Symbolism of the rose.

In the Latin West the symbolism of the rose is of Greco-Roman heritage but influenced by and finally transformed through Latin biblical and liturgical texts. In Greco-Roman culture the rose's symbolic qualities represented beauty, the season of spring, and love. It also spoke of the fleetness of life, and therefore of death. In Rome the feast called "Rosalia" was a feast of the dead: thus the flower referred to the next world.  This symbolism attained a deeper complexity when contrasted with the rose's thorns. This contrast inspired the Christian Latin poet Coelius Sedulius, who wrote (between 430-450) a very elaborate comparison between Eve, our first mother, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus our Savior. He illustrated the parallelism already made by Justin Martyr (around 150) and developed it in a deep poetic and doctrinal liturgical teaching in his Easter song, "Carmen paschal".  The rose was a privileged symbol for Mary, Queen of heaven and earth. One of her titles in Catholic Marian devotion is Rosa Mystica or Mystic Rose. During the Middle Ages, the rose became an attribute of many other holy women, including Elizabeth of Hungary, Elizabeth of Portugal and Casilda of Toledo, and of martyrs in general. The rose is even a symbol for Christ himself, as seen in the German Christmas song, "es ist ein 'Rose' entsprungen."  During the Middle Ages the rose was cultivated in monastery gardens and used for medicinal purposes. It became a symbol in religious writing and iconography in different images and settings, to invoke a variety of intellectual and emotional responses. The mystic rose appears in Dante's "Divine Comedy", where it represents God's love. By the twelfth century, the red rose had come to represent Christ's passion, and the blood of the martyrs.  The most common association of the rose is with the Virgin Mary. The third-century Saint Ambrose believed that there were roses in the Garden of Eden, initially without thorns, but which became thorny after the fall, and came to symbolize Original Sin itself. Thus the Blessed Virgin is often referred to as the 'rose without thorns', since she was immaculately conceived. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux compared her virginity to a white rose and her charity to a red rose. With the rise of Marian devotion and the Gothic cathedral in the twelfth century, the image of the rose became even more prominent in religious life. Cathedrals built around this time usually include a rose window, dedicated to the Virgin, at the end of a transept or above the entrance. The thirteenth century Saint Dominic is credited with the institution of the Rosary, a series of prayers to the Virgin, symbolized by garlands of roses worn in Heaven.

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.

In Western Europe, the best-known version of a miracle of the roses concerns Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (also called Elisabeth of Thuringia), the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary, who spent most of her life living with her in-laws in Germany (a ruling family of Thuringia), who kept court at Wartburg Castle.

Origins.

It has been suggested that the legend originated in a sermon given by Caesarius of Heisterbach in which he reflects on the occasion of the translation of the remains of Saint Elizabeth, in 1236. Caesarius speaks of a sweet aroma that emanates from the grave as soon as it is opened (a common theme in hagiography). This metaphorical or actual aroma could have been translated into a physical event, the miracle of the roses. The first report of a miracle resembling that of the roses is by Franciscans in the mid-13th century. Their account is of spring flowers, and the event takes place in Hungary, at Elizabeth's home when she was five years old. The miracle as we know it, with roses and in Germany, is first reported in 1332, in a Franciscan book of prayers, though it has also been proposed that the miracle was "translated" from Elizabeth of Portugal to Elisabeth of Hungary in the 19th century.

The legend.

In its most characteristic form the legend goes as follows. One day the young but pious Elizabeth, in the company of one or more serving women, descends from Wartburg Castle down to the village of Eisenach, below the castle. She is carrying meat, eggs, and bread under her mantle. Supposedly she has taken items from the family dining table to distribute to the poor in the village, against the wishes of her family, who frown upon such behavior. Halfway down, she unexpectedly meets her husband Ludwig IV of Thuringia, who asks, upon seeing her bulk, what she is carrying. Embarrassed and speechless as she is, she does not know what to say. Ludwig opens her mantle, and to his surprise (in some versions this takes place in the dead of winter) finds her carrying a bouquet of roses.

Similar versions.

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal.

Very much the same story is told of Elizabeth of Portugal, also known as Elizabeth of Aragon (1271–4 July 1336), who was the great-niece of Elizabeth of Hungary. Married to the profligate King Denis of Portugal, she, like her great-aunt, showed great devotion at an early age, and likewise was charitable toward the poor, against the wishes of her husband. Caught one day by her husband, while carrying bread in her apron, the food was turned into roses. Since this occurred in January, King Denis reportedly had no response and let his wife continue. The story is somewhat apocryphal; while it shows up in popular versions of the saint's life, the account is missing from more authoritative sources such as the revised 1991 edition of Alban Butler's "Lives of the Saints".

Saint Casilda of Toledo.

Similar also is the legend of Casilda of Toledo (died c. 1050), a daughter of a Muslim king of Toledo, Spain during the rule of the Caliphate, who showed special kindness to Christian prisoners. She would carry bread hidden in her clothes to feed these prisoners; one day, when caught, the bread was miraculously changed into roses. In the famous painting of Saint Casilda by the 17th-century painter Francisco Zurbarán, roses are visible in the saint's lap; the miracle is also depicted in a painting by the 19th-century painter Jose Nogales. But while Saint Casilda supposedly died in the 11th century, predating the birth of both Elizabeth of Hungary and Elizabeth of Portugal, her hagiography was not written until three centuries after her death, and is likely influenced by the legend of one of these Elizabeths.

Saint Didacus of Alcalá.

Of the 15th-century Franciscan St. Didacus of Alcalá, also known as San Diego, the same miracle is told: as a lay brother of the Franciscans in Spain, he often took bread from the monastery's dining table to give to the poor. One day, leaving the convent with a cloak full of food, he was accused and challenged to open his cloak; miraculously, the loaves of bread had changed into roses.

Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe is of an entirely different character, although here again the miraculous presence of the roses in the middle of winter is a sign of the presence of the divinity. The account is a corollary to a Marian apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe, found in the 1556 booklet Nican Mopohua, and supposedly taking place in 1531. It concerns a native inhabitant of Mexico named Juan Diego, whom the Virgin chooses to convey a message to an unwilling bishop, that "Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities and misfortunes." The bishop however, does not believe Diego's story. He returns to his field, where again the Virgin appears to him, with the same message. Diego again goes to the bishop, with the same result, and the remark that he has to bring a token if he is to be believed. The fourth time the Virgin appears, she directs Diego toward "varied Castilian flowers" which he picks; she then places the flowers in his mantle. (The identification of these flowers as Castilian roses or Damask roses, is a later addition.) This time the bishop is convinced, especially when an image of the Virgin miraculously appears on Diego's cloak.

St. Rita of Cascia.

A miracle involving roses occurred to Saint Rita of Cascia. The winter before the end of her life, a cousin visited her and asked her if she desired anything from her old home at Roccaporena. Saint Rita responded by asking for a rose and a fig from the garden. It was January and her cousin did not expect to find anything due to the snowy weather. However, when her relative went to the house, a single blooming rose was found in the garden, as well as a fully ripened and edible fig. Her cousin brought the rose and fig back to Saint Rita at the convent, who thanked her and gave the rose to her sisters.  The rose is thought to represent God's love for Rita and Rita's ability to intercede on behalf of lost causes or impossible cases. Rita is often depicted holding roses or with roses nearby, and on her feast day, churches and shrines of Saint Rita provide roses to the congregation that are blessed by priests during Mass.

Statement of Pope John Paul II.

On the occasion of the centenary of the canonization of Saint Rita of Cascia, Pope John Paul II stated that the worldwide devotion to Saint Rita is symbolized by the rose, and said: "It is to be hoped that the life of everyone devoted to her will be like the rose picked in the garden of Roccaporena the winter before the saint's death. That is, let it be a life sustained by passionate love for the Lord Jesus; a life capable of responding to suffering and to thorns with forgiveness and the total gift of self, in order to spread everywhere the good odour of Christ (cf. ) through a consistently lived proclamation of the Gospel." He added that Saint Rita spiritually offers her rose to each of those he addressed as an exhortation to "live as witnesses to a hope that never disappoints and as missionaries of a life that conquers death".

Saint Faustyna Kowalska.

In her "", Saint Faustyna Kowalska writes of potatoes converting into roses:

Critical theme in Heinrich Böll novel.

The 1971 novel "Group Portrait with Lady" () by Nobel Prize winning author Heinrich Böll - who had grown up in a Catholic environment - includes many passages taking up Catholic themes, in a way highly critical of the Church. One of the book's themes concerns a nun who had been born a Jew, became a heretical Catholic, and died during the war under questionable circumstances, while under custody of the Church authorities who were supposed to protect her from the Nazis. In the book's present during the 1960s, there happens a manifest Miracle of the Roses, with red roses growing again and again in mid-winter from the nun's ashes. However, the Church authorities persistently refuse to take notice of this miracle, which would have obliged them to consider canonizing her, since that would have required a recognition that the Church had wronged her and caused her death.

A miracle of the roses is a miracle in which roses manifest an activity of God or of a saint. Such a miracle is presented in various hagiographies and legends in different forms, and it occurs in connection with diverse individuals such as Saints Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–1231), Elizabeth of Portugal (1271–1336), St. Dorothy, a 4th-century virgin martyr at Caesarea in Cappadocia (died ca. 311), and Our Lady of Guadalupe (appeared in 1531).

In der Legende des Rosenwunders wird die Mildtätigkeit und Heiligkeit Elisabeths von Thüringen und ihre Zuwendung zu den Armen und zur Armut ausgeschmückt. Auf diese Legende gehen zahlreiche bildliche Darstellungen Elisabeths zurück.


History.

used Hecke operators on modular forms in a paper on the special cusp form of Ramanujan, ahead of the general theory given by. Mordell proved that the Ramanujan tau function, expressing the coefficients of the Ramanujan form,  is a multiplicative function:  The idea goes back to earlier work of Adolf Hurwitz, who treated algebraic correspondences between modular curves which realise some individual Hecke operators.

Mathematical description.

Hecke operators can be realized in a number of contexts. The simplest meaning is combinatorial, namely as taking for a given integer "n" some function "f"(Λ) defined on the lattices of fixed rank to  with the sum taken over all the Λ′ that are subgroups of Λ of index "n". For example, with "n=2" and two dimensions, there are three such Λ′. Modular forms are particular kinds of functions of a lattice, subject to conditions making them analytic functions and homogeneous with respect to homotheties, as well as moderate growth at infinity; these conditions are preserved by the summation, and so Hecke operators preserve the space of modular forms of a given weight.  Another way to express Hecke operators is by means of double cosets in the modular group. In the contemporary adelic approach, this translates to double cosets with respect to some compact subgroups.

