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It's the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned for Amar'e Stoudemire's return. Whatever the role you think he'll fit best, it's still clear that the Knicks are going to need him, and the sooner they can go through whatever growing pains that will be required to integrate him back in the mix, the sooner the team can move on to the world domination that is the ultimate goal.
It has been 25 years since John Starks performed one of the most memorable dunks ever in Madison Square Garden.
In Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, Starks had the ball on the right wing. He saw a screen coming to his left, but instead of using it, he went to the right side with a clear lane to the hoop. He soared into the air, and with his left hand, threw down a dunk over Michael Jordan and Horace Grant in the closing seconds in what would be a Knicks win...
Tags: John Starks
Knicks assistants Jerry Sichting, Corey Gaines, and Dave Bliss are reportedly not serving on new head coach David Fizdale's staff next season, per the Daily News' Stefan Bondy and Frank Isola.
Of the three assistants, Bliss was the longest tenured, having served under former head coach Derek Fisher. Sichting and Gaines both joined Jeff Hornacek back in 2016.
Fizdale is still putting together his staff for next season, with Keith Smart as his lead assistant. It is unknown who he is targeting, but reports show that Jud Buechler, Pat Sullivan, Royal Ivey and Pat Delaney are among the top candidates. Buechler and Sullivan are having "serious talks" with the Knicks to come on for next season.
The Unicorn is pumped.
Kristaps Porzingis tweeted his excitement after having a conversation with new Knicks head coach David Fizdale on Thursday.
Click below to see Porzingis' tweet
Tags: Kristaps Porzingis, Danny Abriano
The Knicks are focusing on selecting a wing or a big man with the No. 9 pick in the NBA Draft on June 21, and are unlikely to take a point guard even if Oklahoma's Trae Young or Alabama's Collin Sexton fall, a league source told SNY.tv.
The latest ESPN.com mock draft has the Knicks taking Sexton at No. 9.
"I'd be shocked if they took a guard at 9," the league source told SNY.tv. "I'd be shocked." The Knicks have a glut of point guards in Trey Burke, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Frank Ntilikina, all of whom worked out at the team's Tarrytown facility earlier this week...
Looking to improve on his rookie season, Knicks PG Frank Ntilikina is back in New York, and ready to get to work with new head coach David Fizdale.
Ntilikina has been in his home France, but he has returned for Fizdale's first informal workout with the team on Monday, per The Post's Marc Berman. Players like Emmanuel Mudiay, Trey Burke, Damyean Dotson, and Troy Williams are expected to be at the workout as well.
The 19-year-old has been texting his new head coach, but the two haven't officially met in person. But Fizdale made it a point to say that he wants to build a "great relationship" with all of his players before training camp officially kicks off...
Tags: Damyean Dotson, Emmanuel Mudiay, Frank Ntilikina, Trey Burke, Troy Williams
Back in October, Michigan State star Miles Bridges told me he would be "extremely happy" to play for the Knicks.
Now, his coaches seem to feel the same way.
"I hope they have a big interest, I'd like to see him go there, personally," Michigan State associate head coach Dwayne Stephens told SNY.tv by phone of the Knicks.
Tags: Miles Bridges, Adam Zagoria
There's no certainty that Oklahoma G Trae Young will work out for the Knicks if they request one as expected.
Young, who averaged 27.4 points, 8.7 assists and 5.2 turnovers in his freshman season with the Sooners, is expected to be drafted somewhere around where the Knicks are selecting with the 9th pick, but he is under no obligation to take a private workout with the team.
"It all depends on my agent and where he thinks I should work out,'' Young said...
Keith Smart will join the Knicks' coaching staff as David Fizdale's top assistant, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.
Smart worked with Fizdale in Miami then followed him to Memphis when he was head coach of the Grizzlies.
The 53-year-old entered coaching in 1997 immediately following his playing career, briefly in the NBA but mostly abroad. His first coaching gig in the NBA was as an assistant with the Cavaliers from 2000-03...
Villanova head coach Jay Wright may not have talked to the Knicks about becoming their new head coach. But that didn't stop him from talking about his players -- particulary SF Mikal Bridges.
Bridges, who is regarded as one of the best prospects in this year's draft, could be there for the taking at No. 9 if the Knicks so choose. Wright believes his now former player has exactly what it takes to handle the expectation of playing in New York City on and off the court.
"I really do. It's not just mental toughness. It's an intelligence and humility. He understands what it's all about," Wriight told The Post's Marc Berman. "He's played for two national championship teams here, and during his tenure there was a lot of expectation and attention. I think he's used to it, very comfortable in that positions. He doesn't get caught up in it, either. He understands responsibility, but won't get caught up that it's New York."
