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Filmmaker Ken Burns comes to Greenwood School
PUTNEY -- Ken Burns first visited the Greenwood School about 10 years ago after the school contacted the award-winning director and producer about its tradition of having its students recite the Gettysburg Address.
Burns, who is based in Walpole, N.H., is well known for his 10-hour PBS documentary on the Civil War and Greenwood invited Burns up to the Putney campus to watch its students recite President Abraham Lincoln's famous speech, which the President delivered on Nov. 19, 1863, four-and-a-half months after the Civil War ended.
Greenwood School is a small, private boarding and day school for boys in grades six through 12 with learning disabilities, and from that very first day, Burns said, he sensed that there was a bigger story to tell.
"From that first time I walked onto the campus I told myself that there was a film here," Burns said. "I fell in love with the kids, and with the process, and with everything they were doing at Greenwood. I finally decided it was time to do this."
Greenwood School students have been giving the Gettysburg Address since the school was founded in 1978, and for the boys it is a rite of passage.
For the students, who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities and learning differences including dyslexia, ADHD, and other language-based learning disabilities, memorizing the speech and then reciting it in front of a roomful of people turns out to be a transformative experience.
After thinking about the possibilities of filming on the Greenwood campus for a number of years Burns decided this year to document some of the students' work as they prepared for their speeches
Burns said there are connections between what President Lincoln was saying in his speech about the country after the Civil War and what the Greenwood boys are experiencing at this point in their lives.
The messages of perseverance and unity and of dedicating oneself to a greater struggle, Burns said, hold lessons for what the Greenwood students work through to be able to stand in front of an audience and speak.
And for Burns, the Greenwood film represents a change in the style of filmmaking on which he has built a career.
Burns has produced films by looking at big themes in the country such as the Civil War, baseball, jazz music, and prohibition, and then bringing in experts to remark on those stories.
The Greenwood film, which was done in the cinéma vérité method, put Florentine Films camera operators down on the ground with the Greenwood students and staff.
Burns said he is excited, at this point in his career, to take on a new project like this.
"It is inspiring to see how these boys struggle, and work through the challenges they have," Burns said. "No one on the staff who has seen the footage has come away unmoved."
Burns hopes to have the film finished by the end of 2013, and then hopes to take it around to film festivals in time for the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.
A Florentine Film crew embedded itself in the school for almost three months, following the students as they worked on their speeches and documenting their challenges, frustrations and victories as they mastered Lincoln's famous speech.
Greenwood School Headmaster Stewart Miller said the film crew wove itself into the day-to-day life on the campus, gaining the trust of the students and staff.
For some of the students it was not easy having a camera around as they were struggling through lessons, but Miller says the camera crew was able to develop relationships with the students, and eventually the students, and staff, became comfortable with the visitors.
Miller agreed with Burns that the recitations of the Gettysburg Address represent so much more than just memorizing words on a sheet of paper.
The students gave their speeches on Feb. 15 this year.
"Once you memorize a speech like this, you own it. It is in your heart and it remains a part of you forever," said Miller. "We have alum who come back years and years later who can still recite it and who say how important it has been in their lives."
Miller told the story of one Greenwood graduate who does public speaking as part of his job, and to this day he recites the Gettysburg Address to himself before getting up in front of an audience.
Every student is expected to give the speech at some point during their time at Greenwood.
Students arrive at Greenwood at different points in their school career, and for some it takes a few years to memorize the speech.
Others are able to do it their first year.
Miller says each student has his own challenges to get through, and those are the stories that Burns wanted to document when he decided to make the film.
"It is not an easy speech to memorize, and some of our students really have to dig deep and find the strength to pull it off," Miller said. "There is huge emotional value in doing something like this. It becomes a reference point in their lives."
And when each one does ultimately get up in front of that audience, Miller says, it represents a milestone in their Greenwood education.
"Our students have language-based learning issues and it takes a lot of courage for them to push through those fears and talk in front of 250 people," said Miller. "It helps them set a goal, and that helps in life when you can keep on a path and not waiver even when you think that you can't do it."
Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com, or 802-254-2311, ext. 279. You can follow him on Twitter @HowardReformer.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


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SANTA CLARA — In a plea that surely will fall on deaf ears, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh made an appeal Monday that the media focus on the players in Super Bowl XLVII and not on him and his brother John, who will be coaching from opposing sidelines.
Harbaugh made it pretty plain that he might not cooperate much on the brothers-do-battle angle, though he admitted it'll likely be the primary story when the 49ers and Baltimore Ravens arrive in New Orleans next week.
"Yes, that's definitely a possibility," he said at his weekly news conference. "But I can take a pass personally from that."
Does that mean he won't answer questions about his brother when the Super Bowl media frenzy begins?
"As few as possible, as few as possible," he said. "Make it about the game and the players playing in the game."
Across the country, John Harbaugh was considerably more expansive talking about his younger brother. But he agreed that reporters will be treading over old ground playing up the brother act.
"I guess it's pretty neat," John Harbaugh said. "But is it really going to be written about? It's not exactly like Churchill and Roosevelt or anything. Every story has been told. We're not that interesting. There's nothing more to learn."
Jim Harbaugh said he hadn't talked to John, even after the Ravens won the AFC Championship game against New England on Sunday, hours after the 49ers beat Atlanta for the NFC title.
"We haven't spoken … a couple of texts," he said. "I'd imagine it won't be much more. Pretty busy getting ready."
Jim Harbaugh called it both a blessing and a curse that the game already is being billed — as the Baltimore Sun called it in a banner headline Monday — "Sibling Revelry."
"A blessing because that is my brother's team," Harbaugh said. "Also, I played for the Ravens. Great respect for their organization. Worked with (general manager) Ozzie Newsome and (late owner) Art Modell. Know many of the Baltimore Ravens players and have great respect for them and their team. Happy for them. Happy for us that we've made it to this point."
And the flip side?
"The curse part would be the talk of two brothers (coaching) in the Super Bowl and what that takes away from the players that are in the game," he said. "Every moment you're talking about myself or John, that's less time the players are going to be talked about.
"I just feel like the saying that victory knows no orphans, or victory has a thousand fathers … I think it's true," he continued. "I just feel like the fighters are first, the ones that are playing the game. The players, they're the ones that have the most to do with it, and they're the ones we should be talking about."
Harbaugh took only a few questions about his brother. He was asked about a comment he made last year, before the Ravens hosted the 49ers in a regular season game, that he was half the coach his brother was.
"He's a great football coach, has a real grasp at all football phases — offensively, defensively and special teams," Jim Harbaugh said of John. "At least in two of those three phases he coordinates them and is as good as anyone in the league. I'm probably half the coach in terms of experience he has, with the half amount of wins and playoff wins. But it's not about us. I'm very proud of my brother and love him."
John Harbaugh, meanwhile, honed in on Jim's intense competitiveness.
"He will fight you for anything," he said. "Whether it was a game of cards growing up, whatever, he was going to find a way to win no matter what. That's what made him a great player, it's what made him a good student in college, it's what makes him the man he is.
"He's also really talented," John continued. "He's the guy in hockey who took the puck down the middle of the rink and everybody bounced off him and he scored goals. He got every rebound and scored every point. The gym teacher in fourth grade said he was too competitive and needed to ease off a little bit. My dad said no, he doesn't need to ease off. He needs to compete."
Then there's Jack and Jackie Harbaugh, parents of the two Super Bowl coaches. Perhaps setting the tone for the next two weeks, the 49ers coach was even less expansive talking about them.
"I think they'll be there," he said with a deadpan stare.
Har-Bowl or Har-Bored?
How the Harbaugh brothers feel about facing each other in the Super Bowl:
"Make it about the game and the players playing in the game."
— Jim Harbaugh
"Every story has been told. We're not that interesting. There's nothing more to learn."
— John Harbaugh
INSIDE: Jim Harbaugh makes it clear: "David Akers is our kicker."
Page 3
ONLINE: Follow the buildup to Super Bowl XLVII, including commentary, video, feature stories, photo galleries and live chats, at
www.mercurynews.com/49ers or by scanning the code with your smartphone.