Explicit formula.

Let "M" be the set of 2×2 integral matrices with determinant "m" and "Γ" = "M" be the full modular group "SL"(2, Z). Given a modular form "f"("z") of weight "k", the "m"th Hecke operator acts by the formula  where "z" is in the upper half-plane and the normalization constant "m" assures that the image of a form with integer Fourier coefficients has integer Fourier coefficients. This can be rewritten in the form  which leads to the formula for the Fourier coefficients of "T"("f"("z")) = ∑ "b""q" in terms of the Fourier coefficients of "f"("z") = ∑ "a""q":  One can see from this explicit formula that Hecke operators with different indices commute and that if "a" = 0 then "b" = 0, so the subspace "S" of cusp forms of weight "k" is preserved by the Hecke operators. If a (non-zero) cusp form "f" is a simultaneous eigenform of all Hecke operators "T" with eigenvalues "λ" then "a" = "λ""a" and "a" ≠ 0. Hecke eigenforms are normalized so that "a" = 1, then  Thus for normalized cuspidal Hecke eigenforms of integer weight, their Fourier coefficients coincide with their Hecke eigenvalues.

Hecke algebras.

Algebras of Hecke operators are called "Hecke algebras", and are commutative rings. In the classical elliptic modular form theory, the Hecke operators "T" with "n" coprime to the level acting on the space of cusp forms of a given weight are self-adjoint with respect to the Petersson inner product. Therefore, the spectral theorem implies that there is a basis of modular forms that are eigenfunctions for these Hecke operators. Each of these basic forms possesses an Euler product. More precisely, its Mellin transform is the Dirichlet series that has Euler products with the local factor for each prime "p" is the inverse of the Hecke polynomial, a quadratic polynomial in "p". In the case treated by Mordell, the space of cusp forms of weight 12 with respect to the full modular group is one-dimensional. It follows that the Ramanujan form has an Euler product and establishes the multiplicativity of "τ"("n").  Other related mathematical rings are also called "Hecke algebras", although sometimes the link to Hecke operators is not entirely obvious. These algebras include certain quotients of the group algebras of braid groups. The presence of this commutative operator algebra plays a significant role in the harmonic analysis of modular forms and generalisations.

In mathematics, in particular in the theory of modular forms, a Hecke operator, studied by, is a certain kind of "averaging" operator that plays a significant role in the structure of vector spaces of modular forms and more general automorphic representations.

In der Mathematik versteht man unter Hecke-Operatoren bestimmte lineare Operatoren auf dem Vektorraum der ganzen Modulformen. Eingeführt wurden diese Operatoren von Erich Hecke 1937. Ihre Bedeutung erhalten sie dadurch, dass bestimmte Modulformen simultane Eigenfunktionen zu allen Hecke-Operatoren sind und sich dadurch Schlüsse auf die Eigenschaften der Fourier-Koeffizienten dieser Funktionen ziehen lassen. Diese Modulformen werden auch Eigenformen genannt.


From another point of view.

A time to digital converter assigns timestamps. The time to digital converter needs fast rising edges with normed height. The plastic scintillation counter delivers fast rising edge with varying heights. Theoretically, the signal could be split into two parts. One part would be delayed and the other low pass filtered, inverted and then used in a variable gain amplifier to amplify the original signal to the desired height. Practically, it is difficult to achieve a high dynamic range for the variable gain amplifier, and analog computers have problems with the inverse value.

Principle of operation.

The incoming signal is split into three components. One component is delayed by a time formula_2, with formula_3 - it may be multiplied by a small factor to put emphasis on the leading edge of the pulse - and connected to the noninverting input of a comparator. One component is connected to the inverting input of this comparator. One component is connected to the noninverting input of another comparator. A threshold value is connected to the inverting input of the other comparator. The output of both comparators is fed through an AND gate. A discriminator without that constant fraction would just be a comparator.  Therefore the word discriminator is used for something different (namely for an FM-demodulator).  Often the logic levels are shifted from -15 V < low < 0 < high < 15 V delivered by the comparator to 0 V < low < 1.5 V < high < 3.3 V needed by CMOS logic.

Applications.

If the discriminator triggers a sampler with a following comparator this is called a single channel analyzer (SCA). If an Analog-to-digital converter is used, this is called a multi channel analyzer (MCA).  http://www.ortec-online.com/download/Fast-Timing-Discriminator-Introduction.pdf

A constant fraction discriminator (CFD) is an electronic signal processing device, designed to mimic the mathematical operation of finding a maximum of a pulse by finding the zero of its slope. Some signals do not have a sharp maximum, but short rise times formula_1.

Ein constant fraction discriminator (CFD) ist ein spezieller Diskriminator zur Verarbeitung elektrischer Impulse beispielsweise von Strahlungsdetektoren. Er dient zur Erzeugung exakter Zeitmarken aus breiten Impulsen mit wechselnder Signalamplitude, aber konstanter Anstiegszeit.


Plot.

Ray Aibelli has finished his first year of college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has received a prestigious summer medical internship which he has to forego to take care of his mother, Susan Aibelli, a married, lonely woman, who has suffered a leg injury at home just as her husband is about to leave on his job as a traveling salesman. Ray's relationship with his father is seen to be troubled as his father is overly controlling. The relationship between Susan and Mr. Aibelli is also shown to be suffering because he is later shown to be cheating with prostitutes and Susan feels disappointed by her lack of achievement in life.  Ray has to take care of his mother by helping her to shower and massaging her legs leading to him seeing her naked and experiencing a moment of intimacy when he massages her upper thigh. He feels extreme guilt for his incestuous sexual feelings and rubs his skin raw to punish himself. His sexual frustration is increased due to the fact that he is unable to masturbate, due to the family's dog repeatedly interrupting him. His high school friends are shown to be immature and Ray is seen to feel increasingly isolated from them. He also begins a relationship with local teenager Toni Peck who he struggles to communicate with both socially and when having sex, leading to an accusation of rape.  Ray explains to his mother how their sexual encounter developed and she offers him sexual advice and he later openly stares at her body in the shower, increasing their physical intimacy. Ray has an opportunity to leave his mother behind when his aunt, Helen, offers to be her caretaker and he excitedly prepares to leave the next day. Both Ray and Susan are annoyed by Helen and they have a sexual encounter late at night that leads to Ray missing his bus the next day. Ray's father informs him that he will no longer be able to pay for his university tuition causing him to become even more stressed about his future.  Toni and Ray are seen to have resumed their sexual relationship and are kissing when Susan interrupts them, she slaps Toni and injures her. Ray and Susan have a loud argument that quickly devolves into groping and kissing. Toni's father comes to their house to complain but Susan is able to flirt with him and prevent him from punishing Ray.  Ray attempts to commit suicide by hanging himself from the bathroom door but Susan interrupts him, he complains that he can't achieve anything here and attempts to initiate sexual contact with Susan. He kisses her passionately but then pulls back and attempts to strangle her to death before stopping. His friends invite him to hang out with them again and he accepts joining them near the river. After being provoked by one of his friends he jumps off a steep cliff and is seen hitching a ride with a truck driver early the next morning.

Music.

Select tracks from Morphine's album "Cure for Pain" are used throughout the film, including "In Spite of Me" which plays over the end credits.

Reception.

"Spanking the Monkey" was a box office success, grossing $1,359,736 on a $200,000 budget.  On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on reviews from 23 critics. The site's consensus states: "David O. Russell's feature debut scores with an endearing cast and offbeat humor, finding compelling sweetness in perverse places." On Metacritic it has a score of 66% based on reviews from 15 critics.  The film won the Audience Award at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

Spanking the Monkey is a 1994 American black comedy film written and directed by David O. Russell. The title is a slang phrase for masturbation and is used in the film by one of the teenage characters. It was filmed in Pawling, New York.

Spanking the Monkey ist ein US-amerikanischer Film aus dem Jahr 1994 von David O. Russell. Es ist ein Familiendrama mit schwarzem Humor und behandelt das Thema Inzest. Die Hauptrolle spielte Jeremy Davies.


Religious significance.

Nefta is considered by most Sufis to be the spiritual home of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam; many religious buildings are located in the district El Bayadha. Nefta is a pilgrimage center to which pilgrims travel throughout the year. There is a Folk Festival in April and a Date Festival in November/December.  Nefta is the religious center of the Bled el Djerid, the "Land of Palms", with more than 24 mosques and 100 marabouts. The marabouts still attract pilgrims from all over southern Tunisia and even from Algeria. This great veneration of the marabouts reflects the continuing vigor of Sufism, the movement which grew up in the 12th century around Sufi Abu Madian (d. 1197). The name of the Sufis came from the simple woolen garment (suf) they wore. They believed that the adherents of Islam, a religion of the desert, should show particular modesty of behavior and asceticism, and were much given to mysticism, the veneration of holy men, spiritual contemplation and meditation. Sufism is also marked by religious forms taken over from the pre-Islamic, animistic religions of the Berber population which orthodox Islam seeks to repress - belief in spirits, witchcraft, fortune-telling, the efficacy of amulets, etc. Regional variants of Sufism were propagated by holy men, who frequently founded their own brotherhoods, with centers for the teaching of disciples. They are credited with numerous miracles and revered for their holiness, and their tombs (marabouts) are places of pilgrimage, attracting varying numbers of pilgrims according to their reputation. In the past these holy men were also appealed to as judges in the conflicts which frequently occurred between the nomadic tribes and the settled population of the oases. Nefta is the last stronghold of this Sufism, and is sometimes called, with some justification, the "Kairouan of the South". The marabouts venerated here are scattered about throughout the old town of Nefta and the oasis.  During the Roman Empire the town then known as Nefte was the seat of a Christian bishopric, which functioned till the end of the 7th century.

The town.

Nefta is divided into two parts by a small oued and a depression at its northern end. To the east of the oued is the new town, with the old souk quarter at its southwestern corner; to the west, on the slopes of a hill, is the old town. The main road from Tozeur runs through the new town as Avenue Habib Bourguiba, which then crosses the oued and skirts the old town. At its western end a street branches off on the right, ascends the hill, goes round the old town and the sand-bowl, and returns to Avenue Habib Bourguiba. Nefta is a town of cube-shaped, flat-roofed houses huddled closely together, with Tozeur-style decoration. In some of the streets the upper stories of the houses, borne on round- headed arches, project over the street, forming a kind of tunnel which offers protection from the sun. It is planned to restore the old town in the very near future.