Tags: Mikal Bridges
Jake Brown | Twitter | The NBA Draft order is set and the Knicks will be picking ninth. The last time the Knicks picked in that spot, they took Michael Sweetney...and we know how that turned out. The jury is still out on their eighth pick last year, Frank Ntilikina, but the Knicks badly need to take an impact player this year that they can potentially insert in the starting lineup.
Over the next five weeks, there are things that can change with these prospects after the Combine, workouts, and interviews. But the list below should be the guys the Knicks have their eye on and the order of preference...
1. Mikal Bridges
When new Knicks head coach David Fizdale flies to Europe to visit with franchise player Kristaps Porzingis, he hopes he can get him to buy into a new team culture.
"I want him to feel something different," Fizdale said Thursday at the NBA Draft Combine, according to Newsday's Al Iannazzone. "I want him to feel something that when he comes back here it's going to be special for him. He's walking back into a culture and environment that's set up for winning."
Tags: Kristaps Porzingis
At the NBA Combine, teams are getting a better feel for players they've watched ad nauseam on tape this season. They are also given the chance to talk to these players.
One of the players the Knicks have chosen to interview is Missouri F Michael Porter Jr., which is intriguing as the talented forward with injury issues could be drafted around when the Knicks are on the clock with the 9th pick. But, it doesn't exactly mean much because Porter Jr. has interviewed, or will interview, with at least 13 teams at the combine...
In David Fizdale's first go-around as a head coach in the NBA, he didn't see eye-to-eye with a European star.
Once Fizdale was announced as the Knicks head coach, the narrative quickly shifted to wondering if it would be any different for Fizdale with Kristaps Porzingis than it was with Marc Gasol.
At the NBA Combine, Fizdale discussed just how he'll begin to build a relationship with the Knicks star...
As the NBA inches closer to crowning a champion on the court, Knicks fans were once again fixated on the prelude to Tuesday night's Cavaliers-Celtics Eastern Conference Finals game: the NBA Draft Lottery.
Ping pong balls decided that the Knickerbockers will be selecting with the 9th overall pick on June 21. With the order set, mock drafts have begun to populate the internet. In CBS Sports' Gary Parrish's first crack, he has the Knicks taking Duke F Wendell Carter Jr...
The Knicks are in need of help on the wing. And while GM Scott Perry understands that, the plan is to select the best player available when the team picks ninth at the NBA Draft on June 21.
"We're still in that talent acquisition phase," Perry said Thursday afternoon on ESPN. "Obviously it's no secret that we can use some more help at the wing position. So when we get down to the ninth pick, at the end of the day we're gonna pick the very best player. If it happens to be a wing, so be it. If not -- if there's a clear delineation at another position in terms of talent -- then we'll probably opt to go that direction and get the very best talent we can get."
SG Luka Doncic and SF Michael Porter Jr. are expected to be long gone when the Knicks make their pick, with New York potentially picking from a group including PF Wendell Carter Jr., SF Mikal Bridges, and SF Miles Bridges.
It has been a question for more than a decade: When will the Knicks be good again?
Yes, New York put together some playoff runs from 2010-2013, but there has been no consistency with the Knicks since the late '90s. Since their last playoff run during the 2012-13 season, the Knicks have had a losing record up until their latest 29-53 record last season.
And since those glory days of the late '80s and '90s with Jeff Van Gundy leading as head coach, the Knicks now have nine head coaches with David Fizdale at the helm now...
Oklahoma PG Trae Young had the national spotlight on him all of last season. He was one of the most electrifying players in the league as he launched 30-foot threes at whim and dished out double-digit assists.
It's the constant eyes on Young that makes his father, Ray, confident his son would thrive in a city with the brightest of spotlights in the NBA.
New York City, of course.
Tags: Trae Young, Scott Thompson
Knicks star F Kristaps Porzingis hasn't been in home Latvia rehabbing his torn ACL injury as everyone expected. Instead, he is in Spain working with Real Madrid.
Porzingis originally flew to his hometown of Leipaja, Latvia after his exit meeting with the Knicks. However, he felt that going to the world-renowned Real Madrid facilities was a better decision.
Real Madrid's basketball team, that boasts one of the top NBA Draft prospects this year in Luka Doncic, is currently in the Final Four of EuroLeague. They are even more famous for their soccer club, which features arguably the best player in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo.
