-defendant's, his father Bernard Kilpatrick, friend and city contractor Bobby Ferguson and former Detroit Water and Sewer Manager Victor Mercado.
The majority didn't wish to share their opinions publicly. Some felt there is a federal vendetta against the former mayor and others felt he was too young to deal with the politics of Detroit, which led to trouble.
"I think that he got a bad break because he told a lie," said Tony, who declined to provide his last name. "There's a lot of other people told lies too," but they weren't charged criminally.
Tony said he was referring to the text message scandal that exposed Kilpatrick's relationship with Kilpatricks' former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty.
He didn't know a lot about the federal charges, he admitted.
Kwame Kilpatrick Day 1 trial 2.JPGKwame Kilpatrick after exiting the U.S. District Court in Detroit after the first day of his corruption trial.
"I'm disappointed that it's even happening, because he had so much promise," said another woman, who also declined to provide her name. "He was bright and things could have been different... I just think he was a little bit young for a city as big as Detroit.
"I don't think this is the first time this has happened; I think it's probably just the first time someone's been caught" but "if you're not doing anything wrong, you wouldn't have to worry about being targeted."
When asked about the possible 30-year prison term Kilpatrick faces, she responded: "I haven't really read the particulars as far as the charges and what the potential penalties could be."
The Detroit resident said her friends and associates are "disappointed" in Kilpatrick but it's not a frequent topic of conversations.
"It's kind of like beating a dead horse now," she said.
Florence M. Davis, of Novi, walked along Congress with Gerald Reynolds, 45, of Detroit. The pair shared their opinions about the Kilpatrick saga outside the building that houses their offices at 235 Congress.
"Kwame's a good guy," said Reynolds, who operates Elite Entertainment and is an executive recruiter for Job Star. "I don't think when he was mayor he was ready to be mayor... he still had a lot of play in his system.
"Not to say he was a bad mayor, he had some good ideas and he brought a lot of good things to the city."
Reynolds believes Kilpatrick abused his power on behalf of those around him, including his father and friends who took high-level roles in Detroit government.
"If you really look at Kwame, Kwame did no more than anyone else," said Davis, who works in fiscal management for Star Source. "He just didn't know the politics of how to play it.
"Kwame was the fall guy for whatever was going on in Detroit."
Jones said she doesn't know enough about the case to give an opinion about Kilpatrick's federal case.
She can't figure out what Bobby Ferguson did wrong. Prosecutors claim Ferguson colluded with Kilpatrick to secure city contracts and pressured other city contractors to get a cut of their business, without actually providing any services.
"What he did was use his relationship with Kwame Kilpatrick as we all do," Jones said. "If he's guilty for using that relationship then all of America (is) because we are encouraged to network.
"Someone else had the power... he was not a decision maker... Kwame was a decision-maker to a point... so if you're going to get Kwame, why not the council?" | dclm-gs1-010660000 |
Jennifer Tate tested positive!!! » MMA General » General MMA Talk » Jennifer Tate tested positive!!!
11/9/07 10:03:42AM
"Female mixed martial artist Jennifer Tate tested positive for marijuana following her first-round submission loss to Shayna Baszler on Oct. 26's ShoXC card, the California State Athletic Commission announced Thursday.
Tate, 27, has been suspended for three months and fined $500. The Stockton, Calif., native will be eligible to return to the cage on Jan. 24, 2008."
What's wrong with these people. They know they're gonna be tested in california.
11/9/07 10:14:30AM
With all the recent scandals, i have no idea why people think they can get away with it.
11/9/07 1:50:33PM
they think they can do the crap and just take some precautionary measures to get through/around the tests. how dumb do you have to be?
11/9/07 2:04:28PM
yeah i agree... these people are just stupid to do it and try to get away with it...
and what's makes the sport look bad.
11/9/07 10:56:49PM
In a time period when female mixed martial arts is struggling to be taken seriously, this is a bad, bad thing. Sure, male MMA doesn't look great either when this happens, but they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Just look at what a fuss was caused when Gina Carrano came into her last fight a little bit overweight. You would think the Women's MMA scene was crashing down around us. This can't be any less of a fuss than that was.
11/11/07 2:06:46AM
I had a friend who went to Humboldt college and he swore up in down he never met a person in NOCAL, who denied smoking weed. It's like the AMerican Jamaica or something. I think it just shows some people aren't too bright, that they still do it when they know they are gonna be tested.
11/11/07 2:26:47AM
Ya its a shame, you figure Nick Diaz would be a wake up call to the tokers out there.... leave it till after your fight. Despite what the commison ruled in the Diaz fight it sure as hell isn't going to help you win. And this is coming from a BC dude, smoke is everywhere here, but is recreation man, take it out of the program just like you would alcohol, especially since they test for it and not alcohol (which imo is bull).
Related Topics | dclm-gs1-010670000 |
MMO-Champion - Horde Pandaria Introduction, Pandaren Cutscene, Blue Posts, The Daily Blink
Jay Wilson on PvP and Legendaries, Inferno Booster Pack Giveaway, Guide for Crafting Chest Armor, and 1,000,000 Gold Witch Doctor Build
Horde Pandaria Introduction Updated
The latest patch brought some new models and actual sound into the introduction, but it doesn't look complete just yet. After you complete the introduction, you can return to Pandaria with a portal in the Pandaren area of Orgrimmar. The Alliance introduction is still a placeholder.
Pandaren Cutscene Added
The new character cutscene for Pandaren is now in game.
More Details on Mists of Pandaria Opening Cinematic World Premiere
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Don’t miss the world premiere of the World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria opening cinematic at gamescom 2012! The latest creation from Blizzard’s cinematics team will be shown in both English and German on giant screens at our booth in Halle 6.1 (B21).
The opening cinematic will debut at 14:00 on Thursday, August 16, the first fully public day of gamescom. This much-anticipated unveiling will be accompanied by a performance from MANAO - Drums of China – the all-female Chinese drumming group that opened and closed the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. A signing session with Blizzard developers will immediately follow the premiere.
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Beta Class Balance Analysis
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Death Knight (Forums)
269s of combat, ghoul cast 69 claws. At 40 energy per, that's 2760 total spent. figuring 10 regen per second, the expected number of claws in that time span with 0 haste scaling on Energy is 69.75. So i'd say the ghoul is not currently getting energy regen from haste. Is this intended?
In the current build you have, the Ghoul’s energy regen was indeed not benefitting from your haste. That’s fixed for the next build. This also applies to the Army of the Dead ghouls.
Also, reaping is not currently functioning as you described. DDDDUU when used on 4 blood boils becomes dbdfUU.
That fix didn’t make it into the build you currently have. It should be in the next build.
As I have said before, we're not yet in the stage of development where everyone makes sure all of their changes are in before we pull a build -- that would just require too much needless coordination and make it harder to get builds out. We tend to just pull builds -- for now -- and get what we get.
Paladin (Forums)
Is it intended that Sacred Shield not scale with haste while the other options on the tier do? It behaves (more or less) like a proactive HoT, so it'd make sense.
That's an easy fix.
Well, not really about ret, but prot, but does proof that Shield of the Righteous falling behind Judgement and Holy Wrath (against single targets) count? It almost feels like Glyph of the Alabaster Shield is going to be mandatory.
Well, you didn't exactly provide proof, but Judgment in particular does hit really hard for Prot, especially with Vengeance stacked. You have a lot of motivation to use SotR though, so I don't expect it will drop out of the rotation. If paladin damage was low compared to other tanks, that would be a problem (and SotR a potential place to buff it), but we're not seeing that.
(Editorial note: we removed several posts debating the merits of various tanks. Again, perfectly legit topic, but we have a whole forum for those discussions. This thread is about numbers and rotations.)
Warlock (Forums)
Maybe you don't have to actually debug the simulations, but take a look at this comment made by the warlock developer of simcraft.... Maybe you guys could just take a look at the actions lists for all 3 specs that he uses and see if maybe something could be learned from there:
One point of confusion seems to be about refreshing Corruption in Metamorphosis. There may currently be some bugs with that. The intended functionality (which we will double check) is that Touch of Chaos and Void Ray both extend Corruption by 6 sec, up to a maximum of 18 sec, and both cause the damage to be recomputed. We’re trying to evaluate further what differences there may be between our results and yours. Again, actual logs (e.g. World of Logs) would help us compare the most easily.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
PTR Build Number
The initial PTR build is identifying itself as version 5.0.3. That will increment up to 5.0.4 soon. As a result, we're referring to it as 5.0.4. We apologize for any confusion. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
25 Man Raid Testing
Cross-Realm Zones and Pet Battles on the PTR
Cross-realm should be enabled, pet battles are disabled on the PTR. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Pet Combat Log
We are in the process of moving the pet combat logging to its own, separate tab. Hopefully on the next build but no promises. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling Model
It's placeholder. An updated model/skin is in the next patch. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Request: New Macro Conditionals
A [petbattle] macro conditional will be in an upcoming beta build.
Thanks for the feedback! (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Some Non-Capture Pets Becoming Rare Quality
The list is missing the other Vanilla Collector's Edition Pets: Mini Diablo and Zergling
Whoops! This has been corrected. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Arena Pass 2012 Rewards - Mount/Title been given yet?
Finally, received my pet!
Indeed, it seems the pets and titles that were not initially sent are now being received. If you have not seen yours yet, then keep an eye on your mailbox as it should not be too long now. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Would You Accept Homogenization for Balance and Fun?
Would you prefer if every class was completely unique, but it often meant that some classes would be bottom of proverbial pile, imbalances were rife, things would polarise quite often (1 classes goes from best to worst) each patch and so on.
This extreme offers the most diverse play style, letting a player choose the class they enjoy and you can look at your character and say “That is class X”, which is pretty awesome being able to distinguish yourself like that. This can sometimes also create points where your class may sadly feel either too strong or weak which is something that is not enjoyed.
Classes were very very similar, with only a few distinctive abilities/signature abilities which separated each class from another, but the game was a lot more balanced, you could play the class you enjoyed and not have to worry about suddenly becoming much worse than any other class.
This offers you a less distinct play style with the class you are playing. While you may feel all of the classes are in good balance, which would be great, you would end up looking at two classes of the same role and think to yourself, “Well, what’s the difference?” This does not really feel like something that offers an enjoyable experience.
I can understand why for your discussion you have decided to choose these two extremes, so you can find where the opinions of everyone lie. But from this thread it can be seen that nice balance with the ability to distinguish your class is what most of you would like to see, why not swing the discussion more in this direction?
We hope that you keep up the constructive discussion and look forward to anything else you have to say. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
PvP vs Ganking
Some great thoughts here. On the topic of ganking though, it's a tough one to handle. Many players join a PvP server so that they can seek out and inflict revenge on members of the opposite faction. You see players wishing for more world PvP like the old Southshore/Tarren Mill conflicts, and maybe some of the things you suggest would harm those kind of battles.
I'll play devil's advocate here (in my PvP server days I was always the victim rather than the ganker).
If buffs are sustained through death, that takes away some of the challenge of finding the person very quickly once they ress. Mind you, buffs can often be applied very quickly.
A debuff to prevent you from killing someone multiple times is a bit of a party pooper, and could potentially be abused — you'd have a hostile that was invulnerable for a limited time.
I think any PvP-kills-only debuffs/changes to timers could potentially add confusing layers of complexity to the game. Also, 'PvP-kills-only' could be possibly be avoided by waiting until a mob was attacking the gankee, then allowing the mob to get the killing blow.
You'd also have to make sure all these buffs/timers didn't apply to PvP zones like Wintergrasp and battlegrounds, and that players can't enter the zones with anything like that active.
Didn't they also have dishonourable kills in those days?
Yes but I don't think it did a great job to discourage those who wanted to do it deliberately. You could also get a dishonourable kill by being in a group with someone who killed a lowbie, this happened to me when I was outside an instance with a group once, I was heartbroken.
Yes it is a real challange waiting for them to res and kill them again with such a low health level and being so low levelled they don't even hit you when they try.
Depends on the difference in levels. Obviously if someone is a lot lower than you then yeah, the 'challenge' argument doesn't apply.
Or they could be made worth no honour if killed in a short time like when you HS. Possibly even the unthinkable bring back diminishing returns on honour.
True, although it only helps if people are actually ganking for honor or just for the fun of finding enemies to kill. I suspect a large portion of people do it for the latter reason, seeing as BGs are a much better source of honor points.
Well given that you can already turn off certain thing in Arena and BGs, even making things only work in a certain way, and have this ability for a while, surely it can be done to this too.
Yeah sure, I was only mentioning it to point out that it wouldn't be that straight-forward to implement, and we always have to weigh up the urgency of changes like this against other things that demand developer time.
Use the PvE-Server-Mechanic
As Oldtrafford pointed out, the whole point is that it's a PvP server. The rules and mechanics should be different when it comes to PvP. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Content Consumption Speed and Difficulty
I'm not a hardcore player, nor do I find myself skilled. But rewarding those that put much less time and effort into something with the same rewards as a more dedicated player, is utterly demotivating.
Alright, let's put this in a different perspective to see if you (and other players) keep up with this argument about less time and effort being equally rewarded...
*This is a fictional example*
Let's imagine that developers decided that, from now on, every Heroic boss of an expansion is only available until one guild, just one guild in the world, defeats it. The moment that happens, the Heroic mode of that boss is unavailable for everyone else until the next expansion is released.
In your own reasoning, it's only fair; they're putting way more time and effort than everyone else (hence why they'd be killing it first in the world). I'm sure there'll be people out there that would scream "That is awesome!" at the idea of something like that.
In reality, what would happen, is that after 4-5-whatever amount of bosses they'd probably stop trying after realizing they just can't compete with that guild.
Would you be happy, in that context, with having to come one expansion later to kill those bosses when they're no longer relevant to your character? The answer is most likely: no.
However, that's exactly what has been suggested in this thread for those players that need the debuff to some degree to kill a boss much later than everyone else. They should basically contempt themselves with doing it when it's no longer relevant for them.
If the fictional case I've written before is not fair for you, doesn't that mean that what you're asking for is just as unfair? Think about it. Because both of them aim to the same: rewarding time and effort (just taken to the absolute extreme). And once you start arguing that *this time and effort* is okay, but this one is not, you're not being objective in your reasoning.
So, why do you want to force others to accept something you wouldn't in the first place? That is what you're asking for when you come up with this kind of arguments about why noone else should do something after you did it.
Please for the sake of sanity of everyone who is trying to get a point across here have some understanding of what we are trying to say. The tone of the posts given is very patronizing as if we were wrong to have an opinion that differs from what seems to be the 'design orientation' at the moment, or your personal opinion.
I understand what is being said, and that's why I'm asking those questions. When some posters say that it's not fair that someone comes in with the 30% debuff and kills Heroic Madness with less time and effort, they're failing to acknowledge that some of those guilds might actually have been raiding since the patch was released (which is hardly less time and effort).
That's the kind of thing to which I want to see an objective argument as to why it's terrible that someone that is been pursuing that objective for more than half a year at this point, shouldn't get those same rewards. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Beta More Helpful Than Harmful
You do bring up some good points Theremin. It cannot be denied that there are a lot of spoilers being leaked into the community during a beta, and I can totally understand why that is very frustrating for those who prefer the new content to remain a secret until release, so that the experience of something new and the thrill of discovery is fully preserved. I am sure you are right that some people who do play the beta will not be as excited as they otherwise could have been upon release.
That being said, the benefits of the beta far outweigh the drawbacks, and here is why:
An internal test can never be a proper substitute for a beta, simply because of the fact that a beta resembles the live environment much more accurately.
In a beta, there are always players who play the game in ways that were never imagined by the developers, and there are always players who are so creative or so skilled that they can approach or defeat content in ways that were never expected. There is an incredibly huge variation in play styles amongst the beta players, and just by playing(or trying to play), they unearth many glitches and bugs that would never have been found by the dedicated team of internal testers tasked with hunting for glitches and bugs.
Having a huge pool of players in the beta will also help the developers determine if the new content they are working on actually works as intended or not, if the new content is fun or not.
Also, betas are much better at testing both hardware and connections, which helps immensely in the preparations for the launch and the live environment.
What I am trying to say is that having a beta test before release is a better way to ensure a high standard of quality.
Really, you need to test hardware and connections for 4th expansion? Yeah right.
Very much so. Our hardware systems and architecture has changed significantly over the years with every expansion, and this one is no different... a lot of things are going on behind the scenes my friend. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
FEEDBACK: Scarlet Monastery (Challenge)
The Challenge mode for this dungeon is unlocked for this beta cycle.