History.

Nefta is believed to have been settled originally by shepherds who came from the kingdom of Napata. The Romans and later the Byzantines built forts in the oasis (Nepte) to provide protection against raids by desert nomads. In Byzantine times Nefta and Tozeur were episcopal sees. In the mid-7th century Nefta was conquered by the Arabs and, in spite of fierce resistance, converted to Islam. A Christian community was however recorded as late as 1194  In subsequent centuries Nefta prospered as an important staging-point for caravans (for a time the most important in Tunisia). Its decline began in the 15th century as a result of more frequent raids by nomadic tribes and the general falling off in the caravan trade. With the coming of the French in 1881, however, Nefta experienced a renewal.  The salt-flats near Nefta were used as a filming location for the Star Wars saga in the late 20th century.

Access.

Nefta lies on GP 3 (Gafsa–Nefta), 25 km southwest of Tozeur (airport; regular services to and from Tunis, Monastir, and Djerba) and 113 km southwest of Gafsa. From the bus station (Gare Routière) in Avenue Habib Bourguiba, there are regular bus services to Tozeur and Gafsa and a once-daily service to Douz and Hazaoua, the frontier post for the crossing into Algeria. The 4 km from there to the frontier must be done either on foot or in a louage (communal taxi). From the Algerian frontier post there are buses to El Oued.

Nefta (or Nafta; ) is a Tunisian municipality and an oasis in Tozeur Governorate north of the Chott el Djerid.

Nefta (, antik: "Aggarsel Nepte") ist eine Stadt im südlichen Tunesien mit ca. 15.000 Einwohnern. Die Stadt liegt nahe der algerischen Grenze nördlich des Salzsees Chott el Djerid. Die einstige Karawanenstation ist mit ihren 24 Moscheen und über 100 Marabouts das religiöse Zentrum der Region Bled el Djerid und eine Hochburg des Sufismus.


Animal resources.

There are 1,225 species known in the Changbai Mountains, which belong to 73 orders and 219 families. Among them, forest insect pests 6 orders 48 families 387 species; forest inosect natural enemies 7 orders 29 families 94 species; vertebrates 60 orders 142 families 744 species. Among the 1,225 kinds of wild animals, there are 43 kinds of animals under national key protection. Among them, the national first-level protected animals include Siberian tiger, leopard, sika deer, sable, black stork and golden eagle. National secondary protected animals include Chinese Merganser, jackal, musk deer, black bear, brown bear, otter, lynx, red deer, green sheep (gazelle), owl, kite, bee eagle, goshawk, sparrow hawk, hazel hawk 37 kinds.

History.

The range represents the mythical birthplace of Bukūri Yongšon, ancestor of Nurgaci and the Aisin Gioro imperial family, who were the founders of the Manchu state and the Qing dynasty of China. The Chinese name literally means "Perpetually-White Mountain Region".

Geography and climate.

The geological formation is when it was basically formed about 4.5 billion years ago, a gap appeared at a point in the eastern hemisphere. This gap is the entire Changbai Mountain area.  The southern part of the mountain belongs to the quasi platform of China and North Korea, and the northern part belongs to the Jihehualixi fold belt. The Yanshanian movement unified the north-south tectonic directions and formed the basis of the Chinese mountain. In the Tertiary Himalayan movement, large-scale torsion and breaking of blocks occurred, accompanied by massive basalt ejection. The mountainous area is mainly composed of granite, basalt, gneiss and schist, while granite has the widest distribution area. Basalt is mainly distributed in Mudanjiang River and around Changbai Mountain  The mountains are the source of the Songhua, Tumen, and Yalu Rivers.  The Changbai Mountains are characterized by long and cold winters. Precipitation is low in the winter but higher in the summer and autumn with annual averages reaching as high as.

Flora and fauna.

The vegetation of the mountain slopes is divided into several different zones. At the top, above 2,000 metres, tundra predominates. From 1,700 to 2,000 metres, vegetation is dominated by mountain birch and larch. Below this zone, and down to 1,100 metres, the dominant trees are spruce, fir, and Korean pine. From 600 to 1,100 metres, the landscape is dominated by mixed forest, consisting of Amur linden, Korean pine, maple, and elm. Further down, a temperate hardwood forest is found, dominated by second-growth poplar and birch.

The Changbai Mountains () are a major mountain range in Northeast Asia. The mountains extend from the Northeast Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, across the border between China and North Korea (41°41' to 42°51'N; 127°43' to 128°16'E), to the North Korean provinces of Ryanggang and Chagang. They are also referred to as the Šanggiyan, Jangbaek or Ohnan mountains. Most peaks exceed in height, with the highest being the Changbai Mountain.

Changbai Shan, koreanisch auch Changbaek San, („ewig-weiß“) bezeichnet ein Gebirge im Grenzland zwischen VR China und Nordkorea. Das Gebirge breitet sich von den nordöstlichen chinesischen Provinzen Jilin und Liaoning bis zu den nordkoreanischen Provinzen Ryanggang und Chagang aus. Viele Gipfel im Changbai-Gebirge überschreiten die -Marke. Der höchste und auch bekannteste Berg des Changbai-Gebirges ist der Paektu San/Baitou Shan mit seinem Himmelssee ("Tian Chi"). Im Gebirge soll der Legende nach Bukuri Yongson geboren sein, der der Urahn der Nurhaci und der Königsfamilie der Aisin Gioro ist, und der die Mandschurei und die chinesische Qing-Dynastie begründet hatte.


Overview.

Ogo uses the IXI-Connect OS. It features a clamshell design with a 12-bit depth color screen on the top half and a full QWERTY keyboard on the lower half. Navigation through the menus is accomplished primarily through the use of a directional pad located on the lower right hand of the device and alternately through buttons that directly access each of the devices features.  The Ogo is part of a family of devices produced by its overseas manufacturer, IXI, which showcase the "personal mobile gateway" concept, wherein the Ogo acts as a wireless gateway for other Bluetooth enabled devices to access the Internet. Other devices in the family include pens and cameras. With support for AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, and MSN Windows Messenger, it’s at least as equipped for IM as any phone you could hope for. The Ogo supports POP3 e-mail, but that’s about it. The Ogo is not a phone and has no voice features.  AT&T deliberately omitted the wireless gateway capabilities of the Ogo in all domestic advertising, possibly in a bid to keep the device from being used as a flat-rate wireless modem.  After the acquisition of AT&T Wireless by Cingular, the Ogo was no longer offered. Cingular discontinued its Ogo service on October 10, 2006.  The device is also marketed in Germany by 1&1. In Germany, the OGO is called a Pocket Web. The OGO can web surf, email, sync with outlook, IM and all the other things like the US based OGO but can not play MP3s. It is also available in Austria through A1 and in Switzerland through Swisscom carrier.

Technical data.

Size 11.5 cm × 7.5 cm × 2.5 cm  Weight  162 g  Display  240×160 Pixel = 1/8 VGA with 4096 Colors  Battery Life  120 hours standby, 2.5 hours fully functioning, charges with a normal USB Mini-Cable (5V)  Ports  Mini USB, Headphone connection (for the CT-17 and CT-12 version)  Optical Highlights  Backlighting for monitor and for keyboard, 2 color LED for new messages and for charging  Speaker  Monospeaker, 0.8 watt with 8 Ω Processor  Texas Instruments OMAP P330B with 200 MHz  Memory  16 MB-RAM and 32 MB NAND-ROM Flash memory (Samsung)  Wireless connections  Quadband Chip w/ memory ROM, Dualband 900/1800 (CT-17/CT-12) i.e. 850/1900 (CT-15/CT-10) GSM with GPRS-with data relay capabilities SAR 0.596 W/kg  Keyboard  QWERTZ keyboard, Navi button  Software Base  Operating System  IXI-Connect OS proprietary system written in C, kernel is based on NucleosOS  Browser  Obigo Browser: Gecko Engine (like Mozilla 4.0)  Protocols  IMAP, HTTP, WSP, SyncML, FOTA, RSS

Wireless data.

The Ogo is indeed capable of being used as a fully functional GPRS Bluetooth modem. Connectivity to Windows and Apple computers is still possible, provided a still-activated Ogo is available. The device shows up as a standard bluetooth device.  The European version connects to the web and email push system via the Vodafone GPRS network.

Ogo is a handheld electronic device which allows the user to communicate via instant messaging services, email, MMS and SMS text messages. The device works through GSM cellular networks and allows unlimited usage for a flat monthly fee. It supports AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger. It was released in 2004

Der Ogo (on-the-go) ist ein PDA, der dafür konzipiert wurde, ortsunabhängig den Instant-Messaging-Dienst Windows Live Messenger zu benutzen. Außerdem lassen sich auf dem Gerät, je nach Firmware, bis zu fünf E-Mail-Adressen einrichten, die man dann bei genügend Empfang verwalten kann. Hersteller ist das israelische Unternehmen IXI Mobile (R&D) Ltd. in Ra’anana; regionale Niederlassungen gibt es z. B. in Berlin oder Redwood City, Kalifornien (USA).


Early life.

Napier was born in Mt. Union, Kentucky near Scottsville. His parents were Sara Lena (née Loafman; 1897–1974) and Linus Pitts Napier (1888–1991). After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1954, serving with the 11th Airborne Division and rising to the rank of sergeant.  After his service, he attended Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, graduating in 1961 with a major in art and minor in physical education. He wanted to be a basketball coach and his first job was as an assistant coach at his old high school in Allen County, coaching under Allen County legend James Bazzell. Soon after, he gave up coaching, eventually taking jobs with a bridge company and an advertising agency before moving to Clearwater, Florida to teach art at JFK Junior High School.  In 1964, he returned to attend graduate school at Western Kentucky where he was encouraged to pursue acting by instructor D. Russell Miller. Following some success in the local Alley Playhouse, Napier moved back to Florida where he continued to teach as well as act in community theater, eventually moving into Clearwater's Little Theatre as its live-in caretaker. During this time he also pursued painting.

Career.