subset: commoncrawl


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After a terror attack on Paris stunned the world, the European Central Bank has acknowledged political and cultural schisms are rising tensions throughout the European Union.
The comments came in an interview with Yves Mersch, Executive of the ECB, who spoke with Les Echos, a French newspaper, about political developments throughout the EU. Mersch acknowledged that the terror attack in Paris, which claimed 129 victims, were "atrocious attacks" that have shocked the ECB. "We express our solidarity, our compassion, and our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims," he said.
At the same time, Mersch was quick to acknowledge that the ECB sees the need for limits on national sovereignty when it comes to economic issues, which is the source of deep political and social tensions throughout the EU, particular in hotspots like Greece. We have asked Greece to adopt a large number of measures in a very short time. It appears that the Greek government is still finding it hard to implement the agreed programme," he said curtly.
Mersch also added that he believes the Greeks are to be trusted and that agreements between the ECB and Greece will hold, despite previous tensions between the country and multinational central bank. "The Ministers of Finance of the euro area are confident that the commitments made will be honoured; they are convinced that the necessary measures will be taken in order to release the pledged funds," he said.
When asked if the ECB had a view on Greece's politicians or Syriza, the political power that has largely fought against ECB-driven demands for austerity, Mersch simply stated, "The ECB does not take a political stance on the matter. It follows rules which are transparent and public."
Greece is not the only source of tension in Europe when it comes to divergences between monetary policies that benefit the EU and those that benefit certain countries over others. Portugal has increasingly been voting on distancing itself from the EU, both on concerns of higher migrant inflows and on pressures to keep monetary policies disinflationary. Mersch dismissed concerns about Portugal.
"At the ECB, we respect all existing governments, as long as they implement the commitments they have made on behalf of their countries. That applies to Portugal and to all the other euro area countries," he said.
Negative Rates, Quantitative Easing
Hinting at further loose monetary policies, despite an official stance against such a policy throughout most of 2014, Mersch optimistically said the ECB had several ways to stimulate growth that it could experiment with in 2016. "We have not exhausted our options. QE expects to continue until September 2016, at least. Our monetary policy is medium-term oriented. We are already taking stock of completed work and what remains. And we are making decisions for the future based on the marginal effectiveness of the options we have available to us," he said.
While not admitting an interest rate cut further below the zero lower bound was likely for the Eurozone, Mersch also acknowledged that QE is going to continue for a long time by necessity. "Given that a high number of securities have been purchased, if we stopped the programme overnight it would cause a cliff effect, that is, a sharp drop in liquidity," he said.


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You are accessing outdated information from an archived catalog, this content is for reference only.
For up-to-date content, please refer to the current catalog.
BSU Catalog Home | Graduate Computer Science Program | All-University Courses and Descriptions
NOTE: Please see your advisor regarding course sequencing and any expected preparation.
5280 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE STRUCTURES (3 credits) Uses historical perspectives and several modern high level languages to examine principles and paradigms supported by programming languages. Prerequisite: CS 5528.
5298 COMPILER CONSTRUCTION (3 credits) The theory, design, and construction of a compiler. Prerequisite: CS 5528.
5350 EVENT-DRIVEN PROGRAMMING IN A WINDOWS ENVIRONMENT (3 credits) Use of a language suitable for creating even-driven programs while focusing on methodology suitable for developing event handlers in windows-oriented programs.
5361 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING I (2 credits) A project-based course that focuses on software design issues. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
5362 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING II (2 credits) A project-based course that focuses on software implementation issues and uses a design document created in CS 5361. Prerequisite: CS 5361.
5390 SOCIAL, ETHICAL, AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN COMPUTING (3 credits) Features topics related to standards for computing professionals. Prerequisites: At least one 5000- or 6000-level CS course.
5507 FILE PROCESSING AND DATABASE SYSTEMS (3 credits) An examination and analysis of algorithms and file structures used by computer systems including sequential, direct (random) access, and keyed (indexed) files. Covers the creation, deletion, modification, and maintenance of files and their use in databases.
5528 DATA STRUCTURES AND ALGORITHMS (3 credits) Study of advanced abstract information storage structures, including priority queues, binary trees, generalized trees, and graphs. Study of algorithm development techniques, including divide and conquer, greedy algorithms, and dynamic programming. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
5560 DATA COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKS (3 credits) Principles of data communications as applied to modern computer networks.
5610 INTRODUCTION TO OPERATIONS RESEARCH (3 credits) A computer-oriented survey of linear programming, integer programming, dynamic programming, network analysis, queuing systems, inventory control, game theory, and discrete system simulation.
5627 THEORY OF COMPUTATION (3 credits) Explores the theoretic roots and limits of computing. Prerequisite: MATH 5210.
5718 COMPUTER GRAPHICS (3 credits) Fundamental concepts of computer graphics with emphasis on understanding underlying principles. Topics include line and curve drawing, windowing, clipping, shading, geometric transformations, and 3-dimensional viewing.
5840 OPERATING SYSTEMS (3 credits) Fundamentals of operating system design with emphasis on at least one modern operating system. Topics include scheduling, memory management, paging, file management, and mutual exclusion. Required work will include programming investigations. Prerequisite: CS 5528.
6240 COMPUTER ORGANIZATION AND ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE (3 credits) Examines the architecture of and assembly language for a microcomputer. Machine language coding, binary and hexadecimal arithmetic, microcomputer architecture, and an instruction set are covered.
6350 FILE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES (3 credits) An in-depth examination of files and file management. Sequential and random (direct) access files are discussed and implemented in a high level language. Prerequisite: CS 6240.
6420 CLASSROOM INTEGRATION OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE (3 credits) An investigation of the current research and literature dealing with the integration of software into the classroom curriculum. Includes software review and evaluation and provides hands-on experience using educational software.
6470 AUTHORING CAI SOFTWARE (3 credits) An introduction to authoring languages and the creation of CAI packages. Designed to be a project oriented course in which the student produces a CAI package. Prerequisite: CS 6420.
6800 CURRENT ISSUES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION (3 credits) Guided readings and a review of the current literature dealing with applications, implications, and problems of computer science education. Students will be expected to make class presentations and lead discussions concerning the readings. Prerequisite: CS 6420.


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This five-day course teaches experienced VMware vSphere® administrators how to use the powerful automation tools that all vSphere customers have access to. Using real-world use cases and examples, you will learn how to automate day-to-day administration tasks with VMware vSphere® PowerCLI and VMware vRealize® Orchestrator. During class, you will use these tools to automate tasks in a realistic lab environment.This five-day course teaches experienced VMware vSphere® administrators how to use the powerful automation tools that all vSphere customers have access to. Using real-world use cases and examples, you will learn how to automate day-to-day administration tasks with VMware vSphere® PowerCLI and VMware vRealize® Orchestrator. During class, you will use these tools to automate tasks in a realistic lab environment.
Intended Audience
Experienced vSphere administrators who want to use available tools to automate day-to-day tasks.
Completion of the following courses, or equivalent experience with vSphere deployments:
- vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage
By the end of the course, you should be able to meet the following objectives:
- Describe the features and benefits of automation in a vSphere environment
- Understand the role of the vSphere Web Services API in automation
- Use the Managed Object Browser (MOB) to view the structure of VMware vSphere® API and VMware vCenter Server® inventory
- Use vSphere PowerCLI to deploy and manage virtual machines and virtual infrastructure
- Run and manage library vRealize Orchestrator workflows
- Design, develop, and run custom reusable vRealize Orchestrator workflows
- Incorporate JavaScript into vRealize Orchestrator workflows
- Select the appropriate tool for automating day-to-day tasks in vCenter Server
Course Introduction
- Introductions and course logistics
- Course objectives
- Identify the tools available to vSphere administrators for automation
- Understand the benefits of automation
- Understand the function of black boxes in programming
- Identify the function of an API
- Recognize the components of the vSphere Web Services API
- Understand how the vSphere Web Services API is used by automation tools
- Understand object-oriented terminology relevant to the vSphere Web Services API
- Use the MOB to explore the vSphere object model and invoke methods
- Describe features of vSphere PowerCLI
- List common tasks to perform with vSphere PowerCLI
- Connect vSphere PowerCLI to vCenter Server and VMware ESXi hosts
- Define variables to use in vSphere PowerCLI
- Use basic vSphere PowerCLI cmdlets
- Describe features of the command pipeline
- Examine vSphere PowerCLI objects
- View vSphere PowerCLI object properties
- Invoke vSphere PowerCLI object methods
- Perform day-to-day management tasks with vSphere PowerCLI
- Examine View objects with the Get-View cmdlet
- Convert View objects to VIObjects
- Invoke vSphere Web Services API methods
- Use the Onyx tool to capture vSphere PowerCLI code
- Identify vRealize Orchestrator components
- Understand the function of plug-ins
- Add a vCenter Server instance to the vCenter Server plug-in
- List the components of a workflow
- Create a vCenter Server object with a library workflow
- Distinguish between workflow variable types
- Create a simple workflow
- Create workflow input and output parameters
- Set a workflow input parameter as an attribute
- Understand the role of binding in workflows
- Use a library workflow in a new workflow
- Use the setup wizard to perform parameter binding
- Identify and use common vRealize Orchestrator workflow elements
- Implement vRealize Orchestrator workflow nesting
- List methods for calling other workflows in vRealize Orchestrator workflows
- Identify the information required to develop a workflow
- Use the vRealize Orchestrator workflow scripting debugger
- Create basic decision loops in workflows
- Use a for-each loop in a workflow
- Understand how exceptions are handled in vRealize Orchestrator
- Use action elements in workflows
- Capture JavaScript with Onyx and use it in a workflow
- Create a workflow that deploys multiple virtual machines according to a customer specification
- Add Windows PowerShell hosts to the vCenter Server inventory
- Invoke scripts on Windows PowerShell hosts
- Create Windows PowerShell workflows
- Understand the architecture of virtual machine guest operations
- Identify the requirements for using guest operations
- Perform guest operations with vRealize Orchestrator and vSphere PowerCLI