Tags: Kristaps Porzingis
Jake Brown | Twitter | It's no surprise that the Knicks didn't get any luck in the NBA Draft Lottery and stayed at the ninth spot -- where they were projected to pick. The good news is that they didn't drop, which has happened before. In the end, the Knicks will have a top 10 pick that they desperately need to be an impact player immediately. There's no time to draft another project like Frank Ntilikina.
Here's what not moving up in the lottery means for the Knicks...
First off, they are definitely out on adding Luka Doncic -- another European player -- to the fold. He will likely go No. 2 to the Kings unless his former coach, Igor Kokoslov, passes on DeAndre Ayton and takes him with the first pick. Either way, both the Suns and Kings are getting potential franchise players that they both need badly...
The Knicks will have the ninth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft following the Draft Lottery Tuesday night.
New York had the highest odds of staying at No. 9 with their chances at 81.3 percent before the lottery. The Knicks held the ninth-worst record last season at 29-53.
Last season, the Knicks fell one spot from No. 7 to No. 8 after the lottery, and they selected PG Frank Ntilikina with their pick.
With the NBA Draft Lottery set for Tuesday night in Chicago, the Knicks are hoping to move their draft position up for the first time since 1985.
The Knicks pre-lottery position was third after going 24-58 during the 1984-85 season. However, with a 14.29 percent chance of having their logo selected in the lottery, the Knicks were awarded the first overall pick after NBA commissioner David Stern opened the envelope.
They would go on to select C Patrick Ewing, who was an 11-time All-Star and Hall of Fame inductee after his 17-year career. He spent 15 seasons with the Knicks, averaging 22.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game.
Tags: Frank Ntilikina, Kristaps Porzingis
Mike Woodson, who was a candidate for the Knicks' head coaching search, will not return to the Clippers as an assistant next year, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Woodson lost the Knicks' head coach job to David Fizdale, but the former Knicks head coach said he wouldn't be opposed to make his MSG reunion as an assistant.
After all, he has unfinished business in New York.
Despite reports indicating the Knicks were expected to hire Nick Van Exel as an assistant on David Fizdale's staff, Van Exel tweeted that won't be the case.
Van Exel answered "Nah" on Twitter Monday afternoon when another user tagged him in a tweet regarding an update on the rest of Fizdale's coaching staff.
With the NBA Draft Lottery to take place in Chicago on Tuesday, Knicks GM Scott Perry and the rest of the organization will cross their fingers and hope their slim chance to get in the top three picks is fulfilled.
The Knicks have a 6.1 chance to have their Ping Pong ball selected to place them in the coveted top three after finishing with the ninth-worst record in the league last season at 29-53.
But, even if the Knicks don't make the top three, Perry is certain there will be a player available that fits their system perfectly...
The United States Supreme Court struck down a 25-year old law on Monday that had basically prevented all states except Nevada from having legalized sports gambling. "The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make," the Supreme Court announced. "Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own."
The ruling was an enormous immediate victory for the state of New Jersey, which could have a gambling venue open in Monmouth Park within a few weeks, according to the NY Post. There will be a press conference in Monmouth Park Monday at 1 p.m. Aside from New Jersey, The Post notes that New York and Illinois are among roughly 15 other states who have "introduced bills to legalize and regulate sports betting tied to the Supreme Court outcome."
The NBA and MLB have been preparing for Monday's potential outcome, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN, who said each league had hired lobbying firms, submitted written statements, and sent executives to testify in statehouses. Windhorts added that every professional sports league had been involved, with the NBA and MLB at the forefront...
Nick Van Exel is expected to join Knicks head coach David Fizdale's staff as an assistant, reports Stefan Bondy of the NY Daily News.
Van Exel, 46, served under Fizdale as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies and remained on the staff after Fizdale was fired this season. The former NBA All-Star has been coaching since 2009.
Bob Bender could also leave the staff in Memphis to join Fizdale as an assistant with the Knicks, according to Bondy.
Despite having not played for the Knicks since Jan. 25, Joakim Noah hopes to have been given a second chance after the team hired David Fizdale.
The 33-year-old Noah appeared in just seven games this season, averaging 1.7 points and two rebounds in the second year of a four-year, $72 million contract.
Noah did not appear in a game since a heated altercation with now former head coach Jeff Hornacek. New York did not trade him at the deadline, nor did it place him on waivers during the regular season...
Former NBA All-Star and Hall of Fame memeber Shaquille O'Neal says Knicks fans shouldn't expect LeBron James to be anywhere near their team in free agency.