After a spell in New York Napier moved to California. He acquired an agent and a union card (for a bit part in ""). His movie debut came about by accident. A girlfriend took Napier along when she went to audition for Russ Meyer, who cast Napier as the male lead in "Cherry, Harry & Raquel!". In addition to acting and helping with the cameras when setting up shots, he did stunts, make up and driving on the film. After the low budget "Moonfire", he worked as a journalist and photographer for "Overdrive" magazine for a few years; a strike sent him back to Hollywood in 1975 where, at age 39, he was reduced to living in his car in the parking lot of Meyer's office with no money, work or agent. He was summoned to Universal Studios to meet Alfred Hitchcock (who had just seen a print of "Supervixens") and Napier was given a one-year contract.  Napier became a prolific character actor, appearing regularly in TV series of the time, and a number of pilots. In 1977, he was cast as frontier scout Luther Sprague in the six-episode NBC western television series, "The Oregon Trail". He appeared in two episodes of the 1980s hit TV series "The A-Team" as Col. Briggs. He also co-starred in two "The Rockford Files" episodes, and played Hammer in the series "B.J. and the Bear" in the 1970s. Napier as Wolfson Lucas was teamed with Rod Taylor again for the series "Outlaws". He is known among "Star Trek" fans for appearing on both "" episode "The Way to Eden" as musically inclined space hippie Adam, and the "" episode "Little Green Men" as General Denning. He also appeared in the pilot episode of "Knight Rider" in 1982.  The director of "Citizen's Band", Jonathan Demme, was laudatory about Napier's abilities, and went on to cast him in several films including "The Silence of the Lambs" and, in what was Napier's favourite role of his career, a judge in "Philadelphia". He played the bureaucratic CIA officer Marshall Murdock in "". For the 1980 musical-comedy, "The Blues Brothers", he portrayed the apoplectic Tucker McElroy, lead singer of and driver of the Winnebago for "The Good Ol' Boys."  Napier was in many advertisements. He performed a great deal of voice-over work in "", "Justice League", "", "The Critic", "", "Squidbillies", and some of the Hulk's growls on the series "The Incredible Hulk". He also provided several guest voices for episodes of "The Simpsons."  He had a small role during the sixth season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in 2008 as a barber who assaults and drives Larry David from his shop after David offends him. Napier appeared in the 2009 horror film "Murder World" alongside Scout Taylor-Compton. His last film role was in the 2009 comedy "" opposite Jeremy Piven and James Brolin".  Prior to his death in October 2011, Napier published a book about his life and experiences in Hollywood, titled "Square Jaw and Big Heart", with Dante W. Renzulli Jr. as co-author. The publisher of the book is BearManor Media of Albany, Georgia ().

Personal life.

Napier was married twice. His first wife was Delores Wilson. After his divorce, he married Dee Napier. Napier and his wife appeared on the Dr. Phil show in 2003 to discuss his obsession with being famous. According to the Dr. Phil Show website, "Despite appearing in close to 100 films and countless hit TV shows, Charles Napier says he's depressed he's not a big star. His wife, Dee, says that instead of becoming upset when he gets rejected for a part, Charles should be grateful and proud of his 35-year career. She also thinks it's time he started making the family, not the pursuit of fame, his priority."  Napier and his second wife had two children, son Hunter and daughter Meghan. Napier also had one son, Charles Lewis "Chuck" Napier Jr., from his previous marriage.

Death.

Napier died on October 5, 2011, after collapsing the previous day. He was 75 years old. The exact cause of death was not released, but Napier had been treated for deep vein thrombosis in his legs in May 2010.

References.

Bibliography

Charles Lewis Napier (April 12, 1936 – October 5, 2011) was an American character actor in film and television, and a comedian known for his prolific career playing memorable supporting and leading roles in genre cinema, often in the role of a police officer, soldier, or authority figure. After leaving his Kentucky hometown to serve in the army, he graduated from college and worked as a sports coach and art teacher before settling on acting as a career. Napier established himself in character roles and worked steadily for the next 35 years. He made numerous collaborations with director Jonathan Demme, including roles in the critically acclaimed drama "Philadelphia", comedy "Married to the Mob", historical horror-drama "Beloved", the political-thriller remake "The Manchurian Candidate", and the Best Picture-winning psychological horror film adaptation "The Silence of the Lambs".

Charles L. Napier (* 12. April 1936 in Scottsville, Allen County, Kentucky; † 5. Oktober 2011 in Bakersfield, Kalifornien) war ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler und Synchronsprecher. Er wirkte in weit über 100 Filmen und Fernsehserien mit.


Club career.

Early career.

Having started his career in the youth section of Radnički Kragujevac, his talent was spotted by Red Star Belgrade scouts who signed him and then loaned him to Spartak Subotica. Đorđević first moved to Greece to play for third division Paniliakos in 1993. He was an instrumental figure as the Pyrgos club achieved successive promotions. Đorđević made his debut in the Greek Championship on 27 August 1995.

Olympiacos.

He came to Olympiacos from Paniliakos together with Stelios Giannakopoulos in 1996. Dušan Bajević signed him for Olympiacos in the summer of 1996, leaving A.E.K. The Serbian established himself as the club's dead-ball specialist, penalty taker and leader. He formed, along with Grigoris Georgatos, an outstanding left wing for Olympiacos in 1998–99 and they were the catalytic factor for Olympiacos qualifying to the UEFA Champions League 1998–99 quarter-finals. He scored 50 goals in his first five seasons at Olympiacos, all of which brought titles. Another superlative season in red and white followed in 2002–03, Đorđević scoring 14 league goals and providing 15 assists. He also hit form in the UEFA Champions League, scoring four goals in six games which included a hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen (6–2)]. In 2003–04, Đorđević recorded 10 goals and 22 assists and was voted the best foreign player in the Greek ever Alpha Ethniki.  In 2004–05, he missed his club's first three Champions League matches through injury, but returned to score the winning goal against Deportivo La Coruña. He captained his side in all four UEFA Cup matches, scoring against Newcastle United. He led his side to the domestic double, appearing in 25 league matches, scoring five goals and providing six assists, before signing a two-year contract extension.  Amazingly, 2005–06 was then 34-year-old Đorđević's most productive season, only missing one game in the Greek National A division, leading the club's scoring charts with 15 goals and reaching a total of 110 in the competition. The icing on the cake was his appearance that summer in 2006 FIFA World Cup.  Another important period for Đorđević, the 2006–07 season, would prove record breaking. Once again, scoring crucial goals for his club, Đorđević not only continued his goal streak against Olympiacos' rivals AEK Athens, but also added another League trophy to the club's vast collection. Along with Georgios Anatolakis, this would be the captain's 10th championship, making him the only foreign player in Greece to achieve such a feat.  The 2007–08 season proved once again to be successful for the Olympiacos captain as he led a very new looking squad out to UEFA Champions League glory. Defeating the likes of Werder Bremen and Lazio, Olympiacos finished with the same points as group leaders Real Madrid and recorded their first Champions League away win in history. Đorđević played a vital role in the Greek club's entry into the knockout rounds for the second time in their history, finishing the group stages with four assists, first in the tournament. As a result of his excellent form in both Europe and the Greek Superleague, Đorđević who was set to retire at the end of the 2008 season, extended his contract for another year.  On 30 March 2009, Đorđević announced that he had decided to end his career as a football player by the end of the season 2008–09, having spent 13 years of his 20 years as a professional footballer playing for Olympiacos.

International career.

Đorđević made his international debut for the then SR Yugoslavia against Switzerland in a September 1998. He featured in qualifying for UEFA Euro 2000, but did not make the squad for the finals. Also appeared on the road to UEFA Euro 2004, although Serbia and Montenegro did not qualify for Portugal, and remained a key part of their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying side. Đorđević played every minute in Serbia and Montenegro's failed World Cup campaign, losing each match in their Group C encounters with Argentina, Netherlands, and Ivory Coast.

Personal life.

He is married to a woman of Greek descent from Pyrgos, the first town in Greece he has ever lived and played at. He has both Serbian and Greek citizenship.

Predrag Đorđević (; also transliterated Predrag Djordjević; ; born 4 August 1972) is a retired Serbian footballer. Known for his set pieces, Đorđević played as a left midfielder for Greek club Olympiacos for 13 years, becoming Olympiacos' greatest foreign goalscorer, averaging a goal every three league matches, as well as becoming a symbol of Olympiacos' "Golden Age" of 12 championship trophies in 13 years. Đorđević is acknowledged as one of the greatest foreign players to have played in Greece. Đorđević also played for the national team of Serbia and Montenegro, amassing 37 caps and 1 goal. He featured for his country in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Predrag Đorđević (, ; * 4. August 1972 in Kragujevac, SFR Jugoslawien) ist ein ehemaliger serbischer Fußballspieler. Er stand zuletzt beim griechischen Fußballverein Olympiakos Piräus unter Vertrag. Đorđević besitzt sowohl den serbischen als auch den griechischen Pass. Für die serbische Nationalmannschaft bestritt er 38 Länderspiele (Stand: 31. März 2009)


History.

Origins.

World Grand Prix was created in 1993 as part of the FIVB's marketing strategy to promote the sport of volleyball by establishing annual international competitions. It was modelled after the World League, a successful event for men that had been introduced three years before.  The Grand Prix made women's volleyball very popular in East Asia. As of 2004, the competition was maintained mainly with the support of Asian investors. The early competitions and the finals were usually held in East Asia, because the volleyball market in East Asia is large and has a large audience (such as Hong Kong). Later, some competitions were held in Europe and the United States, for example, the 2003 finals was held for the first time in Italy, and 2015 finals was held in the United States.  The budget for prize money grew steadily since 1993, but at a rather slow pace. The figures have reached $1.295 million in 2004 - meager when compared to the World League's $13 million.  Although the status of the Grand Prix was less than the other three international competitions, the prize money and popularity was far better. Because it is purely commercial competition, the winner of the Grand Prix championship is generally not considered a world champion. But the Grand Prix has created stars for female volleyball players, and thus contributed to the promotion of the sport of female volleyball in the world.  The predominance of Asian sponsors determined the first major break with the World League's formula. Most of the cities that host preliminary round matches are located in Asia. A host country may or may not have a national volleyball team involved in the competition. A second break was introduced in later years: in some continents, teams must qualify to participate in the competition.

Winners.