A few relevant testing notes:
• Item level will be normalized to 463.
• Enemies in Challenge mode dungeons are 1 level higher than in Heroic versions, as a rule, such that bosses are now level 93.
FEEDBACK: Gate of the Setting Sun (Challenge)
A few relevant testing notes:
• Item level will be normalized to 463.
Warrior (Forums)
Warriors and a Barbarians Fury
I think there's a certain amount of rage/sec that make warriors feel good, lets call it X. Too much, and the mechanic stops working as a limitation. Too little, and you feel starved and it's no fun. The problem is that X isn't different to a maxed out warrior at the end of the expansion or a beging warrior in greens, but by tying it to gear progression you force either the too much end of the scale on the endexpo warrior or the starved feel on the questing warrior.
I agree with that, but here's the thing: we don't want warriors to scale linearly. What I mean by that is that as you increase gear, you'll be hitting harder and critting more often. Both of those are fun, don't get me wrong, but after you get over the thrill of BIG NUMBERS you start to see behind the curtain a little. Fundamentally, there isn't a huge difference between hitting a bad guy for 3000 or 30,000, especially when the bad guy's health has probably increased by ten as well.
What feels cooler is if you actually feel different with great gear. Instead of just hitting harder, you are hitting different buttons. For warriors, that means having enough rage to use Heroic Strike frequently instead of rarely. But that means we need to start warriors in quest greens at the "rarely" side of the dial, so that when you're in epics in the final tier, you're now at "frequently."
Historically, what has happened is that warriors start at "never" and then grow into "always." Rage scaling with gear was too good. It needs to scale, and a little bit of exponential scaling is ideal, but the end of the curve can't rocket up towards the sun. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Weekend Sale -- 25% Off Character Transfer
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
The Daily Blink - Legendaries for Everyone!
The Daily Blink grants a long standing request, a legendary for everyone!
Site Navigation | dclm-gs1-010680000 |
Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse (Macintosh)
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
5 point score based on user ratings.
Not an American user?
Princess Isabella returns from a ride to find her castle completely ruined and locked under an evil spell. While she was away, a wicked witch trapped the castle residents inside mirrors, shattered the glass and scattered the pieces. With the help of a fairy, the princess must rescue her people and restore the place to finally marry Prince Adam.
Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse is a hidden object game with adventure elements. The main objective is to collect several key objects from the castle grounds, to solve puzzles and free the castle folk. The castle can be explored in a typical point-and-click manner, where each location is represented by an static image of the scenery, and the player moves from room to room by clicking on the exit hotspots, usually placed over obvious and logical areas like doors and entrances. Some portions of the building are locked, and can only be accessed after solving one of the puzzles.
The objects can be found laying around in the background, or in some separate close-up views of the scenery. These zoom windows show another angle of the scene, with a list of objects to be found and collected at the bottom. Some of the collected items are stored in the inventory slots, from where they can be dragged and dropped on puzzles and other portions of the screen to interact with the environment. Mirror shards have to be inserted in one of the empty frames at the grand hall, and reassembled as jigsaw puzzles to liberate one of the captive souls. The rescued character usually unlocks a castle passage as a reward.
Each room has several puzzles that have to be solved to lift the curse and move to the next place. Some of the puzzles are self-contained mechanisms that can be solved through direct manipulation. Others block access to other parts of the castle, and require the use of inventory objects. After solving all the pending puzzles, the room is restored to its pristine condition.
One unique feature is the fairy assistant. She is the hint button, flying towards one of the required items when selected, and can also perform a series of special actions. She gradually learns new abilities that can be used to reveal hidden objects and solve puzzles. With the rock ability, she can break small containers like bottles and vases. The flame ability can be used to light something on fire, or attack an enemy. The wind ability blows away dust and other deposits, often revealing some obscured item. The water ability can be used to nourish plants. The hint option take some time to recharge after use, and becomes a skip option when playing one of the puzzles.
Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse Macintosh Piano Lounge main floor - Piano notes puzzle
Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse Macintosh Tea Room main floor (curse removed)
Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse Macintosh Observatory main floor (curse removed) - objects
Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse Macintosh Options
Alternate Titles
• "Принцесса Изабелла. Проклятие ведьмы" -- Russian spelling
• "Prinzessin Isabella und der Fluch der Hexe" -- German title
• "A Witch's Curse: Princess Isabella HD" -- iPad title
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
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Macs Black (77847) added Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse (Macintosh) on Sep 08, 2009
Other platforms contributed by Macs Black (77847) | dclm-gs1-010690000 |
Godzilla: Unleashed (PlayStation 2)
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
5 point score based on user ratings.
User Reviews
He may be King of the Monsters, but for this game he's nothing but a slimy lizard! Big John WV (25293) 0.57 Stars0.57 Stars0.57 Stars0.57 Stars0.57 Stars
Our Users Say
Category Description MobyScore
Overall MobyScore (2 votes) 1.9
The Press Says
Game Vortex
Godzilla Unleashed isn't the best fighter out there, though I believe it is the best one with the Godzilla license attached to it. If you enjoy the characters from the game or like the War of the Monsters gameplay style, then this is worth renting at least. Who knows, you might want to buy it afterwards.
Armchair Empire, The
I'm positive that some of my enjoyment is the direct result an immense amount of nostalgia; Godzilla is one of my favorite things. At some points it feels really good to be controlling Jet Jaguar and thumping Destroyah into submission or hurling a building at a "turtling" enemy. There are moments like this, but it's offset by the frustration I often felt as the titans smashed each other seemingly through molasses and having the camera flip around to create a brief moment of "Where the hell am I?" Sometimes nostalgia isn't enough.
Realm of Gaming
If you're going to have a few buddies over and you want a game you can throw in the PS2 and smack talk over, Godzilla Unleashed is the game for you (or at least one of them). The single-player campaign is interesting and segmented by impressive graphic novel style cut-scenes, however, it does seem to get a little repetitive in its confront-kill-move on pattern. I would like to have seen more done with character controls and special moves, giving each monster a little more diversity and also a little more interactivity with the environment. However, with the strength of the multiplayer battle, I almost excuse the single-player campaign as a training mode to help you raise your skills for when your friends come back over for another beatdown.
If you can be bothered to play through the game you will open up other characters to play as and you can also invite friends over for a 4 player battle, either in teams or as individuals. This is slightly more fun than the story mode, though it does help if everyone playing are fans of the genre as they will be able to overlook the games flaws, but the enjoyment is short-lived and there are much better multiplayer games out there.
En dépit du respect de l'esprit des films originaux et le fun procuré par les affrontements en mode multijoueur, ce Godzilla Unleashed déçoit en raison de son manque flagrant de nouveautés et de la médiocrité de sa réalisation. Le jeu est à réserver aux fans du monstre japonais qui ne connaissaient pas les précédents opus.
Cheat Code Central
Godzilla Unleashed is not the best fighting game available by far. Its sole redeeming quality is the incredible number of monsters that are available in the game. Fans of Godzilla may find that to be a refreshing tribute to the icon, but they must decide for themselves if that is reason enough to purchase the game. There is a Wii version that will be available shortly, however, which may prove superior to the PlayStation 2 version. Fans eager to get their hands on this game may want to hold out for the Wii version, which we will be reviewing shortly. Hopefully the Wii, which is more powerful than the aging PS2, will be able to improve upon the visuals and present a better control scheme. However, if you aren't a fan of Godzilla and can't tell the difference between Ghidorah and Mothra, you'd probably do better to stay away.
Game Chronicles
Bearing that in mind let me reiterate: Godzilla: Unleashed is not a good game. It's certainly not a good value at its retail price. And the Wii version, by all accounts, is superior. But it is charming, nonetheless, and I like it despite myself. For me, and other fans like me, even bad Godzilla can sometimes be good. This is one of those times (though again, not at full price). Godzilla: Unleashed, like the movies that inspired it, is far from perfect. That's not always a bad thing.
Console Obsession
It should be good to be controlling a giant monster, but there are times when the control feels clumsy, particularly in the middle of a four-way brawl. The repetitive nature of the fights does not help. The feeling you are left with is that the game is badly dated and has not evolved beyond previous Godzilla titles.
It is almost impossible to recommend Godzilla: Unleashed, especially when Save the Earth can be purchased for half the price in your local bargain bin. Those who cannot live without the minor upgrades (and a few downgrades) will likely rush out to play as their favorite monsters, but everyone else will likely want to give this near-replica a pass.
That said, my four-year-old nephews have a blast with it. While most of us will be put to sleep by the repetitive gameplay and clunky controls, the young usually don't know any better.
PSX Extreme
In no way is Godzilla Unleashed a good game, which means it's really not worth your attention. We suppose if you have some kids who just need an hour to unwind and don't care about all the technical hang-ups, perhaps they'll have some fun with this one. But there are so many other quality titles out there, even for the younger gaming generation. This is hardly one of them. Like we said at the start, there just doesn't seem to be any real effort involved in this production, and if that's the case, we probably shouldn't be rewarding poor performance. That's just the logical consumer talking.
Godzilla: Unleashed is a step back for a series which was already below average. The feature Save the Earth's hardcore fans loved most was removed, and the rest of the game just isn't as fun as it should be. Not once did I feel like I was controlling a giant monster and laying waste to a city. Remember how a random toddler who's never played a game in his life can always go head to head against a fighting game fanatic and still win the occasional match? Godzilla: Unleashed does. Quite fondly.
Da Gameboyz
Simply put, Godzilla Unleashed is a stinker. The visuals are sub-par, the audio is forgettable, and the single player campaign is not engaging by any stretch. There are simply far superior fighter games on the market. Bottomline, there isn’t even enough here to recommend this one as a rental, even for the most diehard Godzilla fan.
Talk about a monstrosity. Godzilla: Unleashed should be a better game, one on the level of Atari's previous releases. Unfortunately, its below average presentation and weak gameplay force it back into the ocean from whence it came. Save your money and buy Incog's War of the Monsters instead.
Worth Playing
Critical opinion is unanimous on this one. Any promise shown in the preview we saw before went out they window by the time the final product was delivered. The hardest of die-hard Godzilla fans may insist on spending a little time with Unleashed just to marvel at the vast cast of monsters from the movies over the years, though most of the 17 in attendance have to be unlocked by actually playing it. However, much like any Uwe Boll movie, an impressive cast can't change the fact that the settings are unremarkable, the monsters control and fight lamely; without a decent fighting engine or satisfying destruction element, it fails on all fronts. This has all been done better elsewhere years ago. Rent first, if even that.
Game Shark
Godzilla Unleashed lacks the vibrant, larger-than-life, destructive mayhem of other Godzilla titles, and there really aren't enough redeeming qualities otherwise to warrant a purchase…or even a rental.
Godzilla Unleashed is a latter-generation PS2 title arriving just in time for Christmas - it doesn't play well, it doesn't look good and it doesn't offer anything new. I understand that fans of the series are looking for something that's just playable, but I can't say that this is something that even they will enjoy. The original two entries in the series had pretty much the same monsters and, presumably, played similarly to this entry. There's nothing here worth playing for even the most ardent Godzilla fan. Rent if you must, otherwise avoid it just like you'd avoid Godzilla rampaging through the streets!
GameCell UK
We’ve seen even within the last year or so that the PS2, whilst definitely in its twilight years, can produce some impressive and pleasing visuals. Sadly Godzilla Unleashed’s developers Pipeworks seem unaware of this fact, and even worse, seem unaware of the core gameplay requirements that make a good smashing ‘n’ fighting game.
A deep brawler such as Super Smash Bros. Melee works because it offers fast, diverse gameplay and levels that are fun and inventive. There are also tons of adjustable elements. None of these things happened to find their way into Unleashed. At least they could have tried to rip-off the best. Aside from the nostalgia factor, Godzilla: Unleashed doesn’t have much else going for it. After only a few minutes playing with friends, we were eager to switch to something else. Even the most hardcore Godzilla fans should stick to the movies, and look to better fighters to get their fill.
We aren't sure why you'd try to inflict this disaster on multiple players, though that's an option. Rather than provide you with the feeling that you're a giant monster wrecking civilization and destroying monster adversaries, you feel as if you're a guy in a rubber suit, fighting against other dudes in suits, on a set full of cardboard cutouts and toy tanks. In other words, this game captures everything that was janky and lame about Godzilla, but nothing that was cool or exciting. You should definitely let this sleeping dragon lie.
TotalVideoGames (TVG)
Something to avoid like nuclear waste, Godzilla: Unleashed suffers from hideous gameplay, Neolithic graphics, no depth whatsoever, and shoddy design all-round. If you want to torture somebody then buy them this for their birthday.
The Review Busters
Unless you're, like, the biggest Godzilla fan ever, don't buy this game. If you're dying for a Godzilla game on the PS2, look for Godzilla: Save the Earth. I'm sure a used copy will be pretty cheap at this point. This one might be better for the Wii, but I really doubt that. There is a PS2 exclusive monster, but you really shouldn't care, because the game sucks. The only thing preventing this game from getting 0 out of 10 is that the gameplay isn't the issue and the sound is actually really good. Everything else though is really the perfect storm of annoying, so I'll go with 2 out of 10.
Video Game Talk
For the most extreme Godzilla fan, perhaps a rental is in order, just to see the new monsters that Toho designed specifically for this game; however, this game is best left to retail shelves to collect dust and shame. Please… skip this one. In fact, read this review once and then forget that Godzilla Unleashed exists-- and maybe track down a copy of War of the Monsters for the PS2 to get your monster fix.
Godzilla: Unleashed is not a game I can see myself purposefully playing again. The only saving grace for this title may be in the fact that it is (as per the ESRB rating) suitable for younger gamers who normally won’t mind the button-mashing confusion. For a more mature gamer such as myself, I’d prefer to read a book (shudder) than soil my PS2 consoles with such garbage. Not even worth a look.
Thunderbolt Games
And this is what it ultimately all comes down to; there is nothing here for anyone - not even the most ardent of Godzilla fans. It’s like if someone took your favourite ever franchise, made a half-arsed game out of it then spat in your face asking for money. Godzilla Unleashed is a mistake of apocalyptic proportions that should be kept in a room surrounded by 5 metre thick lead walls, from any living creature that's unfortunate enough to come within touching distance of it.
Godzilla Unleashed is an obvious cash grab hoping to rake in some holiday profits on name recognition alone. Even the most ardent of Godzilla fans will tire of the shallow mechanics, plodding pace, and dated graphics. There are better fighters out there, and you should play one of them instead of Godzilla Unleashed.
Gaming Nexus
Godzilla Unleashed has all the makings of a good monster fighting game and none of the content. Most of the monsters handle the same—sluggishly—and the solo campaign is brief, monotonous and unattractive. The multiplayer is about the same. Unleashed does better as a “guys in rubber suits” simulator than a true kaiju brawler. | dclm-gs1-010700000 |
Sarah Maribu and the Lost World (Windows)
100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
5 point score based on user ratings.
Not an American user?
Sarah Maribu and her brother Michael are two archaeologists and explorers, that arrive by helicopter to an uncharted island and start to investigate the temples and other structures of a lost civilization.
Sarah Maribu and the Lost World is a hidden object game with elements of the adventure genre. Most of the time, the objective is to find and click on all the items shown as pictures on slots at the left side of the screen, on locations filled with assorted paraphernalia scattered throughout the scenery. The hint button shows the position of one of the required items, but takes thirty seconds to recharge after use. Some of the objects are stored inside the inventory, to be used later when solving puzzles.
The inventory can be accessed through the tools button at the bottom-left corner, sliding upwards to reveal all of its compartments. The objects have to be used as in most point-and-click adventures, by dragging and dropping them over logical places to perform an action or complete a task. Some of the objects can only be found inside one of the interactive windows showing another angle of the location, that appear after clicking on certain hotspots.
There are mini-games between each chapter, like the Simon implementation where the player has to repeat a color sequence in a set of drums, the weights puzzle where statuettes have to be distributed on columns to reach equilibrium, and other similar challenges.
Sarah Maribu and the Lost World Windows Battery puzzle
Sarah Maribu and the Lost World Windows <moby game="Simon">Simon</moby> game with drums
Sarah Maribu and the Lost World Windows Sarah
Sarah Maribu and the Lost World Windows Weights puzzle
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GameZebo Feb 20, 2010 3.5 Stars3.5 Stars3.5 Stars3.5 Stars3.5 Stars 70
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Macs Black (77847) added Sarah Maribu and the Lost World (Windows) on Mar 20, 2010
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Posts by theboodges
I love it! Thanks for sharing!