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The World Series is truly my favorite week of the year. Having the World Series going on is an excuse that gets you out of anything, every year. No matter what plans I might be forced into, all I have to say is, "Hey, the World Series is on," and people understand. You know how Will gets about his baseball ... Series Schedule Game 1: Wednesday, October 22, 8 p.m. Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. Game 2: Thursday, October 23, 8 p.m. Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. Game 3: Saturday, October 25, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia. Game 4 : Sunday, October 26, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia. Game 5 (if necessary): Monday, October 27, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia. Game 6 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 29, 8 p.m. Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. Game 7 (if necessary): Thursday, October 30, 8 p.m, Philadelphia at Tampa Bay. SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RAYS-PHILLIES SERIES 1. Remember The Thunderdome! Back before the Cowbells, or even before the Devil Rays, Tropicana Field was born, alone, empty, abandoned straight out of the womb. St. Petersburg built the stadium — then known as the Florida Suncoast Dome — in 1990, in hopes of getting the White Sox to come to town. When that didn't work, they tried an expansion team; Miami and Denver got them instead. So, it was unused until 1993, when the NHL's Lightning played there. (That's when it was called the Thunderdome.) In the 1996 playoffs, more than 28,000 people saw the Lightning, which is more than the Rays' average any season other than 1998, their debut. In 2003, they averaged 13,158 fans, a number that's lower than the number of fans my Illini got for a end-of-December, with the students home for the holidays, loss to Tennessee State. (I know: I saw it.)
2. Aw, But For 1993. Even for those dopey mulleted Midwesterners out there who might have been turning 18 during the 1993 NLCS, the 1993 Phillies were instantly likable. (And no one even had any idea yet that Darren Daulton was hurtling through time and space!) Everybody had their favorite player; I'm sad to say that mine was, yes, John Kruk. Here's something I didn't realize about that NLCS, though; the Phillies won in six games but were completely outplayed. That somehow makes their win mean even more. Unfortunately, they lost the World Series to a team from Canada, and the World Series was so upset that it took the next year off.
3. Jamie ... She Used To Be My Girl. Not to harp on Jamie Moyer here — I think I've mentioned him in every Phillies preview — but, as Jonah Keri points out, Moyer's debut in the major leagues when Evan Longoria and David Price were less than a year old. Hopefully, Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford will take a wrong turn at Daulerio's apartment: The two lefthanded hitters have hammered Moyer throughout their careers. That Game 3 Moyer start reeks of big trouble; it would behoove the Phillies to get a split out of the Trop, at least.
4. Famous People! Every good World Series matchup breakdown needs to observe the time-honored tradition of comparing the two cities famous residents. And by "famous residents," I mean "people who got the hell out of town at the first opportunity." So, let's go to it! Tampa: Tony LaRussa, Nick Carter, Ray Charles, Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Philadelphia: Noam Chomsky, R. Crumb, Dick Clark, Bill Cosby, Richard Gere, M. Night Shyamalan, Bob Saget, Will Smith, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I think we have a clear winner.
5. Mayor Bets! Speaking of silly World Series traditions, the mayors of St. Petersburg and Philadelphia did one of their I'll give you this if your team wins, and you'll give me that if mine does things. If the Phillies win, St. Petersburg mayor Rick Baker gives up "coconut shrimp from Cha Cha Coconuts at The Pier, stone crab claws from Clearwater's Frenchy's restaurant, Cuban sandwiches from the world-famous historic Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, commemorative championship label Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Cortez Cigars from the J.C. NewmanCigar Company, and key lime pie from the Fourth Street Shrimp Store in St. Pete." If the Rays win, Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter gives up "Philadelphia cheesesteaks, delicious Tastykakes, Philly soft pretzels, mac-n-cheese from Delilah's Southern Cafe and a Rocky statue." So, look for the winning team's mayor to drop dead of a heart attack within a week of the Series' final game.
6. Let's Get A Good One This Time. Jayson Stark is right: We haven't had an awesome World Series in quite some time. I'd argue that this one was the best possible World Series (note the time on that post, by the way; I'd been up all night), but, you know, it would be fair to classify me as somewhat biased. Anyway, yeah: The last great one was in 2002, when the Rally Monkey killed Barry Bonds. This one has the feel of one that'll be far more fun.
7. For Crying Out Loud, It's The World Series! So what if you hate the Phillies? So what if you don't know anything about the Rays? It's the World Series, people! Woo-hoo!
PREDICTION It's going to seem strange to have a nail-biting, insane Game 7 of the World Series in a dome, but we're headed there. Rays in 7.


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Dub On Mars - PsyAmb 96
Hello. It's good to be back. After the birth of our second son it's fair to say that time has become a precious commodity in our house. Finding a spare few hours to get a mix together is challenging to say the least. As the new bub approaches his fifth month on earth things are beginning to settle down. So, somehow among all those nappy changes, late night battle cries and general play time I've cobbled together this mix of psychedelic dub for your listening pleasure.
In the mix I share some music that has been tickling my fancy over the last 12 months or so. There are lot of tasty treats on offer so be sure to follow up on the artists involved and show your support to these amazing musicians.
Cheers ...
Track - Artist
- 01. Tamino and the Temple of Dub (Desert Dwellers Remix) - Gaudi
- 02. Purple Flame - Seamoon
- 03. Neolithic Dwelling - Geoglyph
- 04. Sac Be At Night (Earth Growl & Martin Roldan Remix) - Tor.Ma in
- Dub
- 05. Om Beach (Youth remix) - Elfic Circle
- 06. Rerum Natura - Key-G
- 07. Orange Glory - Step High
- 08. Exquisitely Sensitive - Symbolico
- 09. AMB - Set In Stone
- 10. Vitamin - The Flying Mars
- 11. Destination Unknown - Tea Tree
- 12. Through The Night (Shankara Remix) - Beatfarmer
- 13. Crumple Beam (Original Mix) - Globular
- 14. Sympath (The Floasis Chill Mix) - Hibernation
Play Now :
Mixcloud :
Download :
>> Direct Download << Right click then select 'Save link as ... '


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10 Ways to Make Your Small Business Social Media Activities Rock
by Caron_Beesley, Community Moderator
Social media may have the lowest cost of entry of any marketing tool, but is not actually that easy to do well. In fact, a report by eMarketer found that small businesses are struggling to adopt social media, with only 24 percent of small firms having integrated social media in a structured way into their operations.
Knowing where to start is perhaps the number one obstacle holding many small business owners back. Knowing what to do when you get there is next.
So, whether you are new to social media or looking to go beyond using it in an ad hoc or informal way, here are 10 ways to make your small business social media activities rock.
1. Pick the Site(s) that Works for You
Social media sites are emerging on an almost weekly basis, and it's easy to become distracted or lost in the speed of change. So where should you focus your efforts?
Speaking at last year's National Small Business Week social media panel, Erica Ayotte, social media manager with Constant Contact, recommends businesses start with one channel to test and nurture it. Then try to diversify: "Spend a little time each week exploring new platforms and figure out if they might be for you." Speaking at the same event, GrowBizMedia's Rieva Lesonsky recommends that you "find out where your customers can be found, go there first, and then spread out from there… if you run a restaurant, yes, you probably should be on Twitter, but you should really be on Yelp first."
2. Share Interesting and Visual Content
This is one area that really does take time. What's interesting anyway?
Well, let's start with the basics. If you have any news to share, and by news I mean "newsworthy" (i.e. something that impacts your customers directly) then go ahead and share it – things like holiday opening times, new offices, menu updates, charity events, etc.
Then add another tier – share quality content. Something you do well that will help you stand out in a crowd – blogs, white papers, tips, or quick "how to" videos (host them on YouTube or Hulu). Then use social media to amplify it. Feel free to share content from others (without breaking copyright) if it is relevant to your fans. Don't be afraid to ask people what content they want you to share!
Another tier of content should focus on telling the big picture story of your business – showcase employees, community activities, or how customers are using your product or service. This is a great opportunity to be visual and stand-out in busy newsfeeds.
Remember, give it time. It takes time to figure out what works. For example, you might think about using polls and surveys to engage with followers, but if you are still growing your network, you might not get the right results – yet. So, keep trying new things until you find a sweet spot. And don't forget, just because people may not be interacting with you yet, that doesn't mean they aren't listening, so keep the faith!
3. Listen
Great content drives engagement and grows social communities, but equally important is the art of listening. Think of social media as a form of conversation – it's a two-way dialog. If you're not prepared to listen to what is being said to you, about you, or with you, then you simply aren't "being social." In addition to listening to your consumers, carve out time to listen to influencers in your business, to your competitors, and to those who can help you perfect your social media strategy
4. Have an Authentic Voice
Again, "be social!" Drop the corporate marketing speak; people like dealing with people. So don't be afraid to loosen up a little and when responding to problems or complaints; sign off with your first name.
5. Foster Fan-to-Fan Engagement
Some of the strongest social networking communities are based on supportive relationships and information sharing between fans. If you are posting interesting content, this will follow naturally as fans start to engage with others based on common interests. There are a few things you can do to encourage these relationships, many of them mentioned in this blog - listen to fans, chime in when you think you can add something, respond to comments, open the doors to shared experiences/needs, encourage fans to share photos and experiences and always communicate authentically (drop the corporate hat)
6. Don't Overly Automate
While there are some great free tools that can help you automate your posts, don't overly rely on these to get you through the day – it will show. Instead, set aside some time, 2-3 slots a day to post (note that the evening is a high volume time to post and get noticed), monitor and respond to fans.
7. Commit to Social Media
If you are truly going to succeed at social media, then you need to take it seriously and commit to it. For many small businesses, this means adopting a new paradigm. Don't treat social media as an aside to be taken advantage of when you want to get the word out about your latest offer. Commit to a content strategy. Ensure all levels of the organization are on-board and are involved in your social media strategy. Don't just assign daily responsibility for it to an office junior – this is the face of your business, after all, and it involves dialog with your customers (is a junior up to that?)
8. Treat Social Media as an Arm of Your Customer Service Operations
Social media is also an essential part of your customer service strategy. If you are on Facebook or Twitter, then you need to be prepared to monitor and respond to questions and complaints. These blogs offer more advice on this topic:
9. Don't Forget Your Other Marketing Channels
Social media may be free, but it only works as part of a wider, integrated marketing strategy. It should never replace your website (which is the hub of all your marketing activity and the home of your online content). Email is also still important. You have a captive audience there; your message is delivered to their inboxes and allows for a deeper conversation.
10. Measure
Don't forget to measure the impact of your social media efforts. Use third party apps or Facebook's Insights tool to monitor click-through rates. Compare these across posts to see if there's a trend as to the type of content that's popular. Measure engagement by tracking how many likes and shares your posts get (measured by Facebook as "reach"). Use this data to inform and adjust your content strategy.
Caron Beesley is a small business owner, a writer, and marketing communications consultant. Caron works with the SBA.gov team to promote essential government resources that help entrepreneurs and small business owners start-up, grow and succeed. Follow Caron on Twitter: @caronbeesley