The history of Grand Prix's previous winners is a clear indication of how women's volleyball has been dominated, since the early 1990s, by four teams: Cuba, Brazil, Russia and China. Along with five-times winner USA, they are the only ones to hold a title at this competition as of 2005.  In 1993, the Cubans padded their already impressive record of a gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games by winning the first edition of the Grand Prix. They were also running for the gold in 1994, but were defeated by an underranked Brazil: at that time, the Brazilians had never been able to catch a single medal in any major women's volleyball competition.  In the following years, Brazil proved beyond any doubt that their time as underdogs was over. It lost the finals in 1995 to USA, but came back in 1996 for a second Grand Prix title, winning all the matches that made up the Final Four round in five sets.  The Brazilians withdrew from the competition in 1997, and the winners were Russia. But they were back in 1998 for another gold. Russia took revenge in 1999, and defeated Brazil in straight sets to win their second Grand Prix title.  Russia's win in 2002 made them, like Brazil, three-time winners. But the South Americans untied the score by conquering the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, and, afterwards, also 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017 editions of the tournament. The winners in 2000, 2001 and 2003 were Cuba, USA and China, respectively. Netherlands won their first trophy in 2007. USA won four gold medals in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015.

Competition formula.

The Grand Prix's competition formula has proved less stable than the World League's. In the following years, major changes are likely to be introduced in an attempt to make women's volleyball more attractive to the audience. Some of the rules that are still in practice as of 2004 are:

Hosts.

List of hosts by number of final round championships hosted.

Appearance.

China and Japan are the only teams that participated in all editions of the World Grand Prix.

The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was an annual women's volleyball competition created in 1993, The men's version of the competition was called World League. This event should not be confused with the other international volleyball competitions, the World Championship, the World Cup and the World Grand Champions Cup.

Der Volleyball World Grand Prix war ein internationaler Wettbewerb für Nationalmannschaften der Frauen. Ab 2018 wurde der World Grand Prix durch die Volleyball Nations League ersetzt.


Metabolism.

Biliverdin results from the breakdown of the heme moiety of hemoglobin in erythrocytes. Macrophages break down senescent erythrocytes and break the heme down into biliverdin along with hemosiderin, in which biliverdin normally rapidly reduces to free bilirubin.  Biliverdin is seen briefly in some bruises as a green color. In bruises, its breakdown into bilirubin leads to a yellowish color.

Role in disease.

Biliverdin has been found in excess in the blood of humans suffering from hepatic diseases. Jaundice is caused by the accumulation of biliverdin or bilirubin (or both) in the circulatory system and tissues. Jaundiced skin and sclera (whites of the eyes) are characteristic of liver failure.

Role in treatment of disease.

While typically regarded as a mere waste product of heme breakdown, evidence that suggests that biliverdin — and other bile pigments — has a physiological role in humans has been mounting.  Bile pigments such as biliverdin possess significant anti-mutagenic and antioxidant properties and therefore, may fulfil a useful physiological function. Biliverdin and bilirubin have been shown to be potent scavengers of peroxyl radicals. They have also been shown to inhibit the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic amines, and oxidants — all of which are mutagens. Some studies have found that people with higher concentration levels of bilirubin and biliverdin in their bodies have a lower frequency of cancer and cardiovascular disease. It has been suggested that biliverdin — as well as many other tetrapyrrolic pigments — may function as an HIV-1 protease inhibitor as well as having beneficial effects in asthma though further research is needed to confirm these results. There are currently no practical implications for using biliverdin in the treatment of any disease.

In non-human animals.

Biliverdin is an important pigment component in avian egg shells, especially blue and green shells. Blue egg shells have a significantly higher concentration of biliverdin than brown egg shells.  Research has shown that the biliverdin of egg shells is produced from the shell gland, rather than from the breakdown of erythrocytes in the blood stream, although there is no evidence that the sources of the material are neither tetrapyrroles nor free haem from the blood plasma.  Along with its presence in avian egg shells, other studies have also shown that biliverdin is present in the blue-green blood of many marine fish, the blood of tobacco hornworm, the wings of moth and butterfly, the serum and eggs of frogs, and the placenta of dogs. With dogs this can lead, in extremely rare cases, to the birth of puppies with green fur; however, the green colour fades out soon after birth. In the garfish ("Belone belone") and related species, the bones are bright green because of biliverdin.  Biliverdin is also present in the green blood, muscles, bones, and mucosal lining of skinks of the genus Prasinohaema, found in New Guinea. It is uncertain whether this presence of biliverdin is an ecological or physiological adaptation of any kind. It has been suggested that accumulation of biliverdin might deter harmful infection by Plasmodium malaria parasites, although no statistically significant correlation has been established. The Cambodian frog, "Chiromantis samkosensis", also exhibits this characteristic along with turquoise bones.

In fluorescence imaging.

In a complex with reengineered bacterial phytochrome, biliverdin has been employed as an IR-emitting chromophore for in vivo imaging. In contrast to fluorescent proteins which form their chromophore through posttranslational modifications of the polypeptide chain, phytochromes bind an external ligand (in this case, biliverdin), and successful imaging of the first bacteriophytochrome-based probe required addition of the exogenous biliverdin. Recent studies demonstrated that bacteriophytochrome-based fluorescent proteins with high affinity to biliverdin can be imaged in vivo utilizing endogenous ligand only and, thus, with the same ease as the conventional fluorescent proteins. Advent of the second and further generations of the biliverdin-binding bacteriophytochrome-based probes should broaden the possibilities for the non-invasive in vivo imaging.  A new class of fluorescent protein was evolved from a cyanobacterial ("Trichodesmium erythraeum") phycobiliprotein, α-allophycocyanin, and named small ultra red fluorescent protein (smURFP) in 2016. smURFP autocatalytically self-incorporates the chromophore biliverdin without the need of an external protein, known as a lyase. Jellyfish- and coral-derived fluorescent proteins require oxygen and produce a stoichiometric amount of hydrogen peroxide upon chromophore formation. smURFP does not require oxygen or produce hydrogen peroxide and uses the chromophore biliverdin. smURFP has a large extinction coefficient (180,000 M cm) and has a modest quantum yield (0.20), which makes it comparable biophysical brightness to eGFP and ~2-fold brighter than most red or far-red fluorescent proteins derived from coral. smURFP spectral properties are similar to the organic dye Cy5.

Biliverdin is a green tetrapyrrolic bile pigment, and is a product of heme catabolism. It is the pigment responsible for a greenish color sometimes seen in bruises.

Das Biliverdin (lat. "bilis" „Galle“, "viridis" „grün“) ist ein grünes Abbauprodukt des roten Blutfarbstoffes Hämoglobin, genauer gesagt das des Hämatoporphyrins, welches zusammen mit Eisen den Häm-Anteil bildet. Es ist Teil des Häm-Katabolismus und Vorstufe des Bilirubins. Der Stoff ist verantwortlich für eine Reihe von Grünfärbungen im Organismus, bis hin zu grünem Blut bei einigen Tierarten.


Life.

Sun Ben was the elder son of Sun Qiang, the elder brother of Sun Jian. Sun Qiang died early, and so his sons were taken in by their uncle. Sun Ben followed his uncle in battle after Sun Jian's return from Luoyang, and led a unit during Sun Jian's attack on Liu Biao. When Sun Jian died, Sun Ben, being older than Sun Ce, gathered many of the soldiers and generals and went to Yuan Shu, who had been Sun Jian's overlord.  Sun Ben served under Yuan Shu for a time, along with Sun Jian's brother-in-law, Wu Jing (the brother of Sun Jian's wife Lady Wu). He served as Inspector of Yu Province, but the position was mostly nominal, for he was still young. He met Zhou Yu, and joined him to aid Wu Jing, who was under attack from Liu Yao. Sun Ce soon arrived as well, and both Zhou Yu and Sun Ben joined his army. Wu Jing was saved, and Sun Ben was reunited with his family under Yuan Shu.  As a reward for his duties, Sun Ben was made Grand Administrator of Yuzhang Commandery, while Sun Fu was sent to Luling Commandery. When Yuan Shu went out to battle Liu Bei, Sun Ben was assigned to defend Shouchun. When Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, Sun Ben, Wu Jing, Zhou Yu and Lu Su all abandoned him and joined Sun Ce. Sun Ben's wife and children, however, were detained in the city and were unable to join him until later.  In 197, Sun Ce and Lü Bu allied with each other to defeat Yuan Shu. Sun Ben and Sun Fu led the attack against Liu Xun, easily scoring a victory.  In 200, Sun Ce died, and both Sun Ben and Sun Fu were uneasy about the young Sun Quan being his heir, both being his elder. The two were stationed in Yuzhang when Cao Cao began his advance southward. Sun Fu wrote a letter intending to surrender to Cao Cao, but he was stripped of all rank, and his advisors were executed. Sun Ben also was contemplating surrender, but it is said that Zhu Zhi dissuaded him, and he served at the Battle of Red Cliffs. A few months after, however, Sun Ben died of illness. His son, Sun Lin, succeeded him.  At the time of his death, it is said that an edict was in Sun Ben's possession – an edict delivered from the capital offering him a high rank under Cao Cao. It is possible that Sun Ben died of distress.

Sun Ben ( 190s–200s), courtesy name Boyang, was a cousin of Sun Quan, a Chinese warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and later became the founding emperor of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period. He was the eldest son of Sun Qiang, the elder brother of Sun Quan's father Sun Jian. He first served Sun Jian in the campaign against Dong Zhuo. After Sun Jian's death, he took control of the army and went to serve Yuan Shu. He would soon rejoin Sun Ce (Sun Jian's eldest son and successor). He died of illness after the Battle of Red Cliffs. He was succeeded by his son Sun Lin (孫鄰).

Sun Ben (), Großjährigkeitsname Boyang (; * 172; † 208), war ein General unter Sun Jian und dessen Nachfolgern zur Zeit der Drei Reiche im alten China.


Biography.

Karmarkar received his B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 1978, M.S. from the California Institute of Technology in 1979, and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1983 under the supervision of Richard M. Karp. Karmarkar was a post-doctoral research fellow at IBM research(1983), Member of Technical Staff and fellow at Mathematical Sciences Research Center, AT&T Bell Laboratories(1983-1998), professor of mathematics at M.I.T.(1991), at Institute for Advanced study, Princeton(1996), and Homi Bhabha Chair Professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai from 1998 to 2005. Karmarkar was funded by Ratan Tata to create Computational Research labs in Pune. He created a team of 50 plus Phd researchers for this team. He was the scientific advisor to the chairman of the TATA group(2006-2007). He is currently working on a new architecture for supercomputing.

Work.