I have had to intervene with the kids before when the snacking became too much. A newborn eating constantly is one thing, but an older baby that is eating just enough to take the edge off then wanting to look around, then eat again 15 min later and repeat for the day can be frustrating! Plus there are benefits to nursing beyond just the letdown, like the higher fat milk that follows. To extend the times, you can go into a non-stimulating environment, or give her...
California Baby Super Sensitive soap and lotion.
Additional FYI, she is exclusively breastfed.
So my little on is almost 2 mo old. Her stools got to the typical seedy breastfed baby poop for a while, then got more and more runny. Now she poops pure liquid constantly, every time she passes gas, which is also very frequent. Then every few days she poops tiny solid balls, like grains of sand. They are very hard, and just like trying to wipe sand off a bum when I change her diaper. Any ideas what is going on? Thank you!
Beautiful story!!!! Congrats!!!! :
I am so sorry you had that painful of an experience, it actually brought tears to my eyes just reading about it! I would highly recommend Pam England's book Birthing From Within. It was my favorite book this time! She is a therapist for healing birth trauma, and there are lots of art therapy exercises and written material on healing past trauma, clearing fears and figuring out what you really do want this time. Best of luck in your upcoming birth!
: Congrats! A beautiful story!
My understanding is that a big difference is that you are just adding one piece of a complex hormonal process. So you don't have the natural highs produced in non induced labor. I had pit twice. My experience is not as bad as most. I wouldn't hesitate to use it again if I had a medical reason to do it. With that said, WOW is natural labor and delivery SOOOO much better! My first time was severe pre-e, I was on mag sulfate, really sick, and only 34wks. My OB...
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Mothering › Mothering Forums › Toddler › Life with a Toddler › Sept 07 - Three is right around the corner!
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Sept 07 - Three is right around the corner! - Page 4
post #61 of 75
Originally Posted by *jeanine* View Post
plaid - for clarification - you're from the US and DH is from France? What about your parents and gparents?
yep! Parents and grandparents were born and raised in US, too. I am pretty sure my father never co-slept with his parents, but my mom probably did with her parents at least some of the time. Don't know about their toileting habits though.
post #62 of 75
Thread Starter
My MIL shoo's Liam out when she uses the bathroom but she doesn't mind if Laine goes in. When Liam was younger it didn't bother her.
It wouldn't bother me if they co-slept with her. She's offered to co-sleep with Liam in the past to give me a break, which is surprising since she was so against it for a long time. I co-slept with my grandmother whenever I stayed at her house, usually my cousin and I and her. She co-slept with all nine of her children until they reached their first birthday. I co-slept with my mom. It's just something that's always been done in my family so it wouldn't bother me.
I'm recovering from another rough night last night. I'm definitely past my prime. I don't understand how I went out every weekend in college. It was fun, though. Andrew is in another funk and being miserable and unhappy about everything as usual. My MIL leaves tomorrow. Both kids have been in funky moods as well. Whoever said the two's were terrible never met a three year old.
post #63 of 75
My boys co-sleep with my mom most of the time when they spend the night with her. We co-slept often when we were little (my sister and I), especially as I had a tendency towards nightmares for quite a while. Before that, it was just the three of us, so we were often together even though we had our own beds, too.
I remember one of the boys' grandparents being here (not sure now if it was MIL or my dad) and one of the boys asked if he could sleep with him/her. The grandparent clearly had NO idea that, in the boys' mind, that's the ultimate, "I love you and you're special and we get time together," kind of moment. The response was definitely one of surprise, though not harsh. I obviously didn't push it, but felt kinda sad that s/he didn't know realize how special that can be! (And, yeah, I can't at all remember which person that was!)
I've never, ever, gone out partying, but I used to pull all-nighters all the time. I am SO old now. In fact, it's barely late at 1am and I'm seriously crashing here. Not bad as I have to be up early-ish in the morning, but, yeah. Age and kids have a way of catching up!
Katie, wonder if the funky moods have anything to do with your MIL being there? My DH and kids go nuts after a few days...
post #64 of 75
Thread Starter
Saturday night was the first night since having kids that we went out to a bar. It was a combination of staying up too late and drinking, neither of which I do anymore. The ball itself was okay, but everybody invited us out after the formal portion was done. They invited us out again last night but we both said no way
I think Andrew is depressed or something else. He complains about everything and nothing seems to make him happy and he can never see the bright or positive side to things. He's making a better effort today, we'll see how long it lasts. Laine hasn't been sleeping all that well and is cranky. Liam isn't napping anymore which makes him more ornery, just being very rebellious and he's been hitting and yelling a lot lately. My MIL's visit wasn't a good one. Andrew's best friend confided in me that over his deployment my MIL was emailing back and forth to him about me. And not good things. I'm honestly surprised that she was still talking about me in a negative light up until fairly recently. I'm also angry because this same guy has a new lady friend that he brought to dinner and we all know that Mrs. D. has to analyze the new girl to determine whether she's a good match. It makes me sick because I never got that chance and everyone should realize by now that this woman's opinion means nothing. I mean, she hated my guts and I still stuck around despite her best efforts for over two years to get rid of me.
post #65 of 75
post #66 of 75
Katie from me too. Tough mil visits are so tough. As to dh and depression, coming back to family life, disrupted sleep, there are so many things going on that can pile up. I hope you both feel more hope soon.
post #67 of 75
Katie. I can't imagine having a MIL like that around. I don't feel (11 years later) that mine particularly likes me, but she's at least more or less accepting now. (I have always felt like the fact that DH is an only child, and therefore I'm her one and only shot at a DIL, is an issue. Even though he lived across the country from her, I still feel like I sort of "took him" away from her. I dunno, it's weird, but we cope on short visits.) It sounds like your MIL has some major issues that have nothing to do with you.
Does the military have someone your DH can talk to? I can't imagine the major emotional stress of being overseas, coming home, trying to adjust, etc. It sounds entirely "normal" to have issues with depression in that situation. It's a HUGE, major life event, but one that you're almost expected to take in stride. I do highly recommend the book "The Mood Cure" for natural treatments for various types of depression (or what she calls "false moods"). Soooo helpful and applies to so many people I know (including those who don't have "classic" depression). Not sure if it would apply or appeal to him, but it might help.
Sent out invites for the boys' joint party last night... We can have up to 60 people (which is crazy!) at this venue. I invited families totaling up to 48, I think (including us), and so far have gotten "yes" responses from my mom and ONE other family - friends from a homeschooling group that we don't know *that* well. I suppose it's really only one "no" so far that has surprised me (and they didn't say anything about why they can't come, nor did they mention it today when I saw them at church), but it's got me worrying about having *enough* to make it a fun party. I just wish people would commit... Though it's a Thursday late-afternoon party, so I know it's a bit of an odd time. I was hoping that having almost 3 weeks notice would help, but, we'll see.
Iain's 6th birthday is on Sunday, and I'm trying to figure out logistics for that given conflicting needs and wants from various sides. We are, for sure, taking him to see the dinos at the zoo (yes, zoo). It's an exhibit that will only be up until the day after his birthday, so we're going for the first time. He's SO into dinos (on a detailed level) so I know he'll enjoy it. But juggling that with the people we always see for birthdays and their needs/time, heat, naps, finances... Sigh. Hopefully we can go with the plan we currently have cooked up, 'cause my brain is fried. But that might be 'cause I need to sleep.
post #68 of 75
Thread Starter
I think it's a combination of a lot of things contributing to his mood. I won't go into detail about it on here because I never know who could be reading but a lot of it has to do with work and not necessarily deployment at this point. It's always one thing after another. I know that he's still adjusting, he often has a tendency to only see the bad in things and never the good. It's almost absurd sometimes how he complains about something good. It's not influencing his every-day function, it just makes him not so fun to be around. He can snap out of it when he wants to. In any case, I'm keeping an eye on him and will make sure he gets help if necessary. He did better yesterday, seems to be related to his mom being gone, so we'll see how the rest of the week goes.
I hope you hear back from more guests, Heather. I think my biggest fear with planning a party is that no one will come. I'd like to go to the zoo but his birthday is on a Wednesday so DH won't be able to go. He has a big inspection going on the first two weeks of September so he'll be really busy. Maybe the weekend prior. I need to get some of those vegan cupcake recipes from Rachel, too
post #69 of 75
We had a party at our home for DS1's first birthday - and no one came. Turned out someone had told everyone not to go and had scheduled other things that day to keep people away. One mom and child finally came so at least he had someone to play with, and two more friends came much later. But it was the most horrible thing ever. I hope you can find a good time for a party when people can come!
I'm sure having to deal with his mom could contribute to issues! Hope he continues to improve!
post #70 of 75
In car on phone after 12 hours of travel bur I have to say, heather, that is the worst thing I've ever heard. I'm sure you're over it but how disgusting.
Katie big hugs to you and DH
post #71 of 75
^ yeah that.
At least he was one and didn't know any better. But that's gotta lead to some serious bad karma for whoever told people not to go to a baby's bday party.
I feel sooo bad when we're not able to go to someone's bday party. And it's also one of my big fears that no one will show up.
Speaking of which, I should probably invite the neighbors soon if we want them to come to Jamison's party next weekend . Oh, and she wants a Cinderella cake. Hopefully this one turns out as good as the last princess cake, but I'm seriously *NOT* looking forward to it.
post #72 of 75
Thread Starter
I'm sorry Heather, that is just awful. Definitely bad karma points for that one.
post #73 of 75
and I got postcards! sweet!
post #74 of 75
Glad you made it home safely, Alicia!
Yeah, it was pretty horrible. Thankfully, we'd had a family party on his actual birthday, so they didn't *completely* ruin our celebrations. And he didn't know. It doesn't come up much, so I don't think about it all that often, but it still stinks even 7.5 years later! That particular "friend" has caused numerous issues with numerous people. We are still in the same basic circles and our kids are friends, but she's only a friend when she wants to be (and I'm way past putting myself out there for her!). Let's just say, that wasn't the end of the drama.
Very grateful for the handful of true friends we have!
post #75 of 75
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Mothering › Mothering Forums › Natural Living › Nutrition and Good Eating › Meal Planning › Help! My toddler eats hardly anything. I'm worried.
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Help! My toddler eats hardly anything. I'm worried.
post #1 of 3
Thread Starter
Hi there,
I know toddlers are supposed to be picky, but this is ridiculous. My son, who just turned 2, will only eat snacky finger foods. In the beginning he ate lots of veggie purees, but when he started feeding himself he went to finger foods that were sort of dry and portable and it's been that way ever since, like almost a year. But even in that time he's narrowed it down to eating maybe 8 things over and over. He won't even eats cold cereals like Oatios or toast anymore. Now he is maybe in the 15th percentile for his weight, though he certainly has lots of energy and isn't emaciated or anything. He still nurses fairly often (teething). I don't plan to wean him, but I worry that maybe nursing is spoiling his appetite.
He won't eat ANY fruit, and only a couple of vegetables. I used to be able to sneak grated yellow squash into his scrambled eggs and he won't even eat that anymore. He spits it out. He's allergic to cow's milk, citrus, and berries (I think the cow's milk is what makes children so big in this culture). He basically eats: tortilla chips, rice crackers, eggs, fishsticks, popcorn, wheat-free pasta with earth balance margarine, nori sea veggie, corn on the cob, almond milk, waffles (but not pancakes), barbara's wheatfree animal cookies, and occasonally spinach munchies.
I worry that I've cultivated his pickiness by giving him backup options if he refuses the meal that I made for myself and or dad. He knows if he waits he can get something else. I hate to have him go hungry! His father gets home late so often it will be just be Xavier and I for meals, but I don't know if eating all together more would help. I sometimes want to try to eliminate these snacky foods he likes from the house, but they are really the substance of his diet, and I hate to have him lose more weight while we figure it out.
I give him a multivitamin and green supplement for children. The doctor said don't worry, just give him a lot of whatever he likes. But he seems to just graze a little all day when left to his own devices. He doesn't sit long for meals and just gets up after a few bites, so I always fall back on having some of his snacky food available. I read about the food tray idea thing on this board, and I think I'll give that a try, but has anyone else had success changing their toddler's eating habits? Thanks for any insights or ideas--
post #2 of 3
I suggest you repost this nutrition and good eating...BUT. I also suggest that you ALLOW him to graze all day, if that's the way he eats. It happens to be the healthiest way for a human to eat, and if you've breastfed him on demand, it's also the way you've TAUGHT him to eat...WHEN HE IS HUNGRY! Breastmilk is basically giving him the nutrients and fats and etc that he wouldn't otherwise be getting from the foods he's eating (as they aren't supre nutrient rich foods!), so I'd say on top of allllll the other benefits of extended nursing, don't stop for that reason!
Too, I'd read the book on Nutrition by Doctor Sears. It's got a lot of GREAT ideas in it. One thing that he suggests that I like a lot is to cut up finger foods and put them out at the child's height ALL day, so that he can graze at will. Put a rainbow of foods out, and if he's hungry enough and offered things often enough so that he's familliar with the, he'll eat. I did find with my daughter, though, that if she was avoiding a new food, it might be because she was avoiding a possible allergic reaction. SO go slowly when introducing possibly allergenic foods!
It's hard, but certainly don't offer more than one option when you make dinner. If your child is hungry they'll eat what's offered. If not, they'll pass. That's a bad and tedious habit to be stuck in, and their future spouse won't appreciate it (my husband was like that when we got married...he learned quickly that I only made one meal a night and it WAS NOT chicken breast and pasta every night of the week)--speaking from experience!!
post #3 of 3
i have an idea of how you feel, i have a very picky 2 1/2 ds
He mainly eats rice cakes, other snack like foods, and baby food (and lots and lots of bm )
first off let me say at least your dc has a good base of healthy things to grow on. good for you!
next try not to stress out about it (i know - so hard) Look at nutrition over a week not daily.
keep giving things you want dc to eat - kids have this amazing knack to do what is expected - so if you expect him not to eat it he wont-stay positive. even if it sits in front of him and he does not try, he is seeing/smelling/touching the foods and that is a big step. give him praise if he does touch / lick / try. (for us a success is my son leaving food he is not interested on his high chair, and not throwing it across the room )
something that works for us....
we made up a game where the food it trying to "get" my son. picture this ....
mama running around after ds "its gonna get ya". my son finds this hilarious. at first i would just touch the food to his lips (which he would lick after and get some exposure)
now when we play the game he actually licks the FOOD!
i would only do this if the dc was receptive to game.
also, it takes 20 exposures to new food to adjust the tastebuds.
hope this helps
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Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T)
Q: What would it mean for you to be the first guy to bring home that title for Penske and that entire group? Well, to win a championship for Roger would certainly be a huge accomplishment considering everything he's been through in American motorsports and beyond. You look at his legacy in the sport and you can't help but feel that he's been a little bit slighted on the NASCAR side. We'd like to get that job done, and I think we have the opportunity to do it. I think we have the team and car, and it's just a matter of putting all the pieces together.
Championship contenders press conference: Brad Keselowski, Penske Racing Dodge
Championship contenders press conference: Brad Keselowski, Penske Racing Dodge
Photo by: Eric Gilbert
And so far that's happened this year. There's no guarantee that will continue to happen, but I think you look at trends and you try to label how things can happen, and there's a very strong possibility.
For us it's about focusing on getting the job done and trying not to think about all those other things, whether it's what it means or what obstacles lie ahead. It's about just focusing on what we need to do, and the history books and the life lessons and so forth, those things will work their way out in the end if you just get the job done, and I think that's where our focus is.
Q. This question is for Brad: At the beginning of the season you did something spectacular with social media. You had your phone in your car and during the red flag at Daytona you were able to tweet and it was on Twitter, it was going crazy, people were following you like crazy and it was trending nationwide and it made a big impact on the sport. Coming into last weekend, you got fined for having your phone in your car, so my question is will you still bring it into your car for this race, or what do you think that means for the future of being able to tweet or be a part of Twitter and the social media world during a red flag at the race? Well, I think your first part was would I put it in my car this weekend? Was that your first question? You've got two questions. He earned two questions. I don't know, you haven't got two questions. You've got to pick one. Which one do you want?
Q. What does it mean for the future of -- What does it mean for the future? I'll answer that one. That's a good one. I think it means that you can still be involved in social media, but I think NASCAR has certainly said that they want to draw a line as to what you can do specifically in the car, and I think that's what it means for the future.