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The elusive yet brilliant filmmaker Terrence Malick has been a busy man this year, working on two brand new features with all-star casts that include people like Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Cate Blanchett. However, while I was thrilled to hear that Malick is becoming so prolific as of late, we still hadn't heard anything about the director's "mysterious" romantic drama To the Wonder, which he shot in 2010. We knew that the film starred Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Olga Kurylenko and Javier Bardem, but next to nothing was known about the film's plot.
Good news was delivered late last month when it was announced that To the Wonder would be screening this fall at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, confirming that Malick has (hopefully) completed his lengthy post-production. The press notes for the Venice Film Festival, which is currently running, provide an incredibly detailed and eye-opening look at the plot for To the Wonder, along with some comments about the film from star Ben Affleck. Hit the jump to take a look.
Though some may be wary about spoilers in such a lengthy synopsis, keep in mind that a similar plot description surfaced for The Tree of Life and I don't think many felt "spoiled" when that film finally hit theaters; Malick's films aren't exactly the type that can be "spoiled" so I think spoilerphobes will be safe. This detailed synopsis apparently appears in the press notes at the Venice Film Festival, and we have the transcribed portion here courtesy of The Film Stage:
TO THE WONDER, written and directed by Terrence Malick, is a romantic drama centered on Neil, a man who is torn between two loves: Marina, the European woman who came to United States to be with him, and Jane, the old flame he reconnects with from his hometown. In TO THE WONDER, Malick explores how love and its many phases and seasons – passion, sympathy, obligation, sorrow, indecision – can transform, destroy, and reinvent lives.
As TO THE WONDER opens, Neil and Marina are together on the French island of Mont St. Michel – known in France as The Wonder of the Western World (Merveille de l'Occident) – and invigorated by feelings of being newly in love. Neil, an aspiring writer, has left the United States in search of a better life, leaving behind a string of unhappy affairs. Looking into Marina's eyes as the Abbey looms in the distance, Neil is certain he has finally found the one woman he can love with commitment. He makes a vow to be true to this woman alone.
Marina, quiet and beautiful, with flashes of a mischievous humor, is divorced and the mother of a 10-year-old daughter, Tatiana. At 16, Marina left the Ukraine for Paris without a cent to her name. There, she married a Frenchman who abandoned her after just two years, leaving her alone with Tatiana in a studio apartment. Marina was forced to work a variety of temporary jobs to make her way. Having nearly given up hope, Marina is overcome with joy to be in love with Neil, her salvation from an unhappy future.
Two years later, Neil and Marina are living in a small town in Oklahoma, close to where Neil grew up. Neil, having given up his hopes of becoming a writer, has taken a job as an environmental inspector. Neil is happy with his work, but his love for Marina cools as she, for her part, is frustrated by the holding pattern she feels she is in with Neil. She fears her youth – and happiness – are slipping away. In spite of her anxieties about Neil, Marina initially feels at home in Oklahoma, embraced by the open space and sky, and soothed by the sounds that come from the wind harp that animates breezes into songs.
Seeking advice, Marina turns to another exile in the community, a Catholic priest named Quintana. We learn that Father Quintana has come to grapple with his own dilemmas, as he harbors doubts about his vocation. He no longer feels the ardor he knew in the first days of his faith, and wonders if he ever will again.
Professional life throws Neil into conflict as well, when he discovers that a smelting operation in town is polluting the soil and water and threatening the health of future generations. His concerns fail to persuade his neighbors, who depend on the smelter for their livelihoods. Under pressure to keep quiet, Neil must once again weigh the consequences of his actions.
Neil's doubts about Marina intensify. This, coupled with the fact that Marina's visa is soon to expire, leads her to return to France with her daughter. In her absence, Neil reconnects with Jane, an old friend. As the two of them fall deeply in love, Neil finds this new relationship far less complicated. Yet when word comes to him that Marina has fallen on hard times and her daughter has gone to live with her father and refuses to have anything more to do with her, he finds himself gripped by a sense of responsibility for her wellbeing, and arranges for her return to the United States.
Neil's entanglements with the two women in his life, and Father Quintana's struggle with his faith, force them both to consider different kinds of love. Should the commitment they each made be undertaken as a duty, sometimes full of effort? Or should we accept that love often changes, and doesn't always last? Can sorrow bind lovers more tightly than joy?
How very Malickian, no? Apparently To the Wonder is even more loosely plotted than Tree of Life, and Affleck himself echoes these sentiments while talking about the film in another portion of the press notes:
"The film feels to me like more a memory of a life than a literal story in real time of someone's life, the way movies more commonly are. This pastiche of impressionistic moments, skipping across the character's life and moving in a nonlinear way, mirror, in my mind, the way one remembers one's life. It's a little hypnotic and you're a little bit in a daze — it's more fluid than real life is."
We recently learned that a number of actors who shot scenes for To the Wonder (including Rachel Weisz, Michael Sheen, and Barry Pepper) don't appear in the final cut, but this isn't exactly a surprise given Malick's penchant for crafting the film in the editing room. In fact, rumors have swirled that Ben Affleck's role in the film may have been severely minimalized a la Adrien Brody in The Thin Red Line. I'm not entirely convinced these rumors are true, but I wouldn't be shocked to find Affleck's screentime more akin to Sean Penn's in The Tree of Life.
Malick shot most of To the Wonder in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and the rest of the press notes speak of Malick's fondness for the location choice. Head on over to The Film Stage for the full rundown, which includes the director's heavy use of classical music in place of the film's score. To the Wonder premieres at the Venice Film Festival and will also screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, so we should have our first reactions fairly soon.


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The Iraqi reporter who threw a shoe at former President Bush last year has been released from a Baghdad prison, where he says he was tortured.
Muntadar al-Zaidi, who served nine months in jail after firing footwear at Bush in a cultural show of disdain last December, demanded an apology and said he plans to name the "senior officials" who he claims tortured him while he was held.
The shoe toss, which came at a joint press conference between Bush and Iraq'i Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, made al-Zaidi a hero for many Arabs, but some Iraqis were offended at a gesture they consider unforgivably rude.
"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," al-Zaidi shouted at Bush, who ducked the shoe. "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
U.S. & World
Al-Zaidi was convicted of assaulting a foreign leader and initially sentenced to three years in jail. The term was reduced to 12 months on appeal and al-Zaidi was released three months early for good behavior.
After his release on Tuesday, al-Zaidi said he had suffered beatings, whippings, electric shocks and simulated drowning at the hands of officials and guards.
After the incident, Bush brushed it off, calling it "amusing," and "one of the weirdest" things he'd seen in his two terms as president.
Get more: MSNBC, BBC


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It's Good To Be Bad
Small but powerful! Don't let this exquisite brunette's petite frame fool you, Zuleidy will make a meal of you in the blink of eye. You just have to watch her posing, waiting for something to happen, something to make her heart and her fabulous tits quiver. The sight of her gripping a headboard is priceless.