In fact, Shaq said only one word when asked if he could envision James in New York next season.
"Nope," he repeated twice to SNY's Justine Ward at BTIG Charity Day on Tuesday.
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, a two-time NBA Champion, admits he wouldn't be the coach he is today if it wasn't for Knicks new head coach David Fizdale.
Fizdale, who was introduced as the 29th head coach of the Knicks on Tuesday, went from Atlanta to Miami in 2008 -- the same year Spoelstra entered his first season as the Heat's head coach after 11 years as an assistant. Though counterparts, Spoelstra admitted Fizdale would get under his skin, and question him constantly.
It was those fights that Spoelstra said ultimately made him a better coach...
Jay Wright turned down a possible interview opportunity with the Knicks because he wanted to remain in his current role as head coach of Villanova.
Former Knick Charles Oakley is still not happy about being thrown out of The Garden last year, but he is looking forward to the moment when the general public can see video footage of the incident.
Jake Brown | Twitter | Accountability. Accountability. Accountability. That is something David Fizdale is ready to hammer down. And It's something that Jeff Hornacek failed to do in his two forgettable seasons coaching the Knicks.
According to Knicks president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry, current NBA players, coaches, and executives all spoke highly of Fizdale, calling him someone who holds people accountable. That attribute, mixed with being a "tireless worker" and an "innovative basketball mind," all add up to what the Knicks have been missing.
Also, a high character head coach is something the Knicks badly needed. Fizdale fills that void. Nobody used the words "high character" when speaking about Hornacek. The 43-year-old Fizdale is a dozen years younger and can get into the ears of these players. If someone is playing poorly, Fizdale will sit them...
Tags: Emmanuel Mudiay, Enes Kanter, Frank Ntilikina, Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke, Troy Williams, Jake Brown
Count Knicks legend and current broadcaster Walt Frazier among those who don't think Kristaps Porzingis will play next season after tearing his ACL.
"I don't see him playing next season," Frazier told SNY's Justine Ward on Tuesday. "I think they might sit him out. They had mentioned 10 months, so that's somewhere around January, February. Unless the Knicks are in the playoff hunt, I don't see them perhaps bringing him back next year."
In addition to Porzingis, Frazier also discussed the hiring of David Fizdale and who the Knicks should be targeting in the Draft. Click below to watch...
Tags: Kristaps Porzingis
NEW YORK -- David Fizdale won the press conference. There can't be much doubt about that as he hit all the right notes in meeting and greeting the New York media -- and several of his new players -- at Madison Square Garden on a bright and sunny Tuesday afternoon.
But Fizdale is the 11th coach to helm the Knicks since Jeff Van Gundy's resignation in 2001. Just how realistic is it to expect him to change the culture of a team that has seven 50-loss seasons in the last 11 years, and has won exactly one playoff series -- one -- since 2001?
Here are five questions facing Fizdale as he moves forward...
NEW YORK -- Trey Burke anticipates a healthy battle for the starting point guard spot under new coach David Fizdale.
The Knicks have three lead guards in Burke, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Frank Ntilikina, and Fizdale will have to sort it all out once training camp begins this fall.
"I figured that it was going to be a fight," Burke said at Fizdale's introductory presser, which he attended along with Mudiay, Lance Thomas and Kyle O'Quinn. "That's how I look at it anyway, it's going to be competition, it's going to be a battle. And that's what all three of us like, so we can't do nothing but grow from it and get better from it."
NEW YORK -- David Fizdale has a busy couple of weeks ahead of him now that he's officially been introduced as the new coach of the Knicks.
He will attend next week's NBA Draft Combine in Chicago with President Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry, and is also planning to jet off to Latvia to meet with Kristaps Porzingis.
"We're working on that right now, the plane's warming up," Fizdale cracked about his upcoming summit with Porzingis. Fizdale did not elaborate on his order of events, but The New York Post reported the Latvia trip will "likely" take place after the Combine, which runs May 16-20.
Tags: Kristaps Porzingis, Adam Zagoria
While introducing David Fizdale as the Knicks' new head coach on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry explained why Fizdale was their choice.
Explaining that they identified a series of characteristics that they sought in a new head coach, Mills said he and Perry "were committed to not letting any external factors force them to deviate" from the process they wanted to follow.
Mills added that when deciding on Fizdale, they looked at his basketball traits, his basketball integrity, his personal traits, his personal integrity, and his "ability to lead and communicate."
Knicks head coach David Fizdale is attacking his new role head-on, and isn't concerned that the organization has had 11 head coaches in the last 17 years.