Q. Both of you know what the scenarios are. Will you have your teams let you know how you stand, or is that too much to think about during the race? Do you want to know where the other guy is, how many positions you've got to get, or do you kind of wait until you get down to the last 50 laps to start thinking about stuff like that? I mean, I don't really know how to answer it. I guess you could look at it that way, but you know if you go out there and run well, at least from my position, that it all takes care of itself. With maybe the exception of the last lap or two, I've got a pretty good idea of where I'm at on the racetrack, or I should, and that stuff works its way out if we're in a good position.
Wow, I thought Jimmie was going to be tough. Dang. Jimmie, you've got a lot of work to do to catch up with her.
Q. Roger has seen Will Power fall victim to it four times, so what are you doing to not let this rattle you? This, as in the opportunity to win a championship? Well, I think that it's not something that you can really answer in a sense that's easy for this group to understand. I mean, sorry, maybe that was a jab back. I've been listening to too much Tony Stewart.
I feel like if you look at Paul, Paul is pretty stone-faced, and that's his style. He's not a real emotional guy, and certainly you cue off of that, just like Jimmie was saying he does with Chad, and there's other guys. You look at Roger, Roger is the same way. You're not going to see Roger showing a bunch of emotion even if we do win it. He's going to be very stoic, as he always is, which is great.
For me I guess the best way to answer is I'm relying on the people I'm surrounded by.
Q. The points, and as Jimmie stated, 15th place finish is not a lay-up. When you start crunching numbers, if you will, approaching the race, how much of that do you do in terms of affecting your mindset, in terms of affecting your approach to the race? I assume it doesn't change, but I also think that it's human nature not to think about, hey, I've got a pretty good shot here. Well, I haven't crunched a lot of numbers to be honest, not those types. I can tell you what kind of fuel mileage we're going to get, but I've got no idea about the trends and patterns of the average finish and so forth, but I know if we go out there and just do our job, everything will take care of itself. To put your focus on those other things is just another distraction that doesn't serve the goal that we have. So I haven't done it.
Q. Brad, no pressure on you, but you'd be the first Michigan-born driver if you win on Sunday to claim the Sprint Cup title. How does it make you feel, obviously pretty proud I'd guess, Detroit needs a boost, the Tigers lost the World Series. How does that all play in? Well, I mean, I'd be glad to help out. How about that? You know, obviously I'm very proud of the roots that I have back in Michigan and specifically in the metro Detroit area, and have strong roots still to the area with my family living there and car owner, who's based out of the Detroit area. I think it would be a very powerful moment for sure, at least for me and hopefully for the area and the community.
So anything that we can do to serve that just plays into some of the heritage of our team and makes us stronger.
Q. When you think back to Rochester Hills and that little white cinder block shop that your dad raced out of and your grandfather raced out of in Michigan, when you think back to all of that and how far you've come, and it could have gone the other way, you could be where Brian is right now, what does that mean to you? What will that mean to the Keselowski family who's really scraped to get where you are today? Well, it's hard to speak for everyone in my family, and I don't want to pretend to do that. But I also know that I have somewhat of a read on them, and it's kind of funny when you brought that up, my brother, I was thinking about the parallels between Jimmie and I and our brothers and where we're at in sports, and we both want to see them be successful, and obviously that hasn't worked out for them as far as being a race car driver at this level.
Both of us probably want to see that happen. But it's not easy. It's a difficult balance. I know my brother is planning on coming down here for the weekend on Sunday, or I should say for the day on Sunday, and that's going to be great. Glad to have him here, or any family for that matter. And I think if you know the personal relationship that my brother and I have, you would understand why that's such an accomplishment for him to be here Sunday.
So I think that probably speaks more volumes than anything else as to how my family is feeling that, those moments. You know, my dad is the type of guy that would probably never tell you good job to your face, but if he spoke to you or did an interview with you, he'd say, wow, man, you've got to see what Brad has done, it's great and I feel awesome about it. I have to rely on those outside things, those nuances, so to speak, so it's good to see him, as well, at the racetrack this weekend and my brother and my mom and so forth, sister is coming out. So that makes me feel like it really means a lot to them.
Q. Brad, this question is for you: You've said all along you're going to come here, you're going to win it, you really only have to finish 15th. How do you change your mindset from being the go-all-out kind of driver you are to maybe kind of being conservative and playing it safe? You don't. One of my favorite movies in the whole wide world is this documentary on Ayrton Senna, and there's this really powerful scene in that movie that sticks with me when I think about this weekend. I think about this scene in the movie when they talked about him at Monaco, which was his -- just his phenomenal track that he was so strong at and how he had this huge lead over his teammate at the time, obviously had an identical car, which showcased what kind of talent Ayrton had, and they were coming down to the closing laps of the race, and they told him to slow down, you have a huge lead, don't worry, just slow down, just -- and he wrecked.
Q. Jimmie has played little head games on you here, and you said you're relying on people and you're going to race your race this weekend, but what I want to know, this is the championship you're going after, the best of the best in racing. How does this weekend feel different, and if it doesn't, why? Well, I've been going for the championship all my life, and specifically this particular one for the last nine races. So Homestead pays the same amount of points as Chicago did and the same amount of points that Martinsville did when Jimmie won. It's the same, and there's no reason to change that approach, and that's why I feel that way.
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#ProgressIS: Using a Text Editor As a Word Processor
Funny how they say history tends to repeat itself. As always the old becomes new and technology no matter how much it moves forward doesn’t always seem to get away from this idiom. In thousands of offices all around the world there are billions of widget makers struggling every day to figure out simple and easy as ways to communicate via the written word. Unfortunately, most of them assume the only answer is the modern word processor.
Now there was a time when the word processor meant a 20 pound device with the really small screen and a not quite detachable keyboard. Like a typewriter minus the White Out. As computers came into play one the first issues ever tackled was a good word processing solution that could replace the the electronic typewriter and single tasking electronic word processors of the day.
This was a fine and dandy solution up until there was some bifurcation of formats between WordPerfect, which was the giant of word processors at the time and Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word at that time was oddly enough the new kid on the block. /little did we know that soon it would take over the world and be the planet’s go to word processor. I personally am not a big fan of Microsoft Word mostly because it has grown into a large program without any usable features added since about Word 6 (Office 4.2). However, as more and more people buy Microsoft Word the need for Word compatibility continues to grow. The odd thing is the majority of the people who use Microsoft Word only use it as a glorified electronic typewriter.
Most of the people using Microsoft Word are not using the features that require such a large program. In fact almost all of them basically need a simple easy-to-use text editor with spellcheck. I would say about 90% of the people who use Microsoft Word are really using the comparable feature set of WordPad or TextEdit.
Knowing this to be true I have personally boycotted the modern word processor and continue to write all of my communications in my generic text editor. My text editor of choice is TextMate, however there are a slew of other options on the market both free and paid for all platforms available including the modern smartphone.
So what does this all mean? It means that I’m going to be putting together a series of articles and tutorials that will teach people how to go back to the text editor as their word processor of choice. Thus eliminating the need for costly programs that hog up gigabytes of data on your hard drive, drain your battery, eat up lots of processing power to sit idle and require proprietary data formats. Yes I’m talking about Microsoft Word but this also includes iWork and a bunch more.
So be on the lookout for these things coming soon. Check back on this website often as well as follow my twitter feeds and Facebook posting.
I’d like to give a shout out to my friend Brett Terpstra who will be providing some of the tools that I used to get a lot of work done via simple text editing. If you’re fanatical notetaker or just person that loves the store tidbits of information I highly suggest you check out NVAlt which is Brett’s Fork of Notational Velocity.
I also want to give a shout out to John Garcia for his #Progressis social media campaign for giving me the inspiration to write this post and begin this series of tutorials that I’ll be producing concerning better living through text. Progress is going back to the simple text editor as a way of communicating better, faster, stronger.
photo by: Â Marcin Wichary | dclm-gs1-010770000 |
to not understand the rules of double barrell names. Explanation needed!
(96 Posts)
heliumballoon1 Thu 14-Feb-13 10:56:47
Dh and I have decided to give our new baby both our surnames. I kept my surname when we married and want our DC to have my name too.
However, I'm not entirely sure how it works. Sometimes double barrell names are hyphenated and sometimes not. Why is this? And which one should we go for? Does a hyphen mean that the two names are one complete name and are always used together?
We may just decide to use just one name on a daily basis - does that mean it would be better not to use hyphen?
Advice needed please!
nickelbabe Fri 15-Feb-13 15:40:19
i view it as a feminist issue too.
StuntGirl Fri 15-Feb-13 15:31:22
Although it's not like I lose sleep over it. I view it is a feminist issue, some people don't. Horses for courses and all that.
StuntGirl Fri 15-Feb-13 15:29:29
Probably because the result of the male name dominated thing is some women like girl end up feeling that their name is never truly 'theirs', and that's quite sad to go through life without feeling like you own your own identity.
EuroShagmore Fri 15-Feb-13 15:19:34
I have a number of innovative swear alternatives I regularly employ during office hours!
ChaoticisasChaoticdoes Fri 15-Feb-13 15:18:06
If it's just a name then why do some people get so stroppy when the woman doesn't change her name?
nickelbabe Fri 15-Feb-13 15:05:26
sorry, that was to EuroShag...
ah, i see Girl - it does make sense like that, but it still sounds like you are seeing your original surname as a "for now" name.
but that's up to you, of course, and your reasoning with that extra explanation is much better than your original changing from dad's to husband's because you love him more wink
nickelbabe Fri 15-Feb-13 15:03:32
poor you.
EuroShagmore Fri 15-Feb-13 14:52:02
nickel I'm at work. I'm complying with our internet policy (sort of)! I can only swear properly when posting from home. It's rather odd because loads of people swear out loud here, including me, but typing swear words is a no no.
GirlOutNumbered Fri 15-Feb-13 14:50:29
Sorry I didn't make it crystal clear nickelback!
I guess in some part it's due to the fact that my mum married again and she had a different name, I was in my teens and I am not close to my dad. I hadn't really given it much thought till now. It's interesting thinking about it, maybe it's because I am still called by my old surname by friends, it's always been a nickname, so I don't notice if I miss it?
I don't know, perhaps a part of me is glad not to be called the same as my dad, like I have moved on from that?
nickelbabe Fri 15-Feb-13 14:46:30
no, you said you talked about double-barrelled, not about him taking your name.
StuntGirl Fri 15-Feb-13 14:46:26
Sorry, xpost.
So you had a discussion and went down a traditional route. Cool. I do still feel sad that you at no point in your life felt your name was 'yours', and was simply transient until you got married. What if you'd never got married?
I wonder why men don't seem to feel this ambivalence fowards their names (which if we're going down that route, is their fathers name anyway)? Or perhaps they do but as circumstance dictates they don't often have the same opportunity to ditch it?
BackforGood Fri 15-Feb-13 14:43:42
No, I was in assembly this morning and some poor child was called out for their certificate, and they had a triple barrelled surname.
GirlOutNumbered Fri 15-Feb-13 14:42:07
Nope...see above. We talked about double barrelled. I don't think anything like that is just assumed in this day and age is it...?
Loads of people asked if I was keeping name/taking her when we said we were getting married. It seems quite common to not too.
I have friends that did completely make up a surname, sounds like a superhero, it's pretty cool.
StuntGirl Fri 15-Feb-13 14:40:05
Another question which probably sounds like an attack but isn't meant to be - your husband "would have" considered taking your name. That implies no conversation on names took place. Did you have any discussions? Was it simply assumed (by you, him or both) that you would take his name?
GirlOutNumbered Fri 15-Feb-13 14:38:43
I gave my son his fathers name as I wasn't bothered about continuing my name. We are not a close family (my father that is). That's the only reason. We did toy with double barrelled for him, but our names are too comical together.
aldiwhore Fri 15-Feb-13 14:38:26
I had no problem 'carrying' my father's name throughout my life, but that doesn't mean I have to leave it behind, nor does it mean I am desperate to keep it.
For me it was about a choice. When I had a 'natural' choice to change my name I did... for me it was when I got married. I suppose I have my father's name now and my husband's (who has also now adopted my father's name) ... it could get confusing!
I 'could' have created my own name at any point in my life though, and I would not have an issue with anyone who did.
MY name happened to be my father's, but it became my own. I love my name, and it IS part of me, I am emotionally attached to it, I LIKE it, I didn't want to give it up because I was expected to as a woman... DH has had more 'stick' than me for taking 'my' name. It's a non issue. Likewise, if a woman is happy to take her DH's name, so what. So long as no one is forced, each to their own.
I think the worst 'insult' I've had is that I'm trying to up my social status, all I can say to that is MEH... I could have upped it in many other ways. I'm hardly fixated on climbing the class ladder if I drive i 15 year old Nissan Micra and rent a 3 bed semi!
I do loathe people having general opinions on me based on assumption.
nickelbabe Fri 15-Feb-13 14:34:15
and shit with a 1?
go on, just swear, it's MN not nethuns! wink
nickelbabe Fri 15-Feb-13 14:33:46
Euro did you really just spell Wanky with two vs? grin
EuroShagmore Fri 15-Feb-13 14:30:32
How can you not feel any ties to a name that you have used throughout your life? confused
We will use both names if we have children (no sure if we will hyphenate or not yet). If anyone thinks that's vvanky, I couldn't give a shiny sh1t, frankly. For me, it's a feminist issue.
StuntGirl Fri 15-Feb-13 14:30:17
I have no problem with people choosing one way or the other girl, at the end of the day its your choice.
I'm curious why you didn't give your son your name originally though, before you were married? Again, why the automatic deference to the father's name? (Not an attack, an actual question).
nickelbabe Fri 15-Feb-13 14:25:54
exactly - what okthan said.
you obviously didn't just take your DH's name because you didn't think about it and just accepted convention - you clearly did it deliberately.
but you do sound like you're trying to make excuses for it.
take your DH's name if that's your choice, but don't fob it off as giving up your father's name in favour of your DH. it's your name you gave up.
GirlOutNumbered Fri 15-Feb-13 14:18:09
I didn't think you did need one family name no, but before we were married I had a different name to my son and I hated it. I never thought about getting married before, but thought that I would actually like to be married and have a family name. I never realised how traditional I was I guess.
Yes, we did think about whose name to have, my husband would have given serious consideration to it, if I had been adamant I wanted to keep mine but I wasn't. The choice to me was either my fathers family name or my husbands family name. I was happy with husbands that's all. I guess either my dad doesn't mean that much to me or I really do just think its a name and took the nicest one....
Not sure if that makes any sense and its just my feeling anyway, I appreciate its not the same for everyone. It's nice that people can choose.
Viviennemary Fri 15-Feb-13 14:17:37
I think this trend for double barrelled names is a bit silly. And I hope in will die out soon. The old rule used to be double barrelled with hyphen then names always used together and filed under first letter of first surname. And double barrelled without hyphen last name usually used for filing purposes.
ironhorse Fri 15-Feb-13 14:16:28
i always think a surname with a hyphen in it is seen as a double barrelled name however if its just firstname mysurname othersurname then the mysurname in the middle is seen as a middle name - it doesnt make their/your surname double barrelled.
okthen Fri 15-Feb-13 14:08:02
GirlOutnumbered- you say it's 'just a name' then list several reasons why you wanted to change it. Clearly it is loaded with some significance for you, ergo not 'just a name'.
Did your husband consider changing his? Would he? That's not an attack on your husband specifically btw. How many men REALLY would change their name?and if not why not? The answer to that would explain my issue. Because if there's a reason men wouldn't, why does that not apply to women.
As for feeling like a family unit by having the same name... I don't get it. Surely you don't need a shared name to feel like a unit?
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To ask DH to come home?
(22 Posts)
He's been working abroad for 14 months now and I've seen him 6 times 3 x 2 weeks (eg at Christmas) and 3 weekends. When he left DSs were aged 19, 17, 16 and 13. His previous job had been abroad, but he'd been home every other weekend. When he lost that job he was out of work for 3 months so we were glad when this one came up, but didn't realise how rarely we'd see one another. He has now lost this job and I've asked him to please come home, rather than stay abroad looking for another one, or taking another foreign contract. He's angry about it. It's about the one demand I've made on him in the 28 years we've been together. Additional information: I would love to join him on a married foreign contract, but DS2 has severe SN that just can't be met in the countries he's worked in recently. His behaviour would be increasingly challenging without our regular contact. DS1 has had recent difficulties with substance abuse (MNers may remember from Teenagers section). I feel I need my DH back and they need their Dad.