Karmarkar's algorithm.

Karmarkar's algorithm solves linear programming problems in polynomial time. These problems are represented by a number of linear constraints involving a number of variables. The previous method of solving these problems consisted of considering the problem as a high dimensional solid with vertices, where the solution was approached by traversing from vertex to vertex. Karmarkar's novel method approaches the solution by cutting through the above solid in its traversal. Consequently, complex optimization problems are solved much faster using the Karmarkar algorithm. A practical example of this efficiency is the solution to a complex problem in communications network optimization where the solution time was reduced from weeks to days. His algorithm thus enables faster business and policy decisions. Karmarkar's algorithm has stimulated the development of several interior point methods, some of which are used in current implementations of linear program solvers.

Galois geometry.

After working on the Interior Point Method, Karmarkar worked on a new architecture for supercomputing, based on concepts from finite geometry, especially projective geometry over finite fields.

Current investigations.

Currently, he is synthesizing these concepts with some new ideas he calls "sculpturing free space" (a non-linear analogue of what has popularly been described as "folding the perfect corner"). This approach allows him to extend this work to the physical design of machines. He is now publishing updates on his recent work, including an extended abstract. This new paradigm was presented at IVNC, Poland on 16 July 2008, and at MIT on 25 July 2008. Some of his recent work is published at ieeexplore. He delivered a lecture on his on going work at IIT Bombay in September 2013. He gave a four-part series of lectures at FOCM 2014 (Foundations of Computational Mathematics) titled "Towards a Broader View of Theory of Computing". First part of this lecture series is available at Cornell archive.

External links.

Narendra Krishna Karmarkar (born 1955) is an Indian mathematician. Karmarkar developed Karmarkar's algorithm. He is listed as an ISI highly cited researcher.

Narendra B. Karmarkar (* 1957) ist ein indischer Mathematiker. Sein wichtigster Beitrag war die Entwicklung eines polynomiellen Algorithmus zur Lösung linearer Programme im Jahre 1984.


Career.

The band had five Top 40 singles from two albums in the UK. Their biggest commercial success came with the singles "I Say Nothing", "Don't Call Me Baby", "Monsters and Angels" and "I Think I Love You", taken from albums "Let It Bee" and "Honey Lingers". "Sex & Misery", a third album, was released in 1996; by this point sisters Tracey and Melissa were the sole group members. The band reformed in 2003 to play a two-week UK tour.  The members of Voice of the Beehive have gone their separate ways. Tracey Bryn is a teacher in Laguna Beach, California. Melissa Belland runs her own company Made in Heaven, also in Laguna Beach. Martin Brett runs Brett Dempsey Music Productions in London and joined I, Ludicrous on bass guitar in 2008. In 2011, he released his first solo single "Lover's Lane" under his original punk name Brett Martini. He also trained to become a facial hair specialist for film, theatre, and television in 2010. Daniel "Woody" Woodgate still plays drums, together with Mark Bedford on bass, in Madness. Mike Jones lives in Norwich, England and still plays guitar.  In October 2017, Bryn and Belland reformed with the original line-up to play a pair of concert dates in London, including the '80s/'90s revival show Indie Daze 4.

Discography.

Other appearances.

Voice of the Beehive provided harmonies on Bill Drummond's album, "The Man" (1986).  An early version of "Beat of Love" was featured on the London Records compilation "Giant" (1987).  Melissa and Tracey contributed a cover of "Three Feet High and Rising" to the Johnny Cash tribute album "Til Things Are Brighter" (1988).  In 1993, Voice of the Beehive contributed a cover version of "Gimme Shelter" with Jimmy Somerville to an EP released to raise funds for the Putting Our House in Order homeless initiative. The single, which contained different duet versions of the song on each format, peaked at No. 23 in the UK, and No. 214 in Australia.

Voice of the Beehive was an Anglo-American alternative pop rock band formed in London in 1986 by Californian sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke Belland, daughters of The Four Preps singer Bruce Belland. They teamed with British musicians Mike Jones, Martin Brett, Mark Bedford and Daniel Woodgate, the latter two of which were former members of Madness. Bedford left after making formative contributions to the band and did not feature again, while Woodgate stayed for most of the band's main period of activity. The band took their name from the Greek meaning of the name Melissa, meaning honey bee.

Voice of the Beehive sind eine britisch-amerikanische Popband, die 1987 in London von den US-amerikanischen Schwestern Tracey Bryn und Melissa Brooke Belland gegründet wurde.


Architecture.

The concept of the enterprise service bus is analogous to the bus concept found in computer hardware architecture combined with the modular and concurrent design of high-performance computer operating systems. The motivation for the development of the architecture was to find a standard, structured, and general purpose concept for describing implementation of loosely coupled software components (called services) that are expected to be independently deployed, running, heterogeneous, and disparate within a network. ESB is also a common implementation pattern for service-oriented architecture, including the intrinsically adopted network design of the World Wide Web.  No global standards exist for enterprise service bus concepts or implementations. Most providers of message-oriented middleware have adopted the enterprise service bus concept as "de facto" standard for a service-oriented architecture. The implementations of ESB use event-driven and standards-based message-oriented middleware in combination with message queues as technology frameworks. However, some software manufacturers relabel existing middleware and communication solutions as ESB without adopting the crucial aspect of a bus concept.

Functions.

An ESB applies the design concept of modern operating systems to independent services running within networks of disparate and independent computers. Like concurrent operating systems, an ESB provides commodity services in addition to adoption, translation and routing of client requests to appropriate answering services.  The primary duties of an ESB are:

History.

The first published usage of the term "enterprise service bus" is attributed to Roy W. Schulte from the Gartner Group 2002 and the book "The Enterprise Service Bus" by David Chappell. Schulte asserted that: "The most direct ancestor to the ESB was Candle’s Roma product from 1998" whose chief Architect and patent application holder was Gary Aven.

ESB as software.

The ESB is implemented in software that operates between the business applications, and enables communication among them. Ideally, the ESB should be able to replace all direct contact with the applications on the bus, so that all communication takes place via the ESB. To achieve this objective, the ESB must encapsulate the functionality offered by its component applications in a meaningful way. This typically occurs through the use of an enterprise message model. The message model defines a standard set of messages that the ESB transmits and receives. When the ESB receives a message, it routes the message to the appropriate application. Often, because that application evolved without the same message model, the ESB has to transform the message into a format that the application can interpret. A software adapter fulfills the task of effecting these transformations, analogously to a physical adapter.  ESBs rely on accurately constructing the enterprise message model and properly designing the functionality offered by applications. If the message model does not completely encapsulate the application functionality, then other applications that desire that functionality may have to bypass the bus, and invoke the mismatched applications directly. Doing so violates the principles of the ESB model, and negates many of the advantages of using this architecture.  The beauty of the ESB lies in its platform-agnostic nature and the ability to integrate with anything at any condition. It is important that Application Lifecycle Management vendors truly apply all the ESB capabilities in their integration products while adopting SOA. Therefore, the challenges and opportunities for EAI vendors are to provide an integration solution that is low-cost, easily configurable, intuitive, user-friendly, and open to any tools customers choose.

Characteristics.

1 "Some do not regard process choreography as an ESB function. For example, see M.Richards.  2 "While process choreography supports implementation of complex business processes that require coordination of multiple business services (usually using BPEL), service orchestration enables coordination of multiple implementation services (most suitably exposed as an aggregate service) to serve individual requests."  These solutions often focus on low-level ESB functions, such as connectivity, routing and transformation, and require coding or scripting to implement orchestration. Developers operating at a project or tactical level, e.g., just trying to fix a problem, often gravitate toward lightweight service bus technologies, but there is often ongoing tension between these initiatives and an enterprise architecture whose goal it is to optimize infrastructure across multiple projects.  If the message broker, the ESB software, translates a message from one format to another, then as with any translation, there is the issue of semantics of the message. For example, a record can be translated from JSON to XML, but the same set of fields can be interpreted differently by different applications, specifically in the case of the various corner cases that are usually known only to developers that have extensive experience with the application that is connected to the ESB. For the known corner cases the number of tests that cover all corner cases increases exponentially with every application that is connected to the ESB, because every ESB-connected application must be tested against every other application that is connected to the ESB.

Products.

Notable products include:

An enterprise service bus (ESB) implements a communication system between mutually interacting software applications in a service-oriented architecture (SOA). It represents a software architecture for distributed computing, and is a special variant of the more general client-server model, wherein any application may behave as server or client. ESB promotes agility and flexibility with regard to high-level protocol communication between applications. Its primary use is in enterprise application integration (EAI) of heterogeneous and complex service landscapes.

Mit Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) bezeichnet man in der Informationstechnik (IT) eine Netzwerkarchitektur, die die Integration verteilter Dienste () in der Anwendungslandschaft eines Unternehmens (engl. ) unterstützt.


Biography.

He made his professional debut with La U on 13 May 1986 in Bolivia against Club Bolívar. Carranza would remain with the club during his 18 years as a professional footballer. Several times during his career he rejected offers from teams in Argentina, Ecuador, and Spain among others who wanted to contract his services. He always preferred to stay loyal to his favorite team, and became a symbol of the club. His kit number 22 has been retired by the club.  Carranza helped win the national championships in: 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999 and 2000 Torneo Descentralizado. Furthermore, he is the player who played the most "clasicos" or games against the traditional rival of Universitario's, Alianza Lima.  He got another 4 metropolitan titles and participated in 10 Copa Libertadores. With over 51 games in this competition, Carranza surpassed Hector Chumpitaz (another Universitario symbol) in number of games played in the prestigious competition. In addition, Carranza participated in 3 Copa América and 3 World Cup qualification tournaments. He obtained 55 international caps for Peru national football team, when he scored one goal. He made his debut on 21 September 1988 in a friendly against Paraguay (0-1), and played his last international match for Peru on 16 November 1997 in a World Cup Qualifier against Paraguay (1-0).  His last encounter as professional was played on 26 December 2004, where he scored one goal. His testimonial match was on 6 April 2005, in a game attended by renowned South American players. After retiring, he opened a youth football academy, ran a popular cebicheria (sea food restaurant) and studied to be a coach. He ran for mayor of Comas and was known by promising: “Me, water and sewerage” and “a fubo’ team”, but lost.

External links.