"I really feel like this job was for me," Fizdale said Tuesday during his introductory press conference at Madison Square Garden. "I can't speak on any coach who was here before me. ... I know myself and the people we're gonna bring in around me. I just really feel confident that we're gonna get this thing going."
"I've never been afraid," Fizdale added later on when asked why he feels he can last in New York.
While answering questions on social media Monday afternoon, Knicks forward Enes Kanter had a message for the Cleveland Cavaliers' Lebron James:
"You really want to be King of New York? Come and prove it."
Tags: Frank Ntilikina, Kristaps Porzingis
The Knicks have officially hired former Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale as their head coach, the team announced Monday.
Fizdale's contract is for four years, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Fizdale turned down a four-year contract offer to become the Suns' next head coach before accepting the Knicks job, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
Hall of Famer and former Knicks F Bernard King sees loads of potential in Knicks PG Frank Ntilikina.
The 19-year-old, who was selected eighth overall out of France in the 2017 NBA Draft, now has a full NBA season under his belt. And as expected, there were some growing pains that occurred for Ntilikina.
However, King sees the young guard's upside.
Tags: Frank Ntilikina
For Knicks PG Emmanuel Mudiay, change has become standard.
Mudiay experienced his first trade when the Nuggets dealt him to the Knicks midway through the 2017-18 season. He went from playing under head coach Mike Malone to working in the guard-heavy system of Jeff Hornacek in New York.
Now, he has yet another head coach to learn from.
Tags: Emmanuel Mudiay
Knicks new head coach David Fizdale is wasting no time putting together his coaching staff in New York.
Fizdale is expected to bring a former colleague in Keith Smart to the Knicks next season as an assistant coach, according to The Post's Marc Berman.
Smart was an assistant coach along with Fizdale during their time in Miami together, and most recently, Smart was brought to the Grizzlies when Fizdale was awarded the head coaching job in 2016. Smart stayed with the Grizzlies this past season, even though Fizdale was fired just 19 games into the year.
New Knicks head coach David Fizdale will reportedly fly to Latvia soon to meet in person with New York's All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Fizdale, who agreed to a four-year deal with the Knicks on Thursday, is expected to travel to New York next week for a news conference, and will eventually meet with Porzingis in his home country.
Tags: Kristaps Porzingis
The Knicks have appointed David Fizdale as their next head coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Fizdale was an assistant coach for the Heat from 2008-16, winning two titles with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and company. He came into the national picture in the NBA when he became the head coach of the Grizzlies in 2016...
The Knicks have appointed David Fizdale as their new head coach on a four-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Current Knicks players are taking the news quite well.
Though he only coached the Grizzlies for a year-and-a-half, Fizdale is one of the bright, young minds in the league.
Tim Hardaway Jr., Enes Kanter, Ron Baker, Frank Ntilikina, Michael Beasley, Emmanuel Mudiay, Trey Burke and Troy Williams have all been active on social media around the news....
The Knicks have hired former Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Woj also reports that the contract is four years.
Fizdale turned down a four-year contract offer to become the Suns' next head coach before accepting the Knicks job, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
Fizdale was one of the top candidates to win the race to become the Knicks' next head coach. Though he only coached the Grizzlies for a year-and-a-half, Fizdale is one of the bright, young minds in the league. He was fired by Memphis this past season after just 19 games, as there were rumors that he and star C Marc Gasol did not get along.
Jake Brown | Twitter
Is it just me or does it seem like the Knicks head coaching search has taken years? Well, it feels like it.
You can't blame the front office for taking their time in the search for a job that has essentially become a revolving door since Jeff Van Gundy walked out in 2001. This is an important decision in the midst of a rebuilding team that hopes to contend for a playoff spot within the next year or two.
Former Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale has "gained serious traction" among the Knicks in their head coaching search, per The Vertical's Shams Charania.
The Knicks are done with their 11 interviews for the head coach vacancy, and a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said the team is looking to get the position filled some time this week.
Fizdale is one of the top candidates to win the race to become the Knicks' next head coach. Though he only coached the Grizzlies for a year-and-a-half, Fizdale is one of the bright, young minds in the league. He was fired by Memphis this past season after just 19 games, as there were rumors that he and star C Marc Gasol did not get along.


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Mall name:
1350 Scenic Highway, Snellville, Georgia - GA 30078
Phone number to The Avenue Webb Gin mall
770 978 5692
Hours (mall)
Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sunday noon - 6:00 pm.