EllaFitzgerald Sun 31-Mar-13 15:17:42
Not unreasonable at all, you're dealing with quite a lot all by yourself and it's understandable that you want him home to help and support you.
Could it be that he's worried about finding work in your area? Perhaps that's why he's angry?
AgentZigzag Sun 31-Mar-13 15:18:01
YANBU to want to spend time with the DH you've known for 28 years, and he should be happy you still feel like that after so long.
Is he trying to escape a bit and that's what's worrying you?
Or do you suspect he's putting the money and work above your feelings.
You're not being unreasonable though.
gertrudestein Sun 31-Mar-13 15:19:20
YANBU. No wonder you miss him and would like to see him more. What does he do for a living?
AgentZigzag Sun 31-Mar-13 15:19:44
I wonder what the angry reaction is all about?
I could understand him being anxious about where the money is going to come from and want to provide for his family, but why would you wanting him back home make him angry?
livinginwonderland Sun 31-Mar-13 15:20:05
not unreasonable, but what's his career? does he have a lot of options here in the UK, or would he be taking a massve pay cut to come back home?
saying that, i wouldn't be happy in a marriage where i barely saw my partner - it's the main reason i could never date someone in the military, it's just not for me. why is he so angry?
Nancy66 Sun 31-Mar-13 15:38:21
As others have said - not unreasonable but is he in a profession where work in the Uk is available.
My DP's work is nearly all overseas but that's because his industry pretty much doesn't exist in the UK
JustinBsMum Sun 31-Mar-13 15:44:58
What is your financial situation? Can he afford to be home and no job?
Thanks all. He has been working in the waste industry, but is a Civil Engineer by profession. Hugely transferrable skills, but think he doesn't want the pay cut, increased tax etc. Anger may come from a previous conversation when I was trying to explain to him what it was like for me in the community I live in without him here. I mentioned that other men approach me.
ImperialBlether Sun 31-Mar-13 17:43:27
Are you living in the UK, OP? It sounds as though you have an awful lot to deal with and there's no doubt that an absent husband/father really must make things worse for you.
Is his reluctance to come home purely due to money, or do you think there's anyother, more sinister, reason?
ENormaSnob Sun 31-Mar-13 17:48:18
I find it very odd that he won't come home despite him now having no job wherever he is hmm
Yes, I'm in UK. I can't seem to get him to see that I have a lot to put up with. In the lead up to my request, I asked him what he was investing in our marriage and he simply said money. I asked him how he felt our marriage was and he said he was hoping to make it better this holiday (I am currently visiting him, along with 3 of DSs). In the end I said I wanted him to come home, or I would leave him. He pointed out this was unreasonable, what if he couldn't get a job at home, so I retracted the ultimatum, but he still wasn't happy.
maddening Sun 31-Mar-13 21:24:56
Why can't he do his jobsearch both within the uk and abroad from your home? Surely having two family bases is a higher expenditure burden as 2x rent/mortgages and bills etc
Plus you need him and your marriage needs his presence even for a few months while he is jobless?
Yes, thanks, Maddening. That's what I thought too about job searching from home. Now I'm with him in the country he's been working in, I can appreciate that it is going to take a few weeks to extricate himself. For example, everything is tied in with his mobile phone number (electricity bills, satellite TV etc) and he has handed his SIM card back to the company, so now has a different phone number! Also, his company are still paying some of his bills, as part of his notice agreement, so I can see the point of him staying here to tie up loose ends.
We have come to a compromise (quite an achievement for us!). He had a flight home booked for 2nd May to spend Bank Holiday at home - also 3 of DSs birthdays fall at beginning of May, including an 18th and a 21st. Since we're here until 13th April, I can easily cope with that. He will stay in UK after that rather than return to where he was working. He will prioritise jobs based in UK/Europe in his search, even if they pay less. I'll remind him of the good times we had in that 3 month period he spent at home last time he was jobless.
Imperialblether - I don't think there's a more sinister reason for him wanting to stay abroad, but then I am considered quite naive! I think he just finds the humdrum reality of family life quite difficult to deal with.
Thank you all for your comments, I'm so glad you agree INBU. DH has a habit of getting DSs (those that can speak) on board and it can skew ones viewpoint at times!
JustinBsMum Mon 01-Apr-13 17:00:35
Can you also make life easier for yourself when at home alone eg cleaner, babysitter, childminder.
Sounds like your DH is a bit of a workaholic, but they see it as them doing it for the family rather than doing it for themselves (the long hours).
My DH worked away alot and I saw it as my 'job' to look after home and dcs uncomplainingly (he didn't complain about work). Now realise I should have done what helped me, eg getting out more, and made life easier and more fun for myself.
BegoniaBampot Mon 01-Apr-13 17:32:39
Where is he OP? Some countries are more attractive to men than others.
WafflyVersatile Mon 01-Apr-13 17:40:56
there is more to happy families than money. Sounds like he just prefers avoiding the more difficult bits of being part of his family by telling himself that money is more important than his time and physical support. Or he thinks he is good at earning money but bad at offering emotional practical support at home.
For you it is more important to have physical support than more money. Civil engineers aren't exactly on minimum wage in this country are they? You'd not be poor, and presumably you'd put some of this extra cash away as savings and security rather than expand your lifestyle to use up the extra money he can earn abroad?
BegoniaBampot Mon 01-Apr-13 17:53:40
There is a danger living apart like this. One or both sides can end up liking it too much. Know men who use the excuse of providing a good living for their family to really enable them to live a life they enjoy away from the family without feeling they have abandoned them. They often present it as their sacrifice for their family when they are actually perfectly happy about the situation.
Yes, yes, yes and he's in Dubai. DSs are old enough to look after themselves now, except for DS2, because of his SN. Every now and then other DSs can care for him and I do have a cleaner. So, now DSs are older I am able to get out more, hence meeting other men. However, you are right about the workaholism. Ironically, DH did used to complain about the job - a lot - but it was still better than no job. WafflyV I agree with everything you say. I actually believe money is making us less happy, but I am in the minority with that in this family. BB, I think there's truth in this too. Much of the time I'm also happy doing my own thing, but as WV surmises, I miss both physical and emotional support from DH and I'm worried I'll start seeking it elsewhere.
WafflyVersatile Tue 02-Apr-13 01:10:48
Dunno, I guess you can try to find a way to talk to him about this without it being accusatory and him getting defensive and there are lots of different approaches you can take and methods you could use.
eg you could put all your thoughts and feelings in an email and ask that he gives them consideration before replying or talking in person, so that he's not put on the spot or you could wait til you see him in person and bring it up then having put aside plenty of time alone to discuss it.
You could declare that your marriage is on the line and that crisis talks are required now, and that if he cares about the marriage he will give the talk you need priority over jobhunting and get himself home.
You could talk reassuringly to him about how his presence here is valued and important to you and your DS2 and other DC. About how he is missed. About how much you look forward to and miss sexytimes etc. talk about things you've done and enjoyed when he's been home, occasions when his support has been of value when he's been here. How you think he is a good father for providing but also when he is here in other, more tangible ways.
You could talk candidly about your feelings that prolonged continued separation could lead to the marriage ending and how much you don't want that to happen. ,being careful to concentrate on how you feel rather than what he's doing wrong and at fault for working abroad.
Lots of other ways. I can't know what approach might work best.
JustinBsMum Tue 02-Apr-13 14:23:24
Waffly, OP has already come to an agreement with DH.
No knowing whether he'll stick to it though!
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Waters breaking - can I wear sanitary/tena towels?
(31 Posts)
Ls271082 Sat 22-Jun-13 17:27:09
This may sound totally ridiculous I don't know, I've never done it before!! Is it worth wearing tena or similar near my due day in case my waters break? Or is it stupid idea as they won't help/work to save embarrassment if I'm at work or in public?
CuppaSarah Sat 22-Jun-13 17:32:22
It depends. It could just be a trickle in which case that would be fine. Or it could be a gush which not even a maternity towel wuld probably contain.
But rest assured only something like 10% of labours start with the waters breaking, so odds are you'll be well aware it's coming before it does. But if it makes you feel a bit more secure go ahead and wear a towel.
SkivingAgain Sat 22-Jun-13 17:38:09
My waters broke when I was in the village shop blush -- I wish I'd been wearing a pad-- thankfully I had dark trousers on and no one else knew smile
Felt like I was peeing myself, but couldn't stop it sad
MrsBungle Sat 22-Jun-13 17:46:45
My waters broke in the middle of the street. I was wearing a pad - it really didn't contain it!
Iwish Sat 22-Jun-13 19:58:22
My waters broke at home all over the floor and I put a pad on so soak it up as it kept coming. It didn't help lol xx
welshfirsttimemummy Sat 22-Jun-13 22:16:25
welshfirsttimemummy Sat 22-Jun-13 22:17:21
My waters didn't break until I was actually pushing in labour, so you may not need one smile
happyfrogger Sat 22-Jun-13 22:35:46
I wouldn't bother, TBH. In my case my waters broke (middle of the night) with a gush. Even the heaviest of pads would have soaked through in 30 seconds! I went through many bath towels in the 30 mins faffing to get to hospital and in the cab. If anything have a small towel in your handbag or a bunch to hand at home / work etc so if you do end up one of those whose waters break without warning, you can get where you need to without too big a wet patch in the car!!
chickabilla Sat 22-Jun-13 22:42:05
My waters were leaking not gushing but still were not contained by a pad.
lj123 Sat 22-Jun-13 22:48:01
My mums waters broke with my sis n she got told to actually open a pack of nappies and put one in her underwear! She was planning a home birth and it was middle of the night.
therumoursaretrue Sat 22-Jun-13 22:54:00
A pad wouldnt have made one but of difference to me. My waters broke in hospital and completely soaked one of those big pads they put on the beds. Then continued to leak after that and soaked another 2. Not sure how much is 'normal' but I was shocked by the amount.
ShowOfHands Sat 22-Jun-13 22:57:32
My waters breaking was the first sign both times. I had a big initial gush and then constant leaking for 31 and 38hrs respectively. I wore two maternity pads side by side. No bloody point really. Trousers ruined. Knickers ruined. I sat on a towel for a 30 minute car ride and it was sodden.
I had a LOT of water. grin
ItCameFromOuterSpace Sat 22-Jun-13 23:06:43
My waters broke in bed in th middle of the night, and there was ALOT of water. It didn't stop gushing ou fo hours. No pad would hav helped me contain that.
cece Sat 22-Jun-13 23:10:15
Both times my waters broke I completely flooded the floor where I was standing. Mopping up was needed to clear up the water!
Nellysgirl Sat 22-Jun-13 23:46:19
Without meaning to sound rude but please can I ask the ladies who's waters broke in bed. Did it leak through to mattress and stuff? I was worried about this happening to me. What do you do? We have a brand new bed confused
My waters broke in bed grin it was like Niagra falls had relocated to my womb! A whole pack of tena pants wouldn't have cut it!
To answer the waters in the bed question... We had put a couple of bin bags under the sheet as I had excess waters and was told to do this by the MW. All we needed to do was change the bedding and have the carpet cleanedgrin
happyfrogger Sun 23-Jun-13 08:56:12
It would have if I'd state there, but I jumped up so quick thinking I'd wet myself and ruined the carpet instead! I spent the rest of the time waiting for a can standing on a towel in the bathroom shouting demands at DH. Who shouted back to me to stay put and not ruin another carpet lol!
Given that I might sleep on a towel next time just in case but wouldn't invest in a mattress protector. You'll likely be up fairly quickly not lay around wondering what's happening!
Chunderella Sun 23-Jun-13 09:36:05
If it makes you feel more comfortable, do it. But if they break with a gush, it's going to take more than a pad to contain it! Nelly, mine broke in bed but didn't leak through to the mattress. I got DH to grab me a towel quite quickly though.
MrsMargoLeadbetter Sun 23-Jun-13 09:42:31
One thing wearing a pad is useful for is being able to check that the waters are clear.
If they have marconium (eg baby poo) you will need to go to the hospital for monitoring. I had this first time.
I had gushes both times and tried to catch the worse of it with towels for the above but also my 'dignity' - not that there is much in childbirth!!!
Good luck! Wishing you good birthing vibes.....
BoffinMum Sun 23-Jun-13 09:44:37
If your waters go in bed with a pop you will ruin your mattress. You need a waterproof cover on there, believe me.
In terms of dealing with them if they go in the daytime, disposable incontinence pants are the best thing ever for this. They hold loads.
ShowOfHands Sun 23-Jun-13 10:09:40
My waters went in bed the second time round and my mattress was fine. As soon as I felt the pop, I leapt up and as I had pyjamas on, it was quick enough to save the mattress. Floor needed mopping though. grin
It's a good point about the pads showing up anything you might need to see. Meconium as MrsM says, I also noticed as I changed my 895th pad that day that I'd started to bleed too.
marzipananimal Sun 23-Jun-13 15:42:44
I think a waterproof mattress protector is probably sensible. You're quite likely to have other bodily fluid leaks in bed after the baby's born (blood, milk, baby poo, sick or wee) so it'll get some use even if your waters don't break in bed.
sugarandspite Sun 23-Jun-13 15:48:12
Also you'll probably get awful night sweats for the first week or so after you've had the baby - lovely I know - and the waterproof mattress protector will also be helpful then.
By the best quality one you can justify (our hippychick one is good as is cotton not sweaty plastic) as it will probably more than earn its keep over the next few years!
happyfrogger Sun 23-Jun-13 20:20:08
oh yes, night sweats! Good point. That for me lasted best part of a month and sheets were soaked through EVERY night, didn't know what was going on, it was horrible. Mattress protector would be have been useful for that!
Ls271082 Sun 23-Jun-13 20:34:47
I've got night sweats now and I'm only 27+2!!
Woofers Sun 23-Jun-13 21:09:33
Using experience from the other end of the life cycle - incontinence in adults is a problem, especially over night. You can use kylie sheets or tena do a pad which holds up to 800ml of urine. Disability shops might be able to supply / advise.
kylie sheets
tena pull up pants
BoffinMum Sun 23-Jun-13 22:37:01
Value shower curtain is a cheap substitute for a waterproof sheet, but sweaty.
IRCL Sun 23-Jun-13 22:40:38
My waters poured out and soaked the pad I was wearing. Couldn't contain it.
K8Middleton Sun 23-Jun-13 22:51:11
Waters went first with both of my labours in exactly the same way. In bed, woke up, had a funny feeling something was going to happen, felt a pop and lolluped in an ungainly fashioned dashed all the way downstairs and across the house to the bathroom and didn't spill a drop. Then big gushes in the loo and a Boot's whopping incontinence pad in knickers. Planning a homebirth they were on the list so luckily had lots. They worked well because the waters just keep coming!
I carried a spare pair of knickers and massive inco pad in my handbag for last few months of second pg. Just in case grin
Angelina7 Mon 24-Jun-13 00:16:14
Night sweats? What causes those? ...first I've heard of them :-/
sugarandspite Mon 24-Jun-13 10:00:23
Night sweats in the weeks after birth are v common. It's something to do with your body trying to get rid of all of the masses of extra fluid that you retain during pregnancy (to help keep your blood pressure up and protect from dehydration I think).
So after you've had the baby you pee loads (but might not notice as it will still be less than you were having to pee when heavily pregnant!) and you'll sweat a lot, especially at night.
I also found that for a couple of weeks afterwards my temperature was always higher than everyone else - they would be in jumpers and id be in a vest top, normally I'm always the coldest one. So it really helped having room thermometers handy so I could make sure it wasn't too cold for baby, as I honestly couldn't tell.
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Health and Hygiene in Turkey
(30 Posts)
thepartysover Tue 11-Feb-14 10:56:55
Turkey has been added to the list of moot destinations by the in-laws (who we're travelling with) on account that "it's dirty", meaning water and food, standards of hygiene etc. We've seen a resort that we really like the look of but want to please everyone - what are other people's experiences? Is there anything I can say to put her mind at rest or should we just look elsewhere?
SooticaTheWitchesCat Tue 11-Feb-14 11:43:05
I lived in Turkey and I can confirm that it is very clean. I have been travelling there for 20 years and I have never once been ill.
Turks are amazingly clean people, obsessively so to be honest! The water is clean but as in most Mediterranean countries it has a high mineral content so it is better to drink bottled water.