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I am completely humbled at the amazing outpouring of support for High Gloss, the new style magazine that I announced yesterday. I'm sure my sudden and frequent trips to California must make a little more sense now! In all seriousness, it means so much to me to have the support of my readers and the blog community in this new endeavor. Yesterday was so incredible. I received so many kind comments and encouraging emails and I know that my fabulous team did, too. We are all so touched and are so grateful that some people are looking forward to reading High Gloss as much as we are looking forward to sharing it with you.
As if announcing a new style magazine wasn't enough excitement for one week, today is my birthday! I would love nothing more for my birthday than a little help from my friends. Please help us to spread the word about High Gloss by liking us on Facebook, tweeting about the magazine, or blogging about our exciting new endeavor. We have quite an exciting line-up in store and really hope to thrill you in January when our first issue premieres!
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your readership, friendship, and support.
Every Good Wish,


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Sotheby's London Contemporary Art Evening auction on 10 February2016 will be led by one of only a handful of truly spectacular examples of Gerhard Richter's Abstrakte Bilderremaining in private hands–a monumental canvas from 1990, previously held in the private collection of the artist. Painted in 1990,
Abstraktes Bild (725-4)remained in the artist's private collection, away from the public eye, until 1996 when it was unveiled atan exhibition of his personal paintings atthe Carre d'Art in Nimes: "Gerhard Richter: 100 Pictures". The work has not been exhibited publically since.Acquired by the current owner via Marian Goodman and Anthony d'Offay in 1996, Abstraktes Bildwill now be offered at auction for the very first time, with an estimate of £14-20 million (US$
On 10 February, Sotheby's London will offer for sale a painting that not only marks a pivotal moment in the career of Lucian Freud, but that also shines a spotlight on a fascinating but little-‐known moment in the artist's life. While much has been written about many of Freud's amorous liaisons, barely anything is known about his intense, and ultimately transformative, relationship with Bernadine Coverley. The two met when she was just 16, and he was already an established artist, 20 years her senior. Although their time together was relatively brief, it was to prove critical -‐marking both the beginnings of a life-‐long bond and, for Freud, a new approach to painting.
Pregnant Girl embodies this new approach. Estimated £7-‐10m, the painting will be a highlight of Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on 10 February 2016.Media
Oliver Barker, Sotheby'sSenior International Specialist, Contemporary Art: "This astonishingly beautiful painting embodies the profound bond between Lucian and the mother of his two daughters. There is arguably no other portrait by Freud that is more gripping,more tender,and more laden with such emotional depth."
In Pregnant Girl we see Freud paint his lover reclining on the green sofain the long and narrow room in his studio in Delamere Terrace, West London. The sleeping 17-‐year old -‐head titled to one side, eyes shut, dreaming-‐does not confront the viewer, or the artist; rather we confront her at an intensely private moment. In creating a modern 'Madonna and Child' or 'Sleeping Venus', Freud echoes the greats of art history, to deliver a breathtaking image of beauty, desire, femininity and fertility.
Coverley, whose Irish Catholic parents ran the Black Horse pub in Brixton, was sent to a convent boarding school at the age of four. Feeling trapped and despondent under the strict governance of the convent, she twice tried to run away. By her teens, she craved the liberation and excitement of bohemian Soho –an intoxicating underground world of artists, musicians and writers. It was here, in a Soho pub in 1959, where Coverley first met Freud, who was captivated by her natural beauty and free spirit. Much has been written about Freud's famously numerous partners -‐when he first met Coverley, he had already been twice married and had fathered a number of children–but little is known about their relationship.
Pregnant Girl opens a window onto the most meaningful moment in the lives of both lovers, embodying thesingular tenderness he felt for Bernadine,soon to be the mother of his daughters Bella and Esther. "It must have been a very happy time in her life, being pregnant with the man she loved and him wanting her to be there and paint her", says their daughter Bella, "I think he was undoubtedly the love of her life."
After separating from Freud, Coverley left England (and its conservative views on unmarried mothers) with her wo small daughters to start a new life in Morocco. The story of their bohemian lifestyle in Marrakesh was immortalised in Esther's novel "Hideous Kinky", and later turned into a hit film with Coverley played by Kate Winslet. Although he was not altogether present in Bella and Esther's early years, Freud was extremely close with his two daughters, painting both of them several times, including
Lucian Freud, Baby on a Green Sofa, 1961 Copyright: Image/Artwork: © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images
Baby on a Green Sofa (1961), a painting of Bella as a baby resting on the same green sofa in which her mother was portrayed. Remarkably, after two extraordinary lives, Freud and Coverley died within just four days of each other in July 2011.


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'LOST' Showrunner Damon Lindelof Has "No Apologies" About Ending
It's been about two years since the end of ABC's mega-hit pseudo sci-fi series 'LOST,' though we obviously haven't stopped talking about it. Even the most hardcore loyalists found themselves divided by the show's controversial ending, which to say the least, didn't exactly wrap up all of the lingering mystery threads in a nice little package. So what exactly does co-creator / executive producer (and 'Prometheus' writer) Damon Lindelof have to say for himself?
Insisting he has "no apologies" for the manner in which the historic six-season run of 'LOST' ultimately wrapped up its story, Damon Lindelof is once again making headlines for his defense of the series. In a recent interview with The Verge, Lindelof strongly defends the series and its controversial ending and insists that the alternative of simply laying out answers (akin to The Architect of 'The Matrix' fame) wouldn't have satisfied viewers either.
Covering everything from the finale's ambiguity and "new age-y" feel to the "degree of improvisation" that occurred within the writers room before the show had a set endpoint, Lindelof's impressive interview may just change a few tunes with regard to the legendary show's ending. Either way, the producer remains firm that he made the right decision, saying:
There were a bunch of other writers on the show, but in terms of my own feelings of how the [show's] ending I made no apologies for it. I do feel like that was the ending I wanted to do. I was always comfortable with the ambiguity of the show.
It's not that I didn't care about the mythology of the show, it's just like, many shows have come and gone that are very focused on their mysteries and their mythologies and their ambiguity and there is no worse scene in the history of genre than the Architect explaining to Neo everything that happened in 'The Matrix,' and I wasn't going to touch that with a ten foot pole.
Ultimately, one of the few regrets that Lindelof does express is ever telling the press that "the answers are coming," something the former EP is quick to point out he later stopped doing.
The full length of the interview is below, so take a look and tell us how you felt about 'LOST's' ending! Would you really have been satisfied with all the mysteries laid bare, or was the emotional climax enough to keep you hooked? Give your take in the comments!


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A Pawnee woman made history Wednesday when she became the first woman in Illinois National Guard history to attain the rank of chief warrant officer 5.
A Pawnee woman made history Wednesday when she became the first woman in Illinois National Guard history to attain the rank of chief warrant officer 5.
Elizabeth Sheedy, 61, is a supervisor in the Guard's human resource office. She is a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, but her office also serves the Air National Guard.
She was promoted during a special ceremony at the Illinois State Military Museum.
"I'm very proud," Sheedy said. "It's opening a door for others. It encourages them to stick with the program and do what they need to be ready for promotion."
Warrant officers are between enlisted personnel and officers in the Army's chain of command.
The highest rank a warrant officer can obtain is chief warrant officer 5, and there are only 10 of them in the entire Illinois Army National Guard. The rank has existed only since 1996.
Unlike other officers who oversee people working in a broad range of jobs, a warrant officer receives highly specialized training in one career field.
In Sheedy's case, that area is human resources. She works at Camp Lincoln and oversees a staff of about seven people.
Col. Gary Brinner, who works with Sheedy, described her as a "top-notch professional." On some occasions, she has advised the human resource offices of other state National Guards, he said.
"She has just done a tremendous job," Brinner said. "With her experience, she's been able to provide that insight and expertise to other states and the National Guard Bureau in Washington."
Sheedy enlisted in the Illinois National Guard in 1978.
She has four children and five grandchildren.
Her husband is Brig. Gen. John Sheedy, assistant adjutant general for air. He was at Wednesday's ceremony.
"She's worked hard a lot of years and done this on her own," John Sheedy said. "She's done a tremendous job."
Elizabeth Sheedy took specialized training to become a warrant officer at Fort McCoy, Wis., in about 1990. She said it was comparable to officer's basic training. Out of her class of 60, about 37 people graduated, she estimated.
"It was very demanding, both physically and mentally. ... I had a few bumps and bruises by the time I got out of there. It was very demanding, but well worth it," Sheedy said.
John Reynolds can be reached at (217) 788-1524 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Ships To: Worldwide
Excludes: Russian Residential Addresses
Weight: 1.20 lbs
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INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: Import duties, taxes, and charges are the buyer's responsibility.
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Why does writing words such as "hell" and "damn" trigger internet filters that insert asterisks into my writing? What is it about these words that makes them offensive to the point that people use substitutes like "heck" and "darn", sometimes in situations that sound very childish? (Double hockey sticks, anyone?)
- They're used in the bible as standard words.
- They're not vulgar, sexual, or disgusting like other swear words.
- They're not "using the Lord's name in vain".
I agree they're strong words when wielded and not nice when directed at someone ("damn you"; "go to hell"), but on what basis do Christians consider them "cussing" in casual speech ("I had a hell of a time", "my damned car won't start") when used passively?
For people who are sensitive to these words, are other forms like "hellish" or "damnable" acceptable, or is it just the four-letter format? Is it less acceptable in speech than in writing?
Maybe I just need to be educated about what is the actual Christian definition of cursing.
Edit: There are 3 votes to close this and a suggestion to move it to a language site. I don't want to presume but I'm guessing it's because some are offended: Even the title has been sanitized! This is exactly what I want to understand... And I'm not asking about "certain common words": I'm specifically asking about "HELL" and "DAMN" which are Christian terms, and I thought I was clear that I'm asking about it in the sense of regular usage, not when used as curses. Is there cause for offense in these words because they can be used as curses or is it something inherent in them? Please believe me, I'm not trying to be confrontational, I genuinely want to understand the nature of these words in our common culture.