Driving directions
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Go to Coldwater Creek store locator to see all Coldwater Creek stores

subset: commoncrawl


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BOSTON — Bruins winger Brad Marchand skated today for the first time since leaving last Saturday's game against Washington late in the second period.
But the rookie, who classified his injury as 'lingering soreness,' was declared "very doubtful" for tonight's game at TD Garden against Atlanta by head coach Claude Julien.
"I'm feeling better. I skated for the first time right there, and I'm feeling better every day," said Marchand, who along with Mark Stuart was one of just two Bruins players to take this morning.
Marchand said he didn't push himself to his maximum intensity level but didn't have any limitations either.
Marchand also clarified that his injury is probably related to the mammoth hit he took from Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban in the first period a week ago. Marchand played the rest of that game and then the first period and two thirds of Saturday's game against Washington. He missed Monday's contest with Anaheim. It had previously been reported by Julien that a hit in the Caps game was what fell Marchand.
With Marchand likely out, expect Daniel Paille to again skate on Boston's Merlot Line with Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton.


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URBANA (AP) — Michael Esteves says owning the house where Roger Ebert grew up means getting used to guests dropping by for a look. Including Roger Ebert.
The 39-year-old Esteves bought the Urbana home where the film critic grew up in 2005.
In 2009 Ebert was out front to see a plaque dedicated to the site. Afterward he asked to come inside.
Ebert couldn't speak but Esteves says he wrote short notes about spots in the house, such as the sink where he "washed a million dishes." And Esteves says Ebert gave his movie collection two thumbs up.
Evestes says Ebert came back occasionally. He sometimes brought students from his alma mater, the nearby University of Illinois, with him.
Ebert died Thursday at age 70 after a long battle with cancer.


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17:55 IST: Scratch that. I'm back with bad news. The rain has become heavier. The match has been abandoned. Now we'll wait and see if the KKR vs Warriors game will start on time, if at all it does start! Hop on to the other tab in a while to follow that game. Thanks and bye bye.
17:45 IST: Better news. It has almost stopped raining. Some players walk out to assess the conditions. The groundstaff may start their work any time..
17:25 IST: The cut-off time for a 5 over game is 19:10 IST. The rain has eased out a little bit, but the outfield is extremely damp. Stay tuned and hope for better weather!
16:30 IST: Not much change. The rain is still extremely heavy. Huge puddles of water can be seen across the outfield. So let's keep waiting..
16:00 IST: It is absolutely pouring down at the moment. The forecast doesn't look promising either. Remember, there are 2 games to be played here today..
It is getting extremely dark at the Chinnaswamy stadium. We may be in for a rain affected game, once again. In fact there is a slight drizzle in the air now, forcing the covers to come on. Highly unlikely that there will be start as per schedule.
South Australia (Playing XI): Michael Klinger(c), Daniel Harris, Callum Ferguson, Cameron Borgas, Daniel Christian, Tom Cooper, Tim Ludeman(w), Aaron O'Brien, Nathan Lyon, Kane Richardson, Gary Putland
Somerset (Playing XI): Peter Trego, Craig Kieswetter(w), Roelof van der Merwe, Nick Compton, James Hildreth, Jos Buttler, Arul Suppiah, George Dockrell, Steve Kirby, Alfonso Thomas(c), Murali Kartik
Thomas: It is nice to have guys like Kieswetter back, hopefully he will do well. Gregory is down with a delhi-belly, so Kirby is in.
Klinger: There has been some overnight rain so we will bowl. The conditions look good and there might be some rain also. We are happy with the way we bowled last game so we don't have any changes.
South Australia have won the toss and elected to field
Pitch Report: There is not much grass on the surface and there is not much of a green tinge. The pitch will be slow and the team that bowls first will have the advantage, reckons Kepler Wessels.
Somerset will be boosted by the return of Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler. Kieswetter in particular has been in top form this summer and he will be the key if Somerset are to get off to a great start.
Hello and Welcome to the match between the South Australian Redbacks and Somerset from Bangalore. South Australia are high on confidence after their victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous match while Somerset have gotten off to a great start. It promises to be a close encounter between two evenly matched teams. Stay tuned for the toss and the team updates.
Somerset will look to extend their winning run in the Champions League when they take on an unpredictable South Australia Redbacks in their group B contest at the Chinnaswamy stadium. Somerset will start as favourites, though the Redbacks would be confident after their thumping victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the last match.
The English county team have been highly impressive in this tournament, recording two straight victories to qualify for the main edition of the CL. Somerset, who defeated Auckland Aces and the Knight Riders in the qualifiers, beat Kolkata again to launch their campaign in the main draw on a positive note.