<br

José Luis Carranza Vivanco, nicknamed "El Puma" (born 8 January 1964 in Rimac, Lima) is a Peruvian retired football midfield player from Peru who played his entire club career for Universitario de Deportes. Carranza also played for the Peru national football team, making 55 appearances from 1988 to 1997. He is not to be confused with José "Caté" Carranza, also a Peruvian international football player.

José-Luis „Puma“ Carranza (* 8. Januar 1964 in Lima) ist ein ehemaliger peruanischer Fußballer, Verteidiger bei „Universitario“ und in der peruanischen Auswahl.


Early life.

Samuel Morton Peto, normally called Morton Peto, was born on 4 August 1809, in Woking, Surrey. As a youth, he was apprenticed as a bricklayer to his uncle Henry Peto, who ran a building firm in London.

Career.

When his uncle died in 1830, Peto and his older cousin, Thomas Grissell (who had been a partner to his uncle for five years), went into partnership. The firm of Grissell and Peto (1830–1847) built many well-known buildings in London, including the Reform Club, the Oxford & Cambridge Club, the Lyceum, St James's Theatre and Hungerford Market at Charing Cross. In addition, they built Nelson's Column and the new Houses of Parliament (1843) and the vast infrastructure project of the London brick sewer.  Another project, in 1848, was the Bloomsbury Baptist Chapel, the first Baptist church with spires in London. Tradition has it that the Crown Commissioner was reluctant to lease the land to nonconformists because of their "dull, spire-less architecture". Peto is said to have exclaimed, "A spire, my Lord? We shall have two!" The church had twin spires until 1951, when they were removed as unsafe.

Railway works.

In 1834 Peto saw the potential of the newly developing railways and dissolved the connection with his uncle's building firm. He and his cousin Grissell founded a business as an independent railway contractor. His firm's first railway work was to build two stations in Curzon Street, Birmingham. Next the firm built its first line of track, the Hanwell and Langley section of the Great Western Railway, which included the Wharncliffe Viaduct.  Grissell became increasingly nervous of the risks taken by Peto, and in 1846 dissolved the partnership.

Peto and Betts.

In 1848 Peto and Edward Betts (who had married Peto's sister Ann) entered into a formal partnership and together they were to work on a large number of railway contracts. Frequently, they also working in partnership with Thomas Brassey.  In 1854 during the Crimean War Peto, Betts and Brassey constructed the Grand Crimean Central Railway between Balaklava and Sevastopol to transport supplies to the troops at the front line.  In February 1855 the British government recognised Peto for his wartime services; he was made Baronet of Somerleyton Hall in the County of Suffolk. King Frederick VII of Denmark honoured Peto for establishing the Flensburg–Husum–Tönning Railway Company and its construction of railways in the Duchy of Schleswig, which led to a growing export/import trade with the port of Lowestoft. Another project abroad was the Homburg Railway built from 1859 to 1860.  The Peto and Betts partnership became insolvent in 1866 due to a combination of the failure of the bank, Overend, Gurney and Company, and their involvement in the failure of the London Chatham and Dover Railway.

Other activities.

In 1844, Peto bought Somerleyton Hall in Suffolk. He rebuilt the hall with contemporary amenities, as well as constructing a school and more houses in the village. He next built similar projects in Lowestoft. For many years he was the largest employer of labour in the entire world.  In 1846, Peto became co-treasurer of the Baptist Missionary Society. From 1855 to March 1867, he was sole treasurer, resigning after personal financial difficulties.  Peto served for two decades as a Member of Parliament. He was elected a Liberal Member for Norwich in 1847 to 1854, for Finsbury from 1859 to 1865, and for Bristol from 1865 to 1868. During this time he was one of the most prominent figures in public life. He helped to make a guarantee towards the financing of The Great Exhibition of 1851, backing Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace.  In 1855 Peto was made a baronet; but in the 1860s his businesses ran into trouble, so that in 1863 he sold Somerlyton Hall and in 1866 became bankrupt.  After his involvement with the insolvency of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1866, and the failure of the Peto and Betts partnership, Peto's personal reputation as a trustworthy businessman was badly damaged and never fully recovered.  In 1865 he is listed as living at Auchline House at Killin in Perthshire.  In 1868, he had to give up his seat in Parliament, despite having the support of both Benjamin Disraeli and William Ewart Gladstone. He exiled himself to Budapest and tried to promote railways in Russia and Hungary.  When he returned he became the main contractor for the Cornwall Minerals Railway which opened in 1874, but the failure of the related Cornish Consolidated Iron Mines Corporation meant that he sustained heavy losses when iron ore traffic on the CMR failed to live up to expectations. The CMR itself survived and began to recover after it had introduced passenger services in 1876 and was then leased by the Great Western Railway in 1877, but this improvement came too late for Peto.  He died in obscurity in 1889.

Legacy.

An extremely unfavourable portrait of Peto is included in the appendix to George Borrow's "Romany Rye", where he is described as "Mr. Flamson". When Peto promoted the Lowestoft Railway and Harbour Company in the 1840s, the railway split Borrow's estate at Oulton Broad, just outside Lowestoft. Borrow deeply resented this and bore a grudge against Peto thereafter.  Peto is commemorated by a portrait bust at Norwich railway station by John Pooler. Morton Peto Road, a road in Great Yarmouth, was named after him.  In Ashford, Kent, Samuel Peto Way is a residential road built upon the old Newtown Railway Works site and was named in his honour.  A portrait of Peto hangs outside the library at Regent's Park College, Oxford, in commemoration of his assistance with the college's move from Stepney to Regent's Park.

Family.

In May 1831 Peto married Mary Grissell, one of the sisters of his later partner, Thomas Grissell. They had four children before Mary's death in 1842:  Peto then married Sarah Ainsworth Kelsall, the daughter of Henry Kelsall of Rochdale. Peto and Sarah had many children. Of these:

Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet (4 August 1809 – 13 November 1889) was an English entrepreneur, civil engineer and railway developer, and, for more than 20 years, a Member of Parliament (MP). A partner in the firm of Grissell and Peto, he managed construction firms that built many major buildings and monuments in London, including The Reform Club, The Lyceum, Nelson's Column and the new Houses of Parliament; which made him a millionaire.

Sir Samuel Morton Peto (* 4. August 1809 in Woking, Surrey; † 13. November 1889 in Blackhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent) war ein englischer Eisenbahnbau-Unternehmer.


Home consoles.

Original console.

The Atari Flashback was released in 2004. The console resembled an Atari 7800 in appearance and came with a pair of controllers which resembled those of the Atari 7800, though they were slightly smaller. The system had twenty games built-in, all originally developed by Warner Communication's Atari Inc. and Atari Corp. for the 2600 and 7800 game systems. The games which originally required analog paddle controllers were made to work with the included joysticks.  It was designed by Atari veteran Curt Vendel, whose company Syzygy Co. (formerly Legacy Engineering Group) designs other home video game and video arcade products. Atari Inc. gave Syzygy Co. ten weeks to design the product, produce its games, and ready it for the 2004 Christmas holiday season. The Atari Flashback was based on "NES-on-a-chip" hardware, not resembling either of the Atari systems which the Flashback was supposed to represent (this was solved with the Flashback 2). As a result, the games it contained were ports and differed in varying degrees from the original games, and therefore the Flashback was unpopular with some purists.

Included games.

There was a selection of about 20 games on the original Flashback. One game, "Saboteur" (originally designed by Howard Scott Warshaw), was advertised as "unreleased"; though never part of the Atari lineup, it was sold at the Philly Classic 5 convention in 2004.

Atari Flashback 2.

The Atari Flashback 2, the successor to the original Atari Flashback console, was released in 2005. It has forty Atari 2600 games built in. A few of the included games are homebrews which were created by enthusiasts in recent years, and two of the games ("Pitfall!" and "River Raid") were originally published by Activision.  The appearance of the Atari Flashback 2 is reminiscent of the original Atari 2600 console from 1977. It is roughly two-thirds the size of the original and is much lighter in weight. The Flashback 2 console has five buttons (power, reset, left and right difficulty toggles, and select); on the back it has a color/black-and-white slider switch and two ports for the included joysticks. The joysticks bear very close similarity to the original Atari 2600 joysticks from 1977, and are compatible and interchangeable with them. The Flashback 2 does not come with paddle controllers, but original paddle controllers can be connected to it and used with its paddle-based games.  Curt Vendel and Legacy Engineering returned to develop the Flashback 2. Unlike the original Flashback console, the Flashback 2 contains a single-chip version of circuitry designed by Vendel; it is a reproduction of the TIA chip used in the original Atari VCS. As such, the Atari Flashback 2 runs games just as they ran on an original console. The Atari Flashback 2 project was codenamed "Michele", after Vendel's wife. Her name is printed on the motherboard.  Marty Goldberg, owner of the Electronic Entertainment Museum, was the technical writer for the packed-in manual and full design of the online manual. Because of changes in game content during the development and problems with the graphic design company keeping edit revisions straight, the manual which comes with the Flashback 2 has several errors in it including typos. For example, contrary to the manual there is no two-player mode in "Centipede", and there is no connected-ship gameplay in "Space Duel". Likewise in the description of "Save Mary" "Barnaby just blew up the nearby damn" appears.

Included games.

The available games are arranged into four categories selectable from an on-screen menu. Once a game is selected, the only way back to the menu is to use the power button to turn the console off and on again.  The games listed below as "hacks" used other games' code as a starting point and modified their gameplay or appearance. "Homebrews" were written from scratch by Atari fans in the 1990s and 2000s. "Unreleased prototypes" are games which were developed by Atari Inc. in the 1970s and 1980s but never sold to consumers; some of these games may have bugs or be incomplete. A few of the games listed are new and exclusive to the Flashback 2.

Paddle Games.

The console also includes two hidden titles which require the use of paddle controllers. The Flashback 2 does not come with paddle controllers, so these games cannot be played unless the user has an original set of Atari 2600 paddle controllers. To access the hidden paddle game menu, the user must press up on the joystick 1 time, pull down 9 times, push up 7 times, and pull down 2 times (this represents the year 1972, in which "Pong" first appeared). The code must be entered steadily and without pauses (enter it too quickly and it won't work).

Test screens.

Controller test screens can be accessed by holding down the select and reset buttons while pressing the power button to turn on the console. With the color/black-and-white switch set to 'color', the joystick test screen will appear; with it set to black-and-white, the paddle test screen will appear. These test screens allow a gamer to test controller inputs as well as the console's colors and sounds. On the paddle test screen, if joysticks are plugged in as opposed to paddle controllers, the game Off the Wall can be accessed and played by moving right with the left controller.