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You Light Up My Life - Deluxe Scrapbook Page Title
You will receive (1) UNASSEMBLED Triple Layer Scrapbook Page Title.
It measures approx 10 x 4 inches.
The colors are : Black, White, and Yellow.
Please Note: All computer/electronic device screens may vary in color. The color you see on your screen may vary slighty in person.


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Is there a known formula for the number of closed walks of length (exactly) $r$ on the $n$-cube? If not, what are the best known upper and lower bounds?
[Edit] Note: the walk can repeat vertices.
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Is there a known formula for the number of closed walks of length (exactly) $r$ on the $n$-cube? If not, what are the best known upper and lower bounds?
[Edit] Note: the walk can repeat vertices.
Yes (assuming a closed walk can repeat vertices). For any finite graph $G$ with adjacency matrix $A$, the total number of closed walks of length $r$ is given by
$$\text{tr } A^r = \sum_i \lambda_i^r$$
where $\lambda_i$ runs over all the eigenvalues of $A$. So it suffices to compute the eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix of the $n$-cube. But the $n$-cube is just the Cayley graph of $(\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})^n$ with the standard generators, and the eigenvalues of a Cayley graph of any finite abelian group can be computed using the discrete Fourier transform (since the characters of the group automatically given eigenvectors of the adjacency matrix). We find that the eigenvalue $n - 2j$ occurs with multiplicity ${n \choose j}$, hence
$$\text{tr } A^r = \sum_{j=0}^n {n \choose j} (n - 2j)^r.$$
For fixed $n$ as $r \to \infty$ the dominant term is given by $n^r + (-n)^r$.
The number of such walks is $2^n$ (the number of vertices of the $n$-cube) times the number of walks that start (and end) at the origin. We may encode such a walk as a word in the letters $1, -1, \dots, n, -n$ where $i$ represents a positive step in the $i$th coordinate direction and $-i$ represents a negative step in the $i$th coordinate direction. The words that encode walks that start and end at the origin are encoded as shuffles of words of the form $i\ -i \ \ i \ -i \ \cdots\ i \ -i$, for $i$ from 1 to $n$. Since for each $i$ there is exactly one word of this form for each even length, the number of shuffles of these words of total length $m$ is the coefficient of $x^m/m!$ in $$\biggl(\sum_{k=0}^\infty \frac{x^{2k}}{(2k)!}\biggr)^{n} = \left(\frac{e^x + e^{-x}}{2}\right)^n. $$ Expanding by the binomial theorem, extracting the coefficient of $x^r/r!$, and multiplying by $2^n$ gives Qiaochu's formula.
Let $W(n,r)$ be the coefficient of $x^r/r!$ in $\cosh^n x$, so that $$W(n,r) = \frac{1}{2^n}\sum_{j=0}^n\binom{n}{j} (n-2j)^r.$$ Then we have the continued fraction, due originally to L. J. Rogers, $$ \sum_{r=0}^\infty W(n,r) x^r = \cfrac{1}{1- \cfrac{1\cdot nx^2}{ 1- \cfrac{2(n-1)x^2}{1- \cfrac{3(n-2)x^2}{\frac{\ddots\strut} {\displaystyle 1-n\cdot 1 x^2} }}}} $$ A combinatorial proof of this formula, using paths that are essentially the same as walks on the $n$-cube, was given by I. P. Goulden and D. M. Jackson, Distributions, continued fractions, and the Ehrenfest urn model, J. Combin. Theory Ser. A 41 (1986), 21–-31.
Incidentally, the formula given above for $W(n,r)$ (equivalent to Qiaochu's formula) is given in Exercise 33b of Chapter 1 of the second edition of Richard Stanley's Enumerative Combinatorics, Volume 1 (not published yet, but available from his web page). Curiously, I had this page sitting on my desk for the past month (because I wanted to look at Exercise 35) but didn't notice until just now that this formula was on it.
Assuming a "closed walk" can repeat vertices, we can count closed walks starting at $0$ by counting the $r$-sequences of $[n]$ so that each number appears an even number of times. The bijection is given by labeling edges by the coordinate that is toggled between the vertices. You can probably count these sequences by inclusion/exclusion and then multiply by $2^n/r$ to account for the choice of start position.


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| Founded 1974
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Capital of Washington.
We are located in Thurston County, at the southern end of Puget Sound, approximately
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK- Is Charlottesville safe?
Kiaya Abernathy:"Yes, I feel like Charlottesville is a safe city– a lot safer than somewhere like Richmond or D.C."
Lisa Langley: "Yes, I think it's just as safe as it has been. Isolated incidents, and you never can tell."
Jonathan Moore: "I do– no more or less safe than any other town of this size. What happened on the parkway recently and what we're just hearing about with the UVA lacrosse case, both of those situations have nothing to do with any broader trends."


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Avatar, Avi, Bed, Bedroom, Castles, Children, Clothing, Decorating, Family, Grass, Home, Home & Garden, House, Interior Design, Kidd Creations, Landscape, Landscaping, Le Bistro, Living Room, Love, Magazine, Mesh, New Release, Parcel, Pixels, Pre-Fab, Prims, Publication, Quiz, Rental, Romance, Royal Living, Royal Living Magazine, Rustica, Sculpty, Second Life, Sim, Skins, Skybox, SL, Spring, Summer, The Loft, Trees, Zanzo
Finally our eleventh edition has been released with the help from Miss Elysium Eilde!!
We have the amazing Dop Kidd from Kidd Creations on the cover this issue, as well as, a ton of fabulous interviews to share with our readers! Get acquainted with Maxwell Graf of Rustica, Drusus of Zanzo, Amera from Le Bistro and so much more!!
We hope you enjoy this issue and thank everyone for your patience with us while we dealt with technical and rl issues ♥


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Working with Files
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• Export to a 3D .pdf file
Performance Enhancements
• Improved entity snap performance in drawings with underlays.
• Improved redraw performance when creating and updating entities in a drawing that has a large number of existing entities
• The in-place Multiline Text editor now supports line spacing, lists, and paragraph justification.
• Use the new Explode Text command to break multiline text and single-line text into polylines.
• The new Auto Number command adds numbering to text, multiline text, multileaders, or block attributes
User Interface
Selecting and modifying entities
• Search for entities that match properties of other entities using the new Select Similar command. The entities with properties that match are then added to the selection set.
• The new Explode Attributes command ungroups blocks, creating separate entities for each element and converting attributes to text.
• The new Get Selection command selects all entities in a drawing that match both the layer of an entity you select and the type of an entity you select.
Working with entities
Viewing and rendering drawings
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• New Filter option for the -LAYER command.
• When using the Print command, you can now select print transparency.
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System Variables
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See below some examples of what you can do with 4MCAD


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This Cacturne is a grass/dark-type Pokémon owned by Harley.
Cacturne made its first appearance in A Cacturne for the Worse, along with Harley. Harley and Cacturne participated in the Izabe Island Pokémon Contest, making it all the way to the final, before being beaten by May and her Bulbasaur. After the Izabe Island Contest, Harley used Cacturne once again during the Hoenn Grand Festival against May. Along with his Banette, he battled against her in a double battle, but he lost once again.
Harley also used Cacturne in the Appeal Stage of the Saffron City Contest in A Hurdle for Squirtle. Harley lent Cacturne to Jessie to use in the appeal round of the Mulberry City contest during New Plot, Odd Lot. After Harley sent it out, it automatically fell in love with Jessie. Harley explained this happened because he (Harley) and Jessie were soul-mates.
Harley used Cacturne in the Kanto Grand Festival in a battle against May where it battled along with Harley's Wigglytuff. It took on her Munchlax and Eevee but was quickly defeated with a combination of Focus Punch and Shadow Ball, respectively.The last time Cacturne was seen was during The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing where it was used to expose Team Rocket and send them blasting off after May and Drew's battle.
Known moves
|Bullet Seed +
|A Cacturne for the Worse
|Poison Sting +
|A Cacturne for the Worse
|Feint Attack
|A Cacturne for the Worse
|Pin Missile
|Rhapsody in Drew
|Cotton Spore
|A Hurdle for Squirtle
|Needle Arm +
|A Hurdle for Squirtle
|New Plot, Odd Lot!
|+ indicates this Pokémon used this move recently.*
- indicates this Pokémon normally can't use this move.
Voice actors
- Yūji Ueda (Japanese)
- Jimmy Zoppi (English PUSA dubbed)
- ^ AG174: New Plot, Odd Lot!, Cacturne's eyes turned into hearts when Cacturne first saw Jessie and he hugged her tightly
|Harley's Pokémon
On hand