The Alfonso Thomas-led side has improved with each outing with the players backing each other in dire situations. Roelof van der Merwe and Peter Trego have been in excellent touch, helping Somerset post and chase down challenging totals while the likes of James Hilderth and Steven Snell have been fairly good with the bat.
van der Merwe has also done well with the ball and will be the man to watch as he has the knack of picking up wickets when it really matters. Fellow spinners Arul Suppiah, Murali Kartik and medium pacer Peter Trego have also proved their bowling capabilities in Somerset's matches so far. Alfonso Thomas, a talented fast bowler himself, will expect another clinical performance from his team.
South Australian Redbacks:
Although the Australian outfit did not have a great start to their campaign as they lost to Warriors in their opening match, they came back strongly against the Knight Riders to register a convincing victory.
The Michael Klinger-led Radbacks may not have big names in their ranks but they have players who can produce the goods, as they did during their 19-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders. The onus will be on Cullum Ferguson, who is in good nick, scoring a punishing 70 not out against Knight Riders. Michael Klinger, Daniel Harris and Tom Cooper are other batsmen who can make their stay at the middle count.
While Shaun Tait has been off colour in the Champions League, Daniel Harris, Gary Putland and Dan Christian have been amongst the wickets for the Redbacks. The spinners like Nathan Lyon, Aaron O'Brien and Adil Rashid too have not been very productive for the Redbacks and it remains to be seen what kind of bowling combination skipper Michael Klinger employs against Somerset.
Somerset (From): Alfonso Thomas(c), Steve Snell(w), Roelof van der Merwe, Peter Trego, Arul Suppiah, Steve Kirby, Craig Meschede, Murali Kartik, Gemaal Hussain, James Hildreth, George Dockrell, Adam Dibble, Nick Compton, Alex Barrow, Chris Jones
South Australia (From): Michael Klinger(c), Tim Ludeman(w), James Smith, Kane Richardson, Gary Putland, Nathan Lyon, Callum Ferguson, Daniel Christian, Shaun Tait, Chadd Sayers, Adil Rashid, Aaron O'Brien, Daniel Harris, Tom Cooper, Cameron Borgas


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2003 Baseball
weekly recap
Bluffton baseball squad finishes successful week with two victoriesBy Brian Steiner, sports information intern
April 28, 2003
|Special to: The Bluffton News (May 1), The Witmarsum (May 2), Alumni e-newsletter (April 29), but you read it here first.
The Bluffton College baseball team is determined to finish off the year successfully and proved it by winning two of their four contests last week. The two victories improved their record to 8-22 overall and 2-16 in the HCAC.
The Beavers will finish up the 2003 season this week in a three-game series with Manchester. Bluffton will host Manchester in the first contest on Fri., May 2 at 4 p.m., before heading to Manchester to take on the Spartans in a double-header beginning at 1 p.m. on Sat., May 3.
For the season, Bluffton is led offensively by junior Kyle Alberson, who leads the team in batting average (.404), runs scored (25), hits (36), homeruns (10), RBI (30), and slugging percentage (.843). Other key contributors are junior Bob Heitkamp, who has a .386 batting average, 16 runs scored, 34 hits, eight doubles, three homeruns, and 17 RBI, and senior Wes Hall, who is batting .308 with 14 runs scored, 28 hits, and 10 RBI.
BC started off the week with a bang as they defeated Cedarville University on Wed. by a score of 6-2. Senior Wes Hall played an excellent game as he pitched all nine innings to improve his record to 3-5 on the year, as well as going two-for-two at the plate with two RBI. Juniors Scott Van Eman and Ryan Fiely also added two hits as all six of BC's runs were unearned.
The victory could not be fully enjoyed as Alberson broke his hand from being hit by a pitch. The injury will force Alberson to miss the rest of the season. Despite this, Alberson finished the season with 10 homeruns, which was the most ever by a BC player. He also had a .843 slugging percentage, which was good enough for fifth best in BC history, and 30 RBI, which tied for sixth best.
The Beavers dropped a heartbreaker against Franklin College on Fri. as they lost 5-4 in 13 innings. Van Eman had three hits, Hall had two hits and three RBI, and sophomore Jason Moore had two hits to lead the Beavers offensively. Junior Josh Underwood pitched nine innings and had eight strikeouts.