The food is amazing. The only time you are likely to get not so good is if you go to a really cheap, low quality AI hotel, which I wouldn't want to go to anywhere in the world! Turkish food is one of the best ever.
Which resort are you looking at?
HamletsSister Tue 11-Feb-14 11:45:22
We had 2 amazing weeks in Kalkan last summer - ate out all the time and had no problems at all.
Actually, I felt safer there, food-wise, than in many a British greasy spoon.
thepartysover Tue 11-Feb-14 11:46:55
Thanks for the reply. This is very much my view! But trying to put my in-laws' minds at rest... they seem to have a prejudged view of the place. We're looking at the Sensatori Side - here.
AmberLeaf Tue 11-Feb-14 11:51:25
Ive not been myself, but my Dad has. He said it was exceptionally clean. The staff at the hotel couldn't do enough.
thepartysover Tue 11-Feb-14 12:02:07
Thanks AmberLeaf - good to hear a real experience of the resort. Thanks also HamletsSister flowers
chemenger Tue 11-Feb-14 12:09:47
Years ago when I was backpacking in Turkey a visit to the kitchen to "see how clean" was virtually compulsory in every small restaurant, and they were always absolutely spotless.
The food was fabulous, I especially loved the ice cream which had some special ingredient that I don't recall now. And the traditional breakfast with cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, bread and honey - yum.
girlywhirly Tue 11-Feb-14 12:25:28
I understand your IL's concerns, when I went to Turkey about 20 yrs ago there were exactly the issues you describe, and 4 of the party of 5 were ill. I think it would be difficult to put their minds at rest if they have heard some horror stories from people they know.
I suggest that if any of you are prone to upset tummies you might not want to risk it because it does spoil your holiday, on balance though this could happen anywhere in the world.
Wherever you go this could be an issue, but if you follow the travellers guidelines for keeping well and use antibacterial gel on your hands before eating, and don't drink iced or very cold drinks in very hot temperatures as that in itself will upset stomachs, that will help.
ZenNudist Tue 11-Feb-14 12:35:10
I went on holiday to turkey in September. Weather glorious, but understand your ILs worries. If they add turkey then they should also add many Greek Islands. The main problem is the lack of decent plumbing so need to put toilet tissue in a bin. tis grim.
I also picked up Turkey belly. Spent much of the holiday with diahorea. Never had it so bad anywhere else. Perhaps try Cyprus instead?
specialsubject Tue 11-Feb-14 13:53:02
not flushing toilet paper (due to small pipes) is standard throughout Greece and is actually much better for the environment than flushing it. There's nothing 'grim' about putting paper in a bin.
you can get stomach trouble anywhere. AI with the buffets of unsuitable food is a much higher risk. You want stuff that has been properly cooked or just cooked if the weather is hot.
magimedi Tue 11-Feb-14 13:56:37
I go to Turkey every year & the general standard of hygine is higher than many UK hotels & restaurant.
The loo paper in the bin thing is fine - there is a wee tap at the back of the loo bowl that you turn on (down by the side of the loo, usually) & it washes you so that only wet, not shitty, paper goes into the bin.
mrsnec Tue 11-Feb-14 14:01:17
We have to put toilet paper in the bin in Cyprus too in areas either side of the border that doesn't have decent plumbing. Guess they will have at sensatori. I have travelled all over Greece and Turkey and live in Cyprus and think the hygiene standards are the same but do depend on the establishment.
SooticaTheWitchesCat Tue 11-Feb-14 16:21:08
As magimedi says if you use the rap on the loo it is much cleaner than using loo paper anyway. So yes, it should it be wet paper in the bin anyway.
Most stomach upsets are caused by a combination of too much sun, alcohol and rich food. That is often why people get ill on holiday, it isn't usually the food.
thepartysover Tue 11-Feb-14 19:41:45
Thanks everyone. Going to show this thread to my ILs and hope for the best. Hard to shift a pre-conceived idea of what a place is like but you never know!
diabolo Tue 11-Feb-14 19:50:49
Turkey was far cleaner and friendlier than Crete if that's any help.
Bunbaker Tue 11-Feb-14 19:59:05
We are going to Crete this year grin. But I have been before and have no concerns.
diabolo Tue 11-Feb-14 20:10:52
To be fair bunbaker this was in 2001 and I really wish Trip Advisor had been around when we booked those apartments.
Bunbaker Tue 11-Feb-14 20:11:57
I last went to Crete in 1983 and it was fine.
diabolo Tue 11-Feb-14 20:20:19
I've posted the story on MN before, but the apartment owner threatened to call the police to arrest us for an unpaid bar bill. Luckily I was able to prove to our rep that we had been elsewhere on the night in question. Turned out the apartment manager did this with one couple (at least) every week of the season. Made me, probably unfairly, determined never to return.
Don't get me started on his toilets. Or the pool. grin
QueenoftheSarf Mon 17-Feb-14 22:28:39
It does seem odd that people have this distorted view of Turkey when they don't seem to have it of Greece/Cyprus etc. It's a shame because I too have encountered many people who have held the same sort of views and when they've actually been there, they've come back feeling very embarrassed that they ever felt that way. I've been travelling to Turkey for years and have to say that I have found Turkish people to be the friendliest people I've ever encountered anywhere in Europe and I've travelled to many countries.
OP, you can tell your in laws that people will not be able to do enough for them in Turkey - the service they'll receive will be second to none without doubt. I've always found English to be far more widely spoken there too than I have in countries such as Spain where I was absolutely shocked to find just how little English was spoken on the Costa del Sol. Turkish culture is also extremely child friendly and children are positively welcomed everywhere you go.
Another thing you can tell them is that many Germans and Scandinavians holiday in Antalya (where Side is) and they are known for being people who have extremely exacting standards.
I say go to Turkey and you'll wonder why your prejudices allowed you to leave it so long. It'll certainly give over hyped, over priced destinations like France and Italy a run for their money. Don't go and you will miss out on experiencing a truly wonderful country, culture and people, some fantastic scenery and weather.
SooticaTheWitchesCat Tue 18-Feb-14 10:06:21
I agree about the language. Everyone speaks good English in Turkey, yet when we went to Spain and Italy it was a real struggle to communicate with everyone!
3nationsfamily Tue 18-Feb-14 15:48:40
We stayed in Istanbul about 4 years ago and made the mistake of going to one of those tourist entertainment nights to see belly dancing and the like. The entertainment was great but the food was cold meat and potato salad which had been laid out on the tables before we arrived and was at room temperature. We should have known better than to eat it but we hadn't eaten for most of the day and were hungry. Only my DS refused and ate bread instead and he was the only one that didn't spend the next 2 days with his head down the toilet and unable to leave the (very clean) hotel room. It spoiled our holiday- well that and the MIL slipping on the wet tiles in the hotel pool and coming back to UK in plaster and in a wheelchair!
atthestrokeoftwelve Thu 20-Feb-14 07:30:40
I think you are more lilely to get a grubby resort or hotel in the UK. Your in laws have a very strange idea of dirty countries.
It is true than in warmer countries food goes off quicker, drinking water can be an isssue, but in terms of cleanliness and hygeine I think many countries- including Turkey are cleaner than UK.
DH and I have been travelling abroad for 30 years. Before children it was mostly to Greece. He was ill for at least some part of every holiday. I was never affected even though I am cavalier about drinking tap water. When we had DC we started to travel to Spain and Portugal. Miraculously DH was spared the upset stomachs. Then we went back to Greece and lo and behold he spent four days confined to the bathroom.
This is why he refuses to go I would never travel to Turkey or Egypt. Some people seem to have a tendency to pick up delhi belly and there are some destinations where even those with cast iron constitutions succumb. It may not be due to hygiene, perhaps it's the sea or pool. Doesn't matter really, it's not worth the risk of spoiling a precious holiday when there are so many other lovely places to visit.
atthestrokeoftwelve Thu 20-Feb-14 17:11:27
I think part of it is that so many tourists try to eat the same food that they do at home.
Buying a burger in Turkey is not going to be as safe as buying a flatbread with falafel cooked by a street vendor.
Local ice cream is often not a good choce either as it is made with local tap water.
I have spent a long time backpacking over many holidays in SE Asia, and find that sticking to what the locals are eating is the safest option.
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How to fix distrust in government
By Lee H. Hamilton
7 months 20 days ago |7 Views | | | Email | Print
A lot of this ire is focused on Congress, which an overwhelming majority believe is incapable of acting on behalf of the nation as a whole, but it has come to take in all of Washington. The poll’s findings can be summed up in the words of one respondent, a small-businesswoman from Arizona. “Probably the government in Washington could be trusted at one time,” she told the Times, “but now it seems like it’s all a game of who wins rather than what’s best for the people.”
It is a fact of life that American voters respond to likability — a sense of connection — in their candidates. But that’s not how they judge politicians once they’re in office. Instead, they really do care about how elected officials govern.
To start, they want fairness from Washington. Whatever you think of the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street, both have touched a nerve, a sense that our political leaders have not just grown distant from the concerns of ordinary Americans, but actively discriminate against them in one way or another. I’ve always been impressed by the importance Americans place on fairness; they strive to be fair to those around them, and they expect government to do the same.
They also want government to be open. This is not a blanket pronouncement — where national security and defense are concerned, or where congressional negotiators need space to find common ground without being forced to posture for the cameras, there is a place for secrecy. But transparency ought to be the rule. Secrecy feeds suspicion and distrust of government. Politicians must be sensitive to this.
Speaking to audiences around the country, I’ve also been struck by the deep thirst for accountability in Washington. It is very hard to determine who’s responsible for any given situation in the federal government — so many people have their hands on promoting or blocking a given initiative, it can seem that the entire political system is designed to shrug off responsibility.
When the economy is floundering, Americans are desperate for work, and Washington seems incapable of coming to grips with the nation’s needs, this is a huge problem. It is hard to respect institutions whose leaders refuse a forthright accounting of, or deny responsibility for, their failures.
Americans do not expect miracles or understate the difficulties of governing. They do not expect a single person to right the ship of state. Quite the contrary. They want a collective effort, a sense that people in government, regardless of party, are rolling up their sleeves and working together to resolve their differences.
Americans have some tolerance for disagreement, but not to the point of gridlock — in the end, they prefer cooperation, not confrontation. And they abhor the sort of brinksmanship that has become a Washington specialty, with its last-minute negotiations and short-term fixes. We have serious long-term problems, and Americans want to see their elected officials working on them. They want remedies, not filibusters and scorched-earth politicking.
Finally, they want honesty. Americans really do want to know the scope of the problems they confront and to make up their own minds about them. They resent politicians who paper over the difficulties of the problems or toss off inadequate solutions to really tough problems. There is, in the country at large, a thirst for basic facts, not spin. The people can handle the truth, and they deserve no less.
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Message Boards » Fitness and Exercise
TOPIC: Counting "Steps" On The Bike
April 20, 2011 2:38 PM
I am sure that this question has been addressed before, but I can't seem to find it.
I have been trying to reach at least 10,000 steps every day and succeeding most of the time. I recently decided to add a Bike ride 3 times a week to my schedule. However that makes getting 10,000 steps in every day a real problem, timewise.
Do any of you convert your miles on the Bike to "Steps"? If so, how do you figure it?
flowerforyou Thanks!!
April 20, 2011 2:43 PM
I've been wearing a pedometer for over 5 years now, and have never found an easy solution to this question. I usually move my pedometer to my calf or thigh when biking, so it at least counts something.....
April 20, 2011 2:51 PM
I just did a search to see if I could find the answer to this. This is what I found (hope you like math):
How to Convert Exercise Bike Miles to Steps at
# 1 Record the calories burned or miles biked as listed on your exercise machine after you've completed your workout. You will use that information, along with the following conversions, to calculate your steps: One mile equals approximately 100 calories; 100 calories equals approximately 2,000 steps.
# 2 Use the following formulas and a calculator to figure your approximate steps:
Number of miles times 2,000 equals your number of approximate steps.
Number of calories divided by 100 times 2,000 equals your number of approximate steps.
# 3 Use the following process to determine your true number of steps. Start by using masking tape and a tape measure to mark the start and end point of a 30-foot straight line.
# 4 Begin walking a couple of feet before the starting point so you can get into your normal walking stride. Count the number of steps you take until you reach the end. Write this number down.
# 5 Calculate how many steps you would take to walk a mile by using the following formula: Number of steps you took in 30 feet times 176 equals the number of steps you would walk in a mile. (30 times 176 equals 5,280, the number of feet in a mile.) You can then use your answer to calculate how many steps you've taken when using your exercise bike or stair climber with this formula: Number of miles biked or climbed times the number of steps you walk in a mile equals the exact number of steps you've walked.
How to Convert Exercise Bike Miles to Steps at
Step 1
Stand square with your feet hip-width apart. Place a 12-inch piece of tape just in front of your toes. Take 10 normal steps forward, then place your feet together and put another piece of tape down in front of your toes.
Step 2
Measure between the two pieces of tape and divide by 10 to get your average stride length. So if you walked 25 feet between the tape pieces, your average stride length is 25 / 10 = 2.5 feet.
Step 3
Write down how many miles you've cycled. Multiply this number by 5,280 to convert it to how many feet you've cycled. So if you cycled four miles today, your calculation is 4 * 5,280 = 21,120 feet cycled.
Step 4
Divide the number of feet cycled by your average stride length, or feet per step. To conclude the example, you have 21,120 feet cycled / 2.5 feet average stride length = 8,448 steps taken to cover the same amount of distance you cycled
April 20, 2011 2:52 PM
I was on the same type of challenge and was riding my stationary bike. I clipped my pedometer to my sock. It actually did an amazingly accurate job of converting a pedal movement to a step.
Message Boards » Fitness and Exercise
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@techreport{NBERw18011, title = "A Nation of Immigrants: Assimilation and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass Migration", author = "Ran Abramitzky and Leah Platt Boustan and Katherine Eriksson", institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research", type = "Working Paper", series = "Working Paper Series", number = "18011", year = "2012", month = "April", URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w18011", abstract = {During the Age of Mass Migration (1850-1913), the US maintained an open border, absorbing 30 million European immigrants. Prior cross-sectional work on this era finds that immigrants initially held lower-paid occupations than natives but experienced rapid convergence over time. In newly-assembled panel data, we show that, in fact, the average immigrant did not face a substantial occupation-based earnings penalty upon first arrival and experienced occupational advancement at the same rate as natives. Cross-sectional patterns are driven by biases from declining arrival cohort quality and departures of negatively-selected return migrants. We show that assimilation patterns vary substantially across sending countries and persist in the second generation.}, } | dclm-gs1-010840000 |
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Phytopathology. 2003 Jul;93(7):874-80. doi: 10.1094/PHYTO.2003.93.7.874.
Diversity of Epidemic Populations of Gibberella zeae from Small Quadrats in Kansas and North Dakota.
ABSTRACT Gibberella zeae (anamorph Fusarium graminearum) causes Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat and barley and has been responsible for several billion dollars of losses in the United States since the early 1990s. We isolated G. zeae from the top, middle, and bottom positions of wheat spikes collected from 0.25-m(2) quadrats during severe FHB epidemics in a single Kansas (KS) field (1993) and in a single North Dakota (ND) field (1994). Three amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer pairs were used to resolve 94 polymorphic loci from 253 isolates. Members of a subset of 26 isolates also were tested for vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs). Both methods indicated high levels of genotypic variability and identified the same sets of isolates as probable clones. The mean number of AFLP multilocus haplotypes per head was approximately 1.8 in each population, but this value probably underestimates the true mean due to the small number of samples taken from each head. Isolates with the same AFLP haplotype often were recovered from different positions in a single head, but only rarely were such apparently clonal isolates recovered from more than one head within a quadrat, a pattern that is consistent with a genetically diverse initial inoculum and limited secondary spread. The KS and ND samples had no common AFLP haplotypes. All G. zeae isolates had high AFLP fingerprint similarity (>70%, unweighted pair group method with arithmetic means similarity) to reference isolates of G. zeae lineage 7. The genetic identity between the KS and ND populations was >99% and the estimated effective migration rate was high (Nm approximately 70). Tests for linkage disequilibrium provide little evidence for nonrandom associations between loci. Our results suggest that these populations are parts of a single, panmictic population that experiences frequent recombination. Our results also suggest that a variety of population sampling designs may be satisfactory for assessing diversity in this fungus.