Revisions.

There have so far been three revisions of the Atari Flashback 2.  A few of the included games, such as "Lunar Lander", exhibit some flicker. This is due to limitations in the original Atari 2600 hardware, which the Flashback 2 reproduces accurately. Curt Vendel noted that the games exclusive to the Flashback 2 were programmed under a strict schedule, and later commissioned developers to tweak these games in order to reduce flickering. Some of these revisions were included with the Atari Flashback 2+, released in 2010 (see below).  Rev. D is the Atari Flashback Portable with support for all games with the exception of "Pitfall 2" and the Supercharger games. This new chip will also have built in LCD driver lines, and USB connectivity support and built in Flash RAM for games storage. No official word on when Atari Inc. will release this revision.

Adding a cartridge port.

While the original Atari 2600 consoles had a cartridge slot, the Atari Flashback 2 does not. However, a hobbyist can modify a Flashback 2 to use Atari 2600 cartridges, and can even install a switch across certain points of the motherboard so that the console can be set to play the forty built-in games again. Most titles work with this arrangement however some which make use of on-cart RAM are known to not work; this is especially true of homebrews which use more RAM than original production carts would have used. The motherboard is printed with several solder points and a guide to which contact points associate with which cartridge pinouts.

Sales.

In an interview with "The Escapist", Curt Vendel remarked, "Flashback 2 did exceptionally well. 860,000 sold in U.S./domestic."

Atari Flashback 2+.

In January 2010, Atari announced pre-orders for the Atari Flashback 2+, to be released on February 22, 2010. General Mills simultaneously announced a giveaway sweepstakes for the console, along with other Atari related merchandise, in conjunction with its Honey Nut Cheerios cereal.

Included games.

The bulk of the included games in the Atari Flashback 2+ are the same. However, "Pitfall!", "River Raid", "Wizard", "Caverns of Mars", and "Atari Climber" have been removed. In exchange, a sports section was added that included the games "Realsports Boxing", "Realsports Soccer", "Super Baseball", "Super Football", and "Double Dunk". A third 'hidden' game, "Circus Atari", was added to the 'hidden' menu that features the paddle-controller only games "Warlords" and "Super Breakout".

Console differences.

Aside from the games, the cosmetic differences between the FB2 and the newer FB2+ are that the latter console sports a plus (+) sign and larger text for "Classic Gaming Console". Also the 'fuji' Atari symbol on the original FB2 resembles the newer Hasbro-era fuji, whereas the FB2+ fuji resembles the original Atari fuji of the 1970s.

Atari Flashback 3.

In 2011, Atari licensed out Legacy Engineering's Flashback concept and name to AtGames for the "Flashback 3". The Flashback 3 includes 60 built-in Atari 2600 games, 2 joysticks, and a case design that is similar to the Flashback 2/2+ design, except for front-based joystick ports, no B/W switch, and a different curvature. Internally the Flashback 3 system uses emulation running on an ARM-based processor instead of Legacy's "2600-on-a-chip" and is not hackable to add a cartridge port for reading original Atari 2600 cartridges. However, not only do the original 2600 joysticks and paddles work on this system, future Atari Flashback units and revisions that were made by AtGames will have audio that is set to a lower pitch than normal.

Atari Flashback 4.

On November 13, 2012, the Atari Flashback 4 was released by AtGames. The console looks similar to its predecessor, the Flashback 3; however, the noticeable change is that the joystick controllers are wireless via infrared. The console increased its library to 75 games, 15 more than Flashback 3. The new additions are:  The game "Secret Quest" was replaced with the game "Black Jack".  On December 4, 2012, AtGames released the Atari Flashback 4: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. This included a set of replica Atari 2600 paddles, 5 collectible posters, and a copy of the original Atari joystick patent signed by Nolan Bushnell.  Some versions of the Flashback 4 include a 76th "bonus" game, "Millipede".  Atgames also developed a Walmart exclusive version with only 64 games and wired controllers which included "Space Invaders" called the Atari Flashback 64.

Atari Flashback 5.

The Atari Flashback 5 was released on October 1, 2014. Like the previous two releases, it was built by AtGames. It is the same as the Flashback 4 with the infrared wireless joysticks, but it adds 17 more games, increasing the total to 92 games. The new games are:  The game "Battlezone" was replaced with "Millipede." The Walmart exclusive is with wired controllers like the previous version.

Atari Flashback 6.

The Atari Flashback 6 was released on September 15, 2015. Like the previous three releases, it was built by AtGames. It is the same as the Flashback 5 with the infrared wireless joysticks, but it adds 8 more games, increasing the total to 100 games. The new games are:

Atari Flashback 7.

The Atari Flashback 7 was released on October 1, 2016. Like the previous four releases, it was built by AtGames. It is the same as the Flashback 6 with the infrared wireless joysticks, but it adds 1 more game - "Frogger -" (not the original 2600 version; instead, the version included with the Flashback is a replica of the original arcade game) increasing the total to 101 games.

Atari Flashback 7 Deluxe.

The Atari Flashback 7 Deluxe includes two wired paddle controllers in addition to the wireless joysticks.

Atari Flashback 8.

The Atari Flashback 8 was released in September 2017. Like the previous five releases, it was built by AtGames. It includes wired controllers once again while having 105 games. It contains the same games as the Atari Flashback 7 with the following changes:  New games:  Removed games:

Atari Flashback 8 Deluxe.

This edition includes 105 games and two wired joysticks. The Atari Flashback 8 Deluxe is identical to the Atari Flashback 8, except this version includes a set of paddle controllers in addition to the joysticks.

Atari Flashback 8 Gold.

While the Flashback 8 continues to composite video for connection to the television as with the previous models, the Flashback 8 Gold edition includes 720p HDMI video output. The Flashback 8 Gold includes 2.4 GHz wireless controllers instead of the infrared wireless controllers found in previous versions. The Gold also comes with the option to pause, save and rewind the system's games. A second Gold Edition with Activision branding has also been released, which includes 130 games, and is described further, in more detail, below.  The Atari Flashback 8 Gold includes 120 games. The new games are:

Atari Flashback 8 Gold Deluxe.

This edition also includes 120 games, but also includes 2 wired paddles in addition to two wireless joysticks.

Atari Flashback 8 Gold Activision Edition.

This edition includes 130 games with 2 wireless joysticks and HDMI, but does not include all the games of the other Flashback 8 Gold release. The new games are:  But does not include:

Atari Flashback 9.

The Atari Flashback 9 was announced on October 24, 2018. Like the previous six releases, it was built by AtGames. It includes two wired controllers and 110 games. Model number AR3050 includes 720p HDMI video output like the Flashback 8 Gold and runs the Stella emulator (version 3.9.3). It includes an SD slot like the Atari Flashback Portable for firmware updates, downloaded games, and saving and resuming game states. Another change is the replacement of the AC power adapter with a 5V/1A MicroUSB power adapter and cable. Optional wired paddle controllers, exclusively designed for use with the Atari Flashback 9 series, are not available yet.  A cheaper version was also released (Model numbers AR3220 and AR3230) that includes composite video output rather than HDMI and runs AtGames' custom emulator as on the previous Flashback 8. A MicroUSB cable is included but the user must provide a USB power adapter.

Atari Flashback 9 Gold.

This edition includes 120 games and, like the Flashback 8 Gold, replaces the two wired controllers with two 2.4 GHz wireless joystick controllers and includes 720p HDMI output. The new game additions are:  Excluded are:

Atari Flashback X.

The Atari Flashback X was released in 2019 and attempts to capitalize on the mini console trend, started by releases like the NES Classic Edition and Sega Genesis Mini, by being a near perfect physical replica of an Atari 2600 in miniature form. Like the previous releases, it was built by AtGames. The basic model release includes two wired controllers and 110 games. The deluxe model release includes an additional 10 bonus games. Neither model release can play downloaded games out of the box, but by following instructions available on the AtGames website each model release can be made to play downloaded games. By using a small Phillips head screwdriver to temporarily open up the mini console to gain access to an internal recovery button, one can use a USB flash drive and an OTG adapter to download an official firmware update for either model release off of the AtGames website. Once the official firmware update is installed additional firmware updates and downloaded games can then be accessed through the new Extension menu option via the use of a USB flash drive and an OTG adapter without having to open up the mini console again.

Handheld consoles.

Atari Flashback Portable.

The Atari Flashback Portable, released in November 2016, is a handheld system with 60 games built in and an SD slot for downloaded games. It has a 3.2" LCD, AV output port and mini USB charge port.  An earlier, proposed handheld version of the Flashback was created by Curt Vendel and Legacy Engineering Group. The initial mockup was demonstrated in early 2007 with a 2.5" TFT screen running approximately 15 hours on a set of three "AAA" batteries. Games are loaded into internal 2MB memory by use of a USB cable. The release date was projected as early 2008 with a retail price of approximately $40, Curt Vendel announced that the project was not going to be released by Atari and no further information was released.

Atari Flashback Portable (2017).

A second edition of Atari Flashback Portable was released in September 2017. Like the first Atari Flashback Portable, it was built by AtGames. It includes 70 games with the most notable additions to this edition being four Namco games which are "Dig Dug", "Galaxian", "Pac-Man", and "Xevious". The version of "Pac-Man" included is a homebrew port that is more faithful to the original arcade game and not the original Atari 2600 port of "Pac-Man" released in 1982. The games are:

Atari Flashback is the name of a series of dedicated home video game consoles designed, produced, published and marketed by Atari, Inc. from 2004 to 2011. Since 2011, the consoles have been designed, produced, published and marketed by AtGames under license from Atari. They are "plug and play" versions of the classic Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 consoles; rather than using ROM cartridges, the games are built-in.

2004 brachte Atari mit dem Atari Flashback eine stationäre Spielkonsole auf den Markt, welche sich am Atari 7800 und am Atari 2600 orientierte. Es handelt sich um eine Spielkonsole ohne Modulschacht, bei der 20 vorinstallierte Spiele auf einem internen Speicher vorhanden sind. Die Konsole sollte nochmals den Kultstatus einer Generation hervorrufen und die Veröffentlichung war ursprünglich nur für den asiatischen Markt geplant. Das Gerät kam neben Nordamerika auch nach Europa (hier nur für den französischen Markt) und letztlich auch in einer überarbeiteten Version nach Deutschland. Es ist die erste Konsole der Atari-Flashback-Serie.