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"Home is where the heart is" – a true (if rather clichéd) dictum. However, when thinking with your head and not only your heart, your home is also a vital asset. Depending on a variety of factors, your property can be worth much more than the value of its bricks and mortar. A recent study from HouseLogic found that homes near public parks, for example, can be valued up to 20% more than the average home. The desirability of your home's location – largely outside of your control – isn't the only factor that influences its value. There are a number of things you can do to the property itself to increase the offers you receive.
According to a study by the University of Washington, the number of trees on your property can have a dramatic effect on the value of your home. The study also measured how the location of the trees affected house prices. It found that trees in the back garden can increase your home's value by up to two percent, while those in the front can increase the values by up to five percent. Not all trees are equal either – sturdy oaks are among the most highly valued as they're difficult to replace. In the absence of mature trees, create a verdant Eden with Japanese maples or dwarf conifers – the most valuable trees.
Create space
A basement or loft conversion can be one of the most lucrative investments you'll make in a property. In urban areas, where space is often scarce, conversions are sought after as offering extra square footage of usable space, whether that's a whole below-ground level or an extra bedroom in the roof. A conversion can cost hundreds per square foot, but can instantly add about two or three times that amount to your property's value.
Provide parking
Another good idea for inner-city homes is to pave the front garden. In many global cities, where parking is hard to come by, a home that offers safe off-street parking is very attractive. Indeed, in London, this simple step can add as much as £50,000 to the value of a home. Choose strong, terracotta pavers and make the space more attractive with buxus hedge and trees – however, don't choose anything that will drop blossom, pollen or leaves on parked cars.
Add a bathroom
Older homes, such as those built in the 19th or early 20th century, tend to have bathrooms on the ground floor, but not upstairs. Converting an upstairs room into a bathroom, or adding an en suite will increase your home's value instantly. If structural features or space limitations prevent you from installing fully functioning bathrooms, a simple shower room can fit in spaces as small as 1 x 2.5m.
Restore character
Restoring your home's original character can add significant value to your home. Over the years, alterations and additions made to a home can obscure its period appeal. Restoring your home's original features can also be a fascinating exercise – there's a story behind every antique fireplace, ceiling moulding or tiled floor.
At Engel & Völkers we have over 30 years experience advising homeowners on boosting the value of their property. Our real estate experts understand all there is to know about the current market and what buyers are looking for, so you can rest assured you're in safe hands.


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Oakley Two Face 60
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|Catalogue Product Name
|Oakley Two Face 60
|Visit Store


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This is the second article I have written on Sharilyn Wood Stalling. My first interview is titled DNA and Past Life Healings by Sharilyn Wood Stalling
I met Sharilyn when she was traveling from her home base in Arkansas to L.A.. She was working out of a healing center inSanta Monicaand I went to see her. Since that meeting we have kept in touch.
Let me tell you a little more about Sharilyn. She says she comes from an unbroken line of clairvoyants, mystics, seers and healers on her mother's side. Her earliest spiritual memory comes from the age of three being taken to church where her mother told her the preacher was going to talk about God. She remembers being perplexed because what he said had no relation to what she knew God wanted her to learn. At twelve she began to have visions. She later married and her visions and psychic abilities increased. She states "Pictures became alive. People I would see in public would change as I looked at them, their clothing and body melting into a past life dress, hairstyle and demeanor. Sometimes I would even see a past life scene - where they had resided. Men dressed as Roman soldiers clanged when they walked by me because the metal studs at the base of their leather skirts touched their swords that hung at their sides."
Sharilyn's early childhood and early adult life were tumultuous. Among many hardships and tragedies she had to endure was suffering through the death of a child. This event led her to leave her husband and begin a battle for her life and sanity. She called on the help of Jesus, pledging if she were to be healed, she would be his handmaiden and serve him. She received her healing and eventually began her healing of others.
The first session I had with Sharilyn took about a month for me to feel the full benefits from and those benefits were a new clarity around the issue and a sense of an opening which allowed me to figure out what was happening with the issue I had brought to her. From that opening and the knowledge I gained from her on how "curses" work I had the ability to finally see clearly what I was dealing with and was then able to heal around that issue. As the world is shifting so quickly now and with the many new energies coming in, I felt like I was in need of some additional work. I thought another session with Sharilyn was in order. I called her and we arranged for a session to be done over the phone.
With this healing I am not going to go into any details about the issue or what happened during the healing. I wanted to record my session to share with you but Sharilyn suggested not to. She didn't want me to re-charge the issue, by listening and revisiting the session as I transcribed it. My second healing took a lot longer than I expected. I will share with you how much energy Sharilyn gives to her work. She must be exhausted after them. It has taken much longer for me to feel any results from the second session. I even began to wonder if her work didn't take. Shortly after our session I had experienced some family emergencies that took me off course from my daily life. I had to leaveL.A.for about a month and the situation consumed a lot of time and energy. I'm not sure, but this may be the reason it took longer to feel anything and then again maybe it had nothing to do with it and it just took longer. What I know about healing and how spirit works is that the spiritual side has a much different time frame than we do. So I kept the faith because I have respect for the work Sharilyn does and I believe in our abilities to be healed and to heal ourselves.
As I write this article it's close to three weeks that I have been back in L.A.; from my family emergency. I've had a little more time to myself to focus on the work that I did with Sharilyn. I'm beginning to see an opening in myself and things in my life are starting to shift around for the better.
I mentioned earlier that I respect the work Sharilyn does and also I think it's important to have people be aware of what is available in the world of healing. So, I want to write about what Sharilyn offers. She performs several modalities that many other healers do as well, such as psychic readings, chakra balancing, dream interpretations, past life work, DNA healings, and soul retrievals. Then she offers healings which as far as I am aware are unique to her; like Angelic interventions and curse removal.
In addition to that she is a self educated expert on why the Bee's are dying out across the planet. She has consulted various parties and for a documentary on the issue. She is an author and has co-written with her mother, books on the reincarnational stories of the twelve apostles of Jesus. She has also drawn the illustration and book covers for the books. All her books start out with the title of "The Gift of…". Titles include: The Gift of…Judas, The Gift of…Peter, The Gift of…James ben Alphaeus, The Gift of…Judas ben Alphaeus also know as Thomas.
In her Angelic interventions Sharilyn reminds us that Angels are always there to help us. They just have a non-interference policy. Because of free will they can't assist us (unless it is a true emergency) until they are asked for help. When they're called upon they are there ready and waiting to assist us in whatever we need. Large or small issues, it doesn't matter, the key is to remember to ask. For example next time you are frantically driving around looking for a parking place take a small moment to be still then out loud or in your head call on the Angel of parking spaces to help you find a space. Is there really just one angel in charge of parking spaces? I don't know and it probably doesn't matter just stating your intention of wanting help allows whatever angelic beings which are around you at the time to step in and assist. Sharilyn's point is we forget there is help available and we think we have to do it all ourselves. The truth is we aren't alone and we have assistance, we just have to ask.
Her work in curse removal is the one which intrigues me the most. First of all the idea that a curse could be real and not just something from aHollywoodmovie or an Egyptian mummies tomb, captured my imagination and attention. Then when I questioned her about it and she explained what a curse really was, it made perfect sense to me. A curse is an intense emotional charge coupled with a focused intent to hurt yourself or another. Here is an example I came up with: A bride is left at the altar by her fiancé who runs off with his secretary. When he doesn't show up and she finds out he ran off. In her anger and pain she blurts out "I hate him! I hope she cheats on him and he is never happy in love again!!!" She just laid a curse on him.
Sharilyn's explanation of how a curse works is this. "A curse is like a virus waiting for the perfect conditions in your life for it to become enlivened. It can come to you through your family line or it can be focused on you. Either way it is a block to you being in the flow of abundant life, blocking happiness, success in love, work or relationship. God's Love removes these as easily as it removes anything that is not love."
Probably the one thing that I have always taken away form the healing work with Sharilyn is her firm belief in God's love. I'll leave you with a quote I took form my first article with her. "There is nothing we can be, do, say or think that can separate us from God's love".
This is a deep reminder to me of the simple truth that love is the most powerful force there is. I'll close with a quote from myself also taken from my first article with Sharilyn. "We are extensions of the creator and of love. Because of this we are not now, nor can we ever be separated from God. And that the pain we have is because we have forgotten that simple truth." Sharilyn's journey seems to me, to be about remembering and reminding us all, how loved we are and how love heals everything.
For more information check out her website: The gift of… http://thegiftof.com/