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Hack of LinkedIn shows need for multiple passwords
June 17, 2012
One of the way social networks grow – their ace in the hole – is by playing on human nature. When someone you don’t know sends you a message asking to be your “friend,” do you really want to turn him down? If a woman you know on an online forum thinks you should connect to her on Google+, wouldn’t a “no” be an insult? People want to get along, so they click and their networks grow and the social networking companies prosper. At least, they do until someone delivers a wake-up call, as happened just the other day with the business network LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is all about building a network of trusted connections, each given authority by the approval of someone else. But about two weeks ago Russian hackers released a list of 6.5 million passwords that had been lifted off LinkedIn as well as the dating site eHarmony. It turns out that LinkedIn was using outmoded cryptographic methods that failed to secure this sensitive data and, while user names were apparently not compromised, the password leak means anyone with a LinkedIn account should change their password just to be on the safe side.
LinkedIn has since put a new form of security in place that includes techniques called “hashing” and “salting,” which sound like something from a Food Network show but are actually ways to add additional information to a password to make it far more difficult to decode. This is good news for those anticipating a future relationship with LinkedIn, but the company’s security gaffe leaves some existing users in an uncomfortable position. For the LinkedIn password is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the way many people manage their online identities.
Beware of links
Problem one surfaced almost immediately in the form of “phishing” attacks that tried to exploit the stolen passwords. Phishing involves phony emails from hackers trying to pry information out of you by posing as someone else, usually a bank or a trusted business. In this case, a series of phishing messages went out purportedly from LinkedIn itself, advising users that their password was one of those compromised and asking them to enter their personal information so the situation could be fixed. Needless to say, none of these emails were actually from LinkedIn any password changes from there.
A phishing attack can contain links that, when clicked on, install malware on your computer, which is why you never want to click on links in email to change or verify your accounts at any site. The people behind these attacks, moreover, are doubtless not very interested in LinkedIn itself but in what their password list can lead to.
Use password manager
For if you’re one of those people who can’t remember passwords and therefore uses the same password on multiple sites, you’re now – if you’re a LinkedIn user – forced to change your passwords at every one of those sites. The hackers will use their ill-gotten password list not to hack LinkedIn itself but to get into online banking or any other sites where illegal access leads to money. Yes, multiple passwords are hard to remember, so use a password manager like KeePass ( to store all your passwords under a single, secure key.
You must use a different password on each site where you keep an account, because your online identity is too important to be compromised by a company that’s not minding the store. As for LinkedIn itself, the company has had complaints about user calendar information being collected by its mobile application and matched to user profiles, an opt-in feature but one that has led LinkedIn to clarify how it deals with personal information. The company has revised its policies but social networking has always played fast and loose with privacy, and hacked passwords are just one more reason you should be evaluating your security habits.
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Weaving Around Web Privacy Controls
This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. This week, the White House announced a proposed policy for digital privacy, a way for people to tell companies not to track your online browsing habits and setting up what the Obama administration called a consumer privacy bill of rights.
This came just days after companies like Google were found to be sidestepping features built into Web browsers designed to help consumers protect their browsing habits. So just how private can you be? Will the new government proposal change anything? Will companies find other loopholes, ways around any kind of new regulations? Are they going to be voluntary, mandatory?
All kinds of stuff we're going to be talking about, privacy of your browsing habits on the Internet. Our number, 1-800-989-8255, 1-800-989-TALK. You can also tweet us @scifri, @-S-C-I-F-R-I.
Lorrie Cranor is director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University. She joins us from WQED in Pittsburgh. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY.
DR. LORRIE CRANOR: Hi, glad to be here.
FLATOW: Thank you for joining us. First, let me get your take on the administration's proposal for this digital bill of rights. What do you think about it?
CRANOR: Well, it's really good to see such high-level attention to online privacy and to see the administration articulate some of the fundamental privacy principles that a lot of us have been talking about for a long time. As far as, you know, immediate impacts for people, I'm not sure that there's going to be, you know, an immediate change that suddenly your privacy is going to be protected. But it is a step in the right direction.
FLATOW: And it's the president asking first voluntarily for companies to come up with some sort of standard, is it not?
CRANOR: Right, the idea is to ask the industry to come together and come up with a voluntary standard that will help protect privacy.
FLATOW: Let's talk about what happens when you turn on your Web browser and you go to a site. Let's talk about some of the terminology first. There are two disclosures in the week, or so, about privacy in the browsers, both involving cookies. We've all heard of these cookies. What is a cookie? What does it do?
CRANOR: So a cookie is a little bit of text that's sent back and forth between your Web browser and a website, and it's a way that a website can keep track of whether you've been there before.
FLATOW: And what does it - what does it tell other people or other websites about you? Does it tell you your Social Security number, anything like that? What does it say?
CRANOR: Well, all it is is a way to identify people. But if I know who you are - so let's say that you are visitor number 123 at my website, then any information that I've collected about you I can put in a database. So, you know, if I am a retailer website, and you've bought something from me, then I probably know your address and your credit card number and things like that, and that's all linked to the information I have in the database.
So when the Web browser sends that cookie, then the company can just look you up, and whatever the information they have about you, they know ah, this is the right person.
FLATOW: And one of the cases involved Google getting around the privacy settings in Safari that involved the cookies, right?
CRANOR: Yes, so one special type of cookie is something called a third-party cookie. And so a normal first-party cookie is, you know, I go to a website, and that particular website exchanges a cookie with my Web browser. But a third-party cookie is when another website that I don't even realize I'm visiting puts a cookie in my Web browser.
And so that might be a company that's placing an advertisement on a Web page, for example. And so in the Safari Web browser, the default setting is that the Web browser doesn't let third-party cookies in. It just says no, you know, the user wants to only get cookies from sites they know they're visiting. These other advertising sites or whatnot, they don't get their cookies in. And Google found a way around that to let the cookies in.
FLATOW: Wow, is that something, that considered something terrible in the Internet world?
CRANOR: There are a lot of people who are pretty upset about it.
FLATOW: Yeah, and so what has Google said now? Will they change their policy?
CRANOR: Google said yeah, we didn't really understand what we were doing, and yeah, we're changing that.
FLATOW: Yada, yada, yada.
FLATOW: Is that something like if you believe that, I have a bridge for you or something?
CRANOR: Well, you know, they're a big company, so...
FLATOW: Yeah, how could they not know that this is what would be happening? The other case involved Internet Explorer. What was going on in that case?
CRANOR: Well, so Internet Explorer also has a function where it protects people's privacy by preventing third-party cookies. But Internet Explorer is actually a little bit more complicated. In that case, instead of blocking all third-party cookies, Internet Explorer actually looks at each third-party cookie and makes a judgment about whether it's a good cookie or a bad cookie, and it only blocks the bad cookies, and bad as defined by Microsoft.
And the way it decides if it's a good cookie or a bad cookie is that cookies sometimes have a special code called a P3P Compact Policy - sounds kind of complicated. And so Internet Explorer reads that code and uses it to decide if it's good or bad. And so what some companies discovered is that they can lie in that code so that their cookies won't be blocked, or, even better, then can make that code basically be a non-code.
So Google and Facebook and some other companies said in their special code: This is not a policy. And by saying this is not a policy, they were able to trick Internet Explorer into accepting their cookies.
FLATOW: Is there anything we can do, as consumers, to further protect our privacy when we're surfing on the Web?
CRANOR: Well, so you can change your browser privacy settings or use some third-party software that is going to provide additional protections if you want to be able to, you know, stay in control of this. So, you know, in the Internet Explorer Web browser, besides the default settings, they have something called tracking protection lists that you can use, or you can download some free software called Ghostery, G-H-O-S-T-E-R-Y, that you can add to your Web browser.
There's also some software from a company called Abine, A-B-I-N-E, that you can download and add to your Web browser.
FLATOW: Wow. 1-800-989-255 is our number. You can also tweet us @scifri, @-S-C-I-F-R-I. Let's go to the phones, to Andrew(ph) in Bend, Oregon. Hi, Andrew.
FLATOW: Hi there.
ANDREW: I wanted to phone in and address this issue that I believe this - the government's initiative in this area is failing to address what I call the data collectors. These are people, large, huge organizations like LexisNexis, that buy information on individuals from all over the place and scour the Internet for it but don't necessarily have anything to do with the online listing of websites and cookies.
What they do is provide the translation of your computer's IP address or your email address, however you've logged on to those sites, and provide the demographics of who you are to agencies. I know, for instance, the police, the CIA and all those other organizations, they rely on companies like LexisNexis.
And your data is collected by them and resides in their databases forever, unless America adopts a, European data privacy policies that sets deadline for how long that information can be held and your right to see it and change it.
FLATOW: Let me get - Professor Cranor, do you understand what he's talking about there?
CRANOR: Yes, I do. He raised a lot of interesting and important issues. So you mentioned that things are a bit different in Europe. You know, in the U.S., we don't have any comprehensive data privacy laws. We have some specific laws for things like health care privacy, but we don't have any over-arching laws.
In Europe, they do have some comprehensive privacy laws that put a lot more limits on what companies can do with your data. So here in the U.S., as you point out, we're focused on some very particular types of companies, and this week's announcement was aimed mainly at some of the online companies, especially online advertising companies and their sort of data collection.
But there are these other companies that do collect large amounts of data on people that kind of aren't really the main companies that we're talking about here, and there may not actually be any laws in the United States that specifically address the types of data collection that they're doing.
FLATOW: So is this like a straw horse then, just let's throw this up, that, you know, it's a minor problem but ignore what the real big problem is?
CRANOR: There are certainly some people who think that, and they feel that until we get some sort of comprehensive privacy legislation that will apply across all sectors that it's going to be the case that we're still going to have these privacy violations that aren't really covered.
FLATOW: Thank you, Andrew.
ANDREW: Thank you.
FLATOW: 1-800-989-8255 is our number, lots of people, as you can imagine, are interested. Tony(ph) in Honolulu, hi, Tony.
TONY: Oh hi, good afternoon, is it?
FLATOW: Yeah, sure.
TONY: Yeah, quick question, quick question. These companies, many of these companies are large, multinational corporations. So they're precluded or prevented from gathering this data in America. But what would prevent Google from just using a subsidiary or some other part of Google in another country from getting the same data?
FLATOW: All right. Let's ask Professor Cranor.
CRANOR: Yes. So that's a good question. So the - many of these companies do do business in multiple countries. It turns out that in some of the other countries they do business in, like in Europe, they actually have more protective privacy laws. So the Europeans are asking the same question, only what they're saying is, well, you know, we have some protections here. But what about when they collect data in the United States, where they don't have those sorts of protections?
But there are also plenty of countries that have, you know, almost no protections. And so in this international domain that the Internet is, it gets very, very interesting as far as what happens when a company collects data in one country and uses it in another country. And some of the European privacy laws actually specifically address some of this issue of what happens when you take data across national borders.
FLATOW: 1-800-989-8255. Andrea in Morehead, North Carolina. Hi. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY.
ANDREA: Hi. Thank you. I just looking at the Internet as a big junk mailbox, OK? In the traditional sense, you know, we get junk mail in our mailboxes and, of course, the postal service is now paying for that. But when they - they're companies. They exist to make money. So the information is not free. And I want to share a positive note. I have the Ocean Conservancy calendar in front of me. I have the National Wildlife Federation information, the Nature Conservancy, the Arbor Day Foundation, the National Gardening Club, these are things I do, not on the Internet, but in - by ordering, you know, subscriptions once a year and then, of course, I get on their mailing list.
And it works the same way with the Internet. So, to me, I'm not quite sure all the drama around the privacy issue is really justified so much, because when you give them their - your information and you're buying something, you're paying for it, and they provide you a service. And, yes, and then they share that information with your consent, now, to someone else. And so I don't know. I think the Internet is the same thing. Ninety percent of it is basically advertising. And so 10 percent when you're looking for something on Google or another search engine, you're trying to find something specific, but the price for that is that you've got to go through and wade through the advertising...
ANDREA: ...and that's just the nature of Internet.
FLATOW: So, Andrea, that's what you're saying that if they're going to be a player on the Internet, that's - this is the cost of playing on the Internet...
ANDREA: Yeah, yeah. Same thing.
ANDREA: I don't see any - I don't know if it's right or not. It's just a - it's a thought I had about it. I don't know.
FLATOW: Well, thanks for sharing that thought with us.
ANDREA: Thank you.
FLATOW: I'm Ira Flatow. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. Talking about Internet privacy with Dr. Lorrie Cranor, who is director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Lab at Carnegie Mellon. What do you do in that lab over there? It's got a big name to it.
CRANOR: It does. It does. Well, we do research looking at the types of attitudes people have about online privacy. We look at the usability of privacy tools. We also look at security and usability. So right now, we have a big research experiment going on about how to make passwords easier to use.
FLATOW: Oh, tell us about that. How - yeah. How do you make passwords?
FLATOW: You know, because we think - we have all these different passwords we have to have. What's - give us a secret there.
CRANOR: Well, one of the things we found is that you can have a really strong password if it has a lot of characters in it, a really long password. And it's a lot easier for us to remember long passwords than it is to remember passwords that have lots of funny symbols and numbers in them. And so - and you might try to think of a phrase that you can remember and use that as part of your password.
FLATOW: And how long should that phrase be?
CRANOR: Well, it really depends on the type of system you're using and how many characters they allow you to have...
FLATOW: Right.
CRANOR: ...but, you know, if you have something that's, you know, like 14 characters long, that's going to be pretty good.
FLATOW: So if you use like encyclopedia or something multi-syllable, even though...
CRANOR: Well, you don't...
FLATOW: ...you don't want to use a regular word there.
CRANOR: You don't want to use just one word. But you could use a string of words together, rather than just one word. Or you could think of a phrase and use maybe the first letter of each word in the phrase - or something like that.
FLATOW: My dog has fleas.
CRANOR: Well, you shouldn't do a really common phrase, though. You know, it should be a phrase that is meaningful to you but maybe isn't sort of the thing other people would guess.
FLATOW: But a phrase makes it easy to remember and you don't have to put those special characters in it. That's something I hadn't heard of before. But that's nice to hear.
CRANOR: Yeah. Yeah. So as long as the place you're creating your password for allows it. I mean, some of them force you to put special characters. But if you're not forced to do it, this can be an easier way to remember a password.
FLATOW: And where should you store your passwords, now that you have all these?
CRANOR: Right. Somewhere safe. So, yeah, I mean, it depends, but, you know, putting it in your wallet with your credit card might be a safe place if you keep your wallet secure, for example.
FLATOW: How about these software programs that store them for you, you know, in one central databank? Are those good?
FLATOW: But you have to remember that password, the master password.
CRANOR: Right. If you can remember that one master password, that can be a good solution that a lot of people use.
FLATOW: Should people have any expectation - the caller talked about this. Is this the price we do pay for the Internet - the expectation that you're not going to have any privacy online anymore?
CRANOR: Well, I think that's a pretty controversial idea. I certainly have heard people articulate that idea before. And people say that, you know, something has got to pay for all these great services we have on the Internet, and it's your data is how you're paying. But I think there are a lot of people who disagree with that and say that, you know, people should have a choice of whether or not to reveal their data and to be tracked. And it's not just that I'm seeing an ad. You know, you turn on the TV, and you see an ad.
But it's that they're collecting data about me in addition to showing me an ad. And that's what a lot of people find unacceptable. And so, you know, it should be the consumer's choice. And that if there are some services that really require money in order to, you know, make them work, perhaps they can give you a choice that you can use the service for free and provide data, or maybe you pay a small fee to use the service.
FLATOW: If we - could we adopt the European standards and feel more secure about our privacy?
CRANOR: Well, it would certainly be possible for the U.S. to adopt something similar to the European approach. I don't think, right now, there is kind of the will to do that. I think that's been a fairly unpopular idea among regulators and legislators in the U.S. But it would be possible. Now, people say that the European notion is not necessarily a panacea either, because they've had a number of problems in actually enforcing their laws.
CRANOR: But it is an approach to look at.
FLATOW: All right. Thank you very much, Dr. Cranor. Lorrie Cranor, director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Lab at Carnegie Mellon University. We're going to take a break and come back and talk about the moon. Yeah. Some interesting stuff discovered about it. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
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Basketball» Belgium»Ethias League
Spirou Charleroi - Brussels--
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Ethias League page help: Odds Portal lists all upcoming Ethias League basketball matches played in Belgium. "B's" column indicates number of bookmakers offering Ethias League betting odds on a specific basketball match. Columns 1, X and 2 serve for average/biggest Ethias League betting odds offered on home team to win, draw and away team to win the Ethias League match. The top line of upcoming matches table (Basketball - Belgium - Ethias League) lets you click-through to higher categories of Odds Portal betting odds comparison service. | dclm-gs1-010890000 |
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Heldenfels' mailbag
The HeldenFiles Online
Darren McGavin
By RD Heldenfels Published: February 26, 2006
To me, the great good fortune for an actor is to find a great role somewhere along the way -- a role that sticks in the public imagination, a role that is satisfying to play, a role that other actors can look at with awe. Don Knotts, eulogized below, found that role in ''The Andy Griffith Show.'' Ray Walston, an actor who had done wonderful work along the way, once longed for that kind of role; he looked more than a little enviously at Burgess Meredith, who at the time was enjoying just such a role in ''Rocky.'' Of course, Walston was stuck doing dinner theater at the time, which may have added to his depression; years later, he would have another grand moment in the sun on ''Picket Fences,'' winning Emmys for it.
I'm rambling about this because Darren McGavin has died, and I hope that he has gone to his grave knowing he had had not just one grand role, but two.
The first, of course, is as Carl Kolchak, the intrepid, brash, loud-mouthed reporter in the ''Night Stalker'' movies and TV series. The material was not always what McGavin might have hoped -- especially when it came to the TV series -- but McGavin himself was a joy to watch. He might have inspired a few folks to become reporters, so clear was his ''The Front Page''-style love of scoops and scandal.
His impact -- and I mean HIS impact, not just his show's -- was certainly felt on another generation of thriller writers. When McGavin appeared on ''The X-Files,'' it was not just a guest shot, it was tribute being paid. When his image was edited into the wan, recent updating of ''Night Stalker,'' the homage proved ironic -- a reminder that the new Kolchak had none of the zest of McGavin.
And what was that other great role? If I say ''Christmas,'' does it shake your memory tree?
We could probably argue about the quality of the various ''Night Stalker'' projects. There is no arguing about ''A Christmas Story,'' the big-screen movie that has become a small-screen perennial. And as many good things as there are in the movie, one of the best is McGavin's performance as the Old Man. Think not only of his world-weariness. Think, too, of the way he played a man with a dream, someone who just wanted to have a little well-earned success in his life.
Think of his joy at the leg lamp.
I'm smiling just at the memory.
I have other memories of McGavin over the years, of course, because the man worked steadily. I began to pay attention to him before my age hit double-digits, when he starred in a show called ''Riverboat.'' He had a memorable (though unbilled turn) in ''The Natural.'' But in the end, it did not matter how much he worked. I know the two things that first came to mind when I learned of his passing, and I know those are good enough roles to validate a career.
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Permalink for comment 195810
RE[2]: How about some integrity?
by sbergman27 on Sun 24th Dec 2006 01:53 UTC in reply to "RE: How about some integrity?"
Member since:
better yet, not write at all. that'd be better.
Stated in a confrontational way... but a valid suggestion.
I could do without the OSNews provided opinion pieces.
(Do they really generate valuable discussion? Or are they just stirring the pot?)
The more concrete factual stuff, I enjoy. The OS Essay contest (can't remember exactly what it was called) was fantastic. Some of the entries were absolutely excellent.
More of that and less of OSNews staff on the soap box (and the associated turmoil) would get my vote as a reader.
Reply Parent Score: 4 | dclm-gs1-010910000 |
Permalink for comment 430160
RE[5]: UK Price
by jackeebleu on Tue 15th Jun 2010 18:03 UTC in reply to "RE[4]: UK Price"
Member since:
Please, get outside a little and experience life. How the fuck (since you would rather not communicate without vagaries, i'll use the language you appear to be familiar with) does a cum bubbler like you not know what a Bentley is but know a Ferrari? Since you are saying Apple is priced like a luxury product, I referred to a luxury product, but since poor people like you don't understand luxury, my bad, with your food stamp welfare check cashing ass.
You are right, you can yell as loud as you want reminiscent of that time in prison in the shower, its your right, and just as in prison, it wont matter. And no, that wasn't English humor, I referred to a bridge as you are a troll, and since you obviously didn't understand the reference, that makes you a stupid troll (psssst, thats the worse kind).
Reply Parent Score: -4 | dclm-gs1-010920000 |
Thread beginning with comment 441103
To view parent comment, click here.
Member since:
"[q]Point being: you may not necessarily see them inter-acting directly with a lot of projects, but that's by design. They contribute primarily to the extremely slow moving Debian distribution, which then may or may not take those contributions back to the original project.
It's not what I see, it's the statistics that people have gathered and that show Canonical way below many companies. In fact, I recall a single colleague contributing more patches to GNOME than the whole Canonical.
All those statistics track contributions to source projects - e.g. contributions to the Linux Kernel. They don't track contributions between distributors - e.g. Canonical contributing back to Debian. Check your sources. [/q]
Bullshit, you don't know what you are talking about.
A patch from lands in Ubuntu, then would be pushed to debian, then it would be applied upstream, and then it would show in the statistics for Canonical; debian doesn't change author of the patch. That's how modern DVCS works.
If you don't see patches from Canonical in upstream, it's because there are no patches from Canonical in upstream.
"[q]Honestly, it'd be nice if more distributions did that with their parent distributions - OpenSUSE, Mandriva, etc. could all contribute back to Fedora/Red Hat; and so forth. Slackware would actually end up getting a lot more help that way too - there are a lot of distros based on Slackware.
You are obviously not familiar with the Linux ecosystem. OpenSUSE, Mandriva and Fedora are all independent of each other, the all send their patches directly to upstream, that's how they collaborate.
I am actually very familiar with the Linux ecosystem, and the various Linux communities, and yes - I am aware they are separate. What I was lamenting was that it would be nice if they did more with each other. OpenSuSE and Mandriva are both based on Red Hat Linux at some point in the past; neither have since kept in sync. [/q]
That's not true; they have always been independent, check your sources.
And still, you don't understand how things work; the do collaborate, as I said, through upstream. In fact, distributions don't have to be related at all to collaborate, like Archlinux collaborating with Fedora in building PackageKit.
Some distributions have a massive number of derived distributions (e.g. Slackware) but have little support in themselves; such a structure would help those big yet under supported distributions.
It's not a matter of not knowing how those distributions operate, but lamenting what could be if it was done a little differently. That is all.
The only improvement that everyone agrees should be done, is that distribution should push more patches to upstream.
Of course, then those distributions would get lost per what they contribute per LOC since the various statistics would end up no longer tracking them.
Not if people use their, or addresses, in case they did it for a distribution, but most of the patches for distributions come from random people, like
However, wouldn't get lost by any means.
"Ubuntu can do the same thing, and they they would get the patches back through debian (since debian uses upstream). But again, this is not about Ubuntu, it's about Canonical.
For all intents and purposes, Canonical and uBuntu are pretty ubiquitous. It's like saying that a discussion about Fedora or RHEL is not a discussion about Red Hat when they are pretty much one-in-the-same.
They are most definitely not. RedHat contributors are a subset of Fedora contributors.
Reply Parent Score: 1 | dclm-gs1-010930000 |
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The Daddy-Baby Connection
Five ways to help nurture a deeper connection between your baby and husband
By William Sears, M.d.
Help them get a little closer
Go shopping together for a sling-type carrier, which puts a baby close to her dad (and doesn't have a lot of complicated buckles and straps). Then encourage him to wear your baby in it often. This physical closeness is a very natural way for them to bond, and (bonus) he'll have his hands free to help out with the dishes!
Baby wearing is especially helpful during the witching hour -- the end of the day, when kids of all ages are prone to fussiness and meltdowns. This is a time when a dad can really shine. He can wear his baby around the neighborhood for some bonding time and exercise, while you take a nap or do something just for yourself.
Have Dad start from the bottom up
Your child will need thousands of diaper changes during the first few years, so why not make these hours count? Even just changing a few diapers a day is a great opportunity for bonding.
Encourage your partner to view diaper changing as fun time with the baby rather than simply a messy chore. But take it from me: You'll have more success with this if you don't scold him for doing it "wrong." There may be a few messes at first, but in no time he'll get it right.
You Might Be Pregnant If...
| dclm-gs1-010940000 |
TOPICS > Health
Extended Interview: B.J. Jackson
December 3, 2003 at 12:00 AM EDT
SUSAN DENTZER: So you arrive [in Baghdad] April 25th, just a bit before the war is over, in effect, the combat phase. … What in general terms was your job while you were in Iraq?
B.J. JACKSON: I worked on any weapons that went down … all the supply stuff, and we lost a couple of guys due to injuries, broken bones and such. … So I just filled in different platoons doing MP [military police] duties.
SUSAN DENTZER: How dangerous did it seem in Iraq during that period before you were wounded?
B.J. JACKSON: About as bad as it is now, but the war’s not over. Everybody keeps saying it is, but there are still people getting killed, people getting injured.
SUSAN DENTZER: Tell me what happened on August 7th, to the best that you remember.
B.J. JACKSON: I was told a phosphorous land mine went off underneath the vehicle [I was in], an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] hit the side of the vehicle, and there were guys in three buildings on each side firing AK[-47]s. And the guy in my passenger seat, Specialist Mincer, lost all hearing, and the one in my turret was Mike Hunter — broke his leg and lost all hearing for a couple of days.
SUSAN DENTZER: What happened to you?
B.J. JACKSON: I lost both my legs below the knee, and 60 percent body [was burned] on my hand, arm, and my head and lower back, and lost my legs due to the burns.
SUSAN DENTZER: Your legs were not blown off in the explosion, but they were very severely burned?
B.J. JACKSON: I was told they were really burned and they must have been crushed because one of the guys that pulled me out said he thought he had ripped my tendons or something, and that’s why he thought I lost my legs. Then I talked to him on the end part of September — it was the first time I talked to him. … So he’s had a pretty hard time thinking that I lost my legs due to them, but they just saved my life instead.
SUSAN DENTZER: Do you remember any of it from that point when the vehicle was attacked?
B.J. JACKSON: The only thing I remember is yelling for my wife and my kids. And they told me I kept yelling that for almost the whole time I was in the vehicle until they got me to the bank, where they did a little first aid, and the other guys took cover fire to get me out of there.
SUSAN DENTZER: What happened from there, to the best that you have been told?
B.J. JACKSON: I was flown to Kuwait for a day. They amputated in Kuwait. I was flown to Germany, and I was in Germany for four days. On August 12th I got here. Within that time I received 25 units of blood. [When] I got here, they sutured my legs and kept me sedated for a long time until I woke up…
I was post burn 35 days before I stood for the first time. I was post burn I’d say about 50 days before I walked with my new prosthetics that they got me. I went through two sets of prosthetics at the hospital, and they didn’t work too well for me because I shrunk so fast…
SUSAN DENTZER: …What was your first thought when you saw that you had lost your legs?
B.J. JACKSON: I don’t really know. It was pretty hard at first, but I had a lot of support.
SUSAN DENTZER: And in addition to everything you were suffering physically, which obviously was enormous, how did you feel up in your head during that period?
B.J. JACKSON: Pretty good. My wife and kids — all my kids came up — and my wife was here the day I got here. So I had a lot of support from her, and the assurance that I’ll be able to walk and do things I did before, which is looking a lot more possible the longer that I go to physical therapy, and the physical therapy here is real great, all that they do.
SUSAN DENTZER: How bad were the burns on your hand, and also you mentioned the back on your head as well as your back.
B.J. JACKSON: These three tendons were exposed. I lost the tendon in these two fingers. They covered over fine, but … I can’t move them. I can just move this knuckle, and they may have to fuse them to where they stay stiff. But they already are stiff…
SUSAN DENTZER: And you had skin grafts on much of the sections of the burns.
B.J. JACKSON: They took the skin from my thigh and put it on my hand and my arm. My whole face was burnt. A little redness is still here, but it was, I guess, black when I came in, so that’s a lot better. The back of my head was burned, so I have a bald spot. I have to wear a hat all the time for the rest of my life, and I can’t be in direct sunlight for at least a year on my face and arm. I had a little burn on the small of my back. It was about the size of a fifty-cent piece.
SUSAN DENTZER: You’ll have to wear a hat for the rest of your life?
B.J. JACKSON: If the sunlight gets to my burns, instead of turning sunburned and then blistering, it will blister right away. So it’ll just be pretty bad, like third degree sunburn all over.
SUSAN DENTZER: I wonder if we could roll up your pants legs and talk a little bit about how the prostheses work, and how it feels. Let’s start with your left leg. Can you show me how much of it is your leg and where does the prosthetic start?
B.J. JACKSON: My knee’s right above this. It comes down to right about here. This is suction prosthetic. You just push the air out with the tube. Put your leg in, push the air out through the tube.
SUSAN DENTZER: And the suction keeps it on?
B.J. JACKSON: Yes. I have to wear a sock over the liner to slide in. Otherwise it will stick. But this part of my leg is burnt still from like here all the way around. And this, you’ve got five guys pulling this [prosthetic] as hard as they can and it won’t come off.
SUSAN DENTZER: Is that right, because of the suction?
B.J. JACKSON: Yes. They’re real easy to put on and take off. It’s a flexor foot. It’s a high energy foot, so when you step and start to walk, it springs your foot forward. When you’re an amputee, you use more energy to walk than folks that aren’t. This leg gives you a little push.
SUSAN DENTZER: Somebody could look at you in your situation and say here’s this guy, you’re 22 years old. You were working on your regular job in home improvement back in Iowa. You’re in the National Guard. You get sent over to Iraq and you end up having lost both legs. Did you ever in a million years expect that this would happen?
B.J. JACKSON: I knew it was a possibility, but you don’t really expect it. I mean, there’s not much you can do when you’re over there to avoid it, but probably, as my first sergeant’s wife put it, it’s probably better me than some of the other guys in the unit.
B.J. JACKSON: Some people give up easier, I was told. I’ve always been told I’m stubborn, so I don’t really give up that easy. And then I have her to push me. She can be a pain, too.
SUSAN DENTZER: You’re 6’2″. Were you 6’2″ before and you’re 6’2″ now?
B.J. JACKSON: I was 6’2″ before. I was about 165 pounds. I think I’m a little taller than 6’2″ with these. They tried to get me about 6’2″, but no one ever really measured how tall I was without these. But before I came to the top of [my wife's] head with my chin. I still do, so it’s about right.
[When] I was sedated, I lost a lot of my muscle [as it] deteriorated, so I weighed 110 when I woke up, and they say your lower limbs weigh about, I think, 10 to 15 pounds for both of them, so that means I lost like 25 to 30 pounds of weight and muscle. I just started eating a couple of weeks ago, so I’m just now gaining the weight back slowly.
SUSAN DENTZER: What would you say to other people who are going through this? We just heard over the weekend a bunch of wounded people came in fresh from the battlefield. If one of them were here in a similar condition to you, what would you say?
B.J. JACKSON: Keep your head up. It gets better. I mean, for guys with no legs, most of the time, unless I’m really sore, I have my pant legs down, people can’t even tell I’m amputated. So there’s a lot of good information and support. I feel willing to get out of bed. There are a lot of soldiers who will come and talk to you and help you out.
I had a soldier that was on his way to Iraq, got injured, hit by a power line on a train and lost his right leg. I came in my room and was walking, and he was real good friends, and helped throughout the whole process. And he came in with canes to walk, and he came in and said, “Look, I’m walking.” “That ain’t walking, you’re using canes.” So he threw the canes down and walked just fine. And he went up to visit another soldier to help him out, and he left his canes there and never went back to get them.
But then the soldiers could be inspirational with each other.
SUSAN DENTZER: And what’s ahead of you medically? What have they said is in the future now?
B.J. JACKSON: A couple of weeks ago they said I’d have to do physical therapy for about two years. … I can’t jog yet, so I think I’ll work on that. And like I was doing in the gym, the balance ball, trying to get more balance like trying to do curbs or steps without a rail. It’s a little hard, but it’s getting easier.
SUSAN DENTZER: Abby, if I asked you that same question, what would you tell people, individuals or families going through exactly what you all have been through now, what would you say?
ABBY JACKSON: What I really hold onto right now is there’s no one to blame, just a lot of people to thank. I mean, even the physical therapists or doctors or nurses, and like in my husband’s situation, he had people who helped him out. If you just take everything for what it is and accept it, then you’ll go a lot further than trying to what-if and blame people. Just take it and move forward… | dclm-gs1-010950000 |
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