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Orlando and Orange County Black Foot Soldiers are incensed at comments made by 'so called' black WESH weekend anchor Joe Oliver justifying twenty-eight year old racial terrorist George Zimmerman's obvious intentional murder of seventeen year old Taylor Allderdice High School senior Trayvon Martin.
(Oliver's comments:) "He couldn't stop crying. He's a caring human being. I mean, he took a man's life and he has no idea what to do about it. He's extremely remorseful about it. I mean I'm a black male and all that I know is that George has never given me any reason whatsoever to believe he has anything against people of color. All these people who are threatening George, what makes them any better than the person they think he is? You've got all these people wanting to lynch the man and they don't know the whole story. There are huge gaps that are being filled in and interpreted without evidence. I understand how they're able to leap to the conclusion. You have a dead teenager. This guy is white so it must be a hate crime. There's going to be evidence to come out that basically will justify George's concern. He (Zimmerman) confirmed for me that he was not the aggressor. But I did not go into details as to how it got to that aggressive point," Oliver is quoted as saying.
"Any black man willing to stand beside and speak up for this wanna be blonde haired and blue eyed white devil in the face of all the evidence against him should be treated like a white devil too. Orange County Soldiers should remember that anytime they see Joe Oliver, that he is a white devil and should be treated like one." Orange County Black Foot Soldier Julius Perry says.
"This man spoke up for Zimmerman and justified Trayvon's murder to us by 'confirming' for us that, although his friend pursued Trayvon, he (Zimmerman) was not the aggressor. On behalf of his friend, this Uncle Tom, House Nigger asked us to believe this on behalf of Zimmerman while at the same time admitting he did not go into detail of how 'it got to that aggressive point'. Oliver's comments are an insult to Trayvon's death, our community, the journalism he claims to represent and justice. He owes Trayvon, his family and this community an apology." Controversial Florida Soldier Claude Neal is quoted as saying. "Fuck Joe Oliver, his eighteen year old son and everything he loves and represents. "


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Yeah, but you have to ask yourself what the game is making you do to get that 140hrs. A lot of JRPGs tend to garner their length through grinding. Very few games actually come close to keeping their hour promise. Skyrim provides hours of exploration alone, but even some people find it to be, "Raid a dungeon, grab up the loot, sell it, repeat." It can get like that, especially if you're looking for dragon shouts. No game will ever deliver the amount of hours it promises, not for me at least. If I have to do the same thing over and over again I've got to find something else to do. Take X-Com for instance. It's got depth, and you could play it for hours, but some people would see it as the same cut and paste environs scrambled up, and losing half your people per terror mission. It's entirely possible, and they may never play it again. How people perceive their gaming experience has more to do with hours than any developer. Speaking of X-Com. I was just thinking about it and a (not saying 50s era) X-Com FPS would be awesome. I'm not saying it would be the original, but a shooter in the universe would be this side of epic. I'll tell you why. I was doing a terror mission in Rio. Luckily it was daytime. This is going to be primarily from the movement of one soldier a squadie codenamed "Ronin". That's what I do, I give code names. Ronin takes the role of support in my squad. He carries the grenades and other stuff that would bog a sniper or heavy down. This makes him too important to be a scout obviously (poor bastards). Now Ronin has only been in one mission, a four man raid of a small UFO. Anyway, the hatch is down and the men and women begin to fan out and clear the LZ. My troops are presented with a new alien threat (Floaters). Still using Earth-tech assault rifles it takes them the whole turn to get it clear. Eventually it looks clear and the turn ends. Low and behold a grenade goes off (probably 0 primed). There goes six of the ten-man squad. Ronin's still alive. The squad now has one sharpshooter, two scouts with laser pistols, and Ronin. The scout immediately sets upon a floater. A swift burst of auto fire from Ronin cuts it down. The scout advances fighting through the smoke and haze and Ronin guns down another two floaters with some luck, and a little help from the sharpshooter too. Well eventually more aliens than the team can handle show up and Ronin is out of bullets. He checks his belt, no clip. It looks like time is up for him when he spots a dead comrade by the loading ramp of the skyranger. Running to him he picks up a laser pistol and hunkers down behind the landing gear. With a coordinated effort they fend of the aliens. Ronin even takes a wound but keeps fighting. I'd like to say it ended well, and the survivors returned to base, but the aliens hit the decimated squad with another grenade and everyone else was killed, Ronin fell unconscious, and then HQ lost the transmission. So while I'm as excited as anyone for Enemy Unknown. I'm not going to be so narrow-viewed as to think that X-Com wouldn't make a good FPS. Now I don't really know if the 2K Marin game will pull it off, but if you took the strategy of X-Com and applied it to an FPS you'd get some interesting results. A random jumble of missions for your soldier to undertake, doesn't have to be the same guy either. Perhaps work panic in their as screen shake or a loss of the aiming reticule. Your end of level ranking could influence your research into new tech and or funding for buying armor and upgrades. Some set pieces. If you get too badly shot up you're out for a month (though obviously you'd never see yourself in a hospital bed for the sake of gaming) and when you take your next mission things aren't so good as when you last left. The fear of your weapons not working against a muton or cyberdisk. Heck, even the ability to get psionics, or a flight suit. Highly-destructible environments. I think it would be worth looking into, and if done right it could only broaden the appeal of the franchise. I'm hoping that the 2K Marin job is at least decent.
I don't know why X-COM can't be an FPS, or why an FPS can't be X-COM. XCOM ( XCOM without the hyphen is the name of the FPS ) is supposed to have things like research and managing your base, including recruiting people. From what I've read about it, anyway. It's sort of an origin story of the X-COM organization. And that's what X-COM is about; the organization X-COM ( who would've thought? ). Saying an FPS can't be an X-COM game just smacks of elitism, and it's sort of like saying, let's see ... Warhammer 40K can't be a third person action game. Halo can't be an RTS. Or even better, Fallout can't be an FPS.Does anyone here think Fallout 3 and New Vegas are unworthy of the Fallout name? Any more so than, say, Tactics?Or it's like saying Apocalypse isn't really an X-COM game, because the aliens are from a different dimension instead of outer space.
So because I have a view of what XCom is and is not Im an elistist fanboy...when you guys want to have a civil conversation about the franchise without the name calling you can let me know.
I don't know why X-COM can't be an FPS, or why an FPS can't be X-COM. XCOM ( XCOM without the hyphen is the name of the FPS ) is supposed to have things like research and managing your base, including recruiting people. From what I've read about it, anyway. It's sort of an origin story of the X-COM organization. And that's what X-COM is about; the organization X-COM ( who would've thought? ). Saying an FPS can't be an X-COM game just smacks of elitism, and it's sort of like saying, let's see ... Warhammer 40K can't be a third person action game. Halo can't be an RTS. Or even better, Fallout can't be an FPS.
In truth, I'm with you. If a game universe is interesting, I'm all for exploring it from different perspectives.But you're also talking, in some ways, about genre fusion, and just look at what happened when Brutal Legend put Zelda, Elder Scrolls and Herzog Zwei into one package. People bitched. A lot. And missed the whole fun of the game.
I'm not sure I see the problem. That's their loss, the people who take a narrow view because something isn't what they wanted it to be.On an unrelated note, I'm learning that length isn't always good. I mean, in and of itself it is, but not when you're playing through the entire Metal Gear series, and the game you really want to play is the last one, but you can't skip the earlier entries because they're actually good games and you want the story. It's basically too much of something good.
Just finished the Darkness 2. At 6 hours, it's longer than I feared, but .. still not nearly long enough. Still a good story, though, but only, I suspect, if you played the first game. The ending is pretty awesome.
I dunno, Vanquish only took me five, but I can see myself going back to replay it partly because of that. It's easier to go back and replay a game that was fun AND doesn't require a major time commitment.
As a parent, I kinda like the trend toward shorter games. I'm still chipping away at Dragon Quest VIII whenever I can find the time. Thank God I managed to beat Planescape: Torment and Xenogears before my daughter was born or I'd really be missing out.
I used to play video games (the early Spyro series) to entertain the little Oni. It was like cartoons, only we Mommy could control it.(Bashing sheep got loads of giggles.)
Isn't it some McDonalds thing now, where little toys come out that are secretly USB's and they plug into a browser game to unlock new contents? Skylanders, or something. If I have that accurate, I kind of like the concept... and it's inevitable, really, what with online games, and gaming in general, now being a normal thing for kids not like it was a decade ago.
IMO, Spyro changed from a fun little series to something too complicated for what it had been and not so fun anymore. I was highly disappointed.
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|Image via Wikipedia user Blurpeace
The reason I bring up Alex is because I recently read this Nature News article about a new paper published by Pepperburg in the journal Animal Cognition (behind a pay wall, sorry) describing her last experiments with Alex on addition. The newly published paper describes Alex's ability to successfully add together arabic numerals (the ones we use) up to eight. He was also able to come up with the total number of objects separated under three different cups. The experiments were still being conducted when Alex died, however Pepperburg says there was enough statistically significant evidence to suggest that Alex was really doing addition.
According to Ewen Callaway's Nature News article, when asked "how many total?" in response to questions like 3+4 or 4+2 Alex chose the right answer nine out of 12 times. When presented sequentially with three sets of objects underneath three cups, Alex was able to total the objects correctly eight out of 10 times. It used to be believed that the ability to understand the numerical value of a set was dependent on language, and thus a specifically human characteristic.
To date, Alex and a chimpanzee named Sheba are the only non-human primates that have been able to successfully perform addition. While two examples isn't exactly a lot, the research is exciting because it demonstrates that a higher level of thinking is possible in other species. So are we headed for a planet of the parrots? I'm going to go with no, but it is still very cool to see what Alex was capable of doing.