Bluffton got even in the first game on Sat. by battling for a 2-1 victory. Freshman Steve Hastings had a solid outing as he pitched all seven innings and had four strikeouts to improve his record to 3-4 on the year. Offensively, BC was led by Fiely, who had one hit and an RBI, and junior Bob Heitkamp, who had one hit, an RBI, and scored a run.
The Beavers dropped the second contest by a score of 6-3. Freshman Randy Miller pitched six innings and added eight strikeouts, while Van Eman and junior Jim Dwenger had two hits apiece to lead Bluffton offensively.


text: one simple question, ported or sealed. i got bored one day and decided to REALLY blast my system after getting out of my friend's car. he's running two 12" pioneer subs in a ported box. his system sounds like crap, but i really like the loudness of his music (well im picturing it with my clarity hehe). well anyway im listening to music and i notice that my bass is mostly in the back (no bass in the front whatsoever) and I dont like the fact that i cant really feel the punch of my sub. i have 4 3way speakers that are pioneer pushed by a four channel alpine amp, and a 500/1 mono amp and a single 10w7. ive heard single w7s in other cars, and it sounded amazing! what do you guys think i should do?


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The Star Trek game paired with the recent movie Into Darkness was pretty awful. Our preview only called it "competent" and unmemorable before its release. Film director J.J. Abrams says he swore off the game early when he noticed it going south, and was ultimately saddened by it.
"The last game, which was obviously a big disappointment to me, was something that we were actually involved in from the very beginning," Abrams told GamerHub (via CVG). "Then we sort of realized that it was not going in a place where we were going to get what we wanted, so we dropped out and they continued to do it despite... y'know."
He said the game could have "really benefited" the series if it had been exciting and fun. "Instead it was not and was something that I think, for me emotionally it hurt because we were working our asses off making the movie and then this game came out and it got, this isn't even my opinion, it got universally panned and I think that it was something without question that didn't help the movie and arguably hurt it."
Of course, Abrams seems to know the game industry's rocky history with movie adaptations. "Very, very rarely does a movie based on a game, or a game based on a movie, really work," he said. "It usually ends up being something that everyone that goes to play feels like this was a marketing decision made by a room full of people that wanted to capitalize on a title. That's no way to make a game and no way to make a movie.


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Neil Lennon has been issued a notice of complaint by the Scottish Football Association over his use of abusive language during Celtic's 1-1 draw with St Mirren on Sunday.
Lennon has been charged and could face a three-match touchline ban for "failure to behave in a responsible manner as an occupant of the technical area by repeated use of offensive, insulting and abusive language" after his voice was allegedly picked up by television microphones.
The Celtic boss was furious with referee John Fleming after the game at St Mirren Park, describing his performance as "appalling".
He said: "You can't get so many big decisions so wrong, it is incredible. St Mirren should have had a penalty. You don't get many as clear-cut, so we dodged a bullet there.
"Then I see [Beram] Kayal getting wrestled into the advertising hoardings in front of the linesman and no free-kick is given. Two seconds later, I've got a man sent off for nothing.
"The penalty St Mirren got was outside the box. There was no contact.
"I'm delighted we got a point, but the referee's decisions ruined what could have potentially been a very good game. I'd like to think I'll have a chat with John."
Lennon has been given until April 10 to answer the complaint and could face a hearing eight days later if he does not plead guilty to the charge.


text:
Paris St Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti has hailed the arrival of David Beckham, claiming the midfielder can match the longevity of Paolo Maldini and saying the former England captain can help the Ligue 1 club achieve great things.
The 37-year-old was unveiled as a PSG player on Thursday on a five-month contract, having turned down numerous lucrative offers after playing his last game for the Los Angeles Galaxy at the start of December.
And Ancelotti told beIN Sport, according to www.psg.fr: "I know David Beckham very well. Everyone talks about his image, but I want to emphasise his professionalism and quality on the pitch. It is true that he is not young, but he has experience. (Paolo) Maldini won the Champions League at the age of 39, so Beckham still has lots of time ahead of him."
Copyright (c) PA Sport 2013, All Rights Reserved.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Freshman Adam Cunningham tied for sixth place, narrowly missing all-tournament honors, while leading the Tennessee Tech men's golf team to sixth place Saturday in the 10-team, 36-hole Forest Hills Invitational hosted by Augusta State University.
Cunningham recorded rounds of 70 and 75 to finish at 145, one shot off the all-tournament total. Sophomore Lee Whitehead was next for coach Polk Brown's team, placing in a tie for 17th with identical rounds of 74 for a 148 total.
Tech's lineup in the first tournament of the spring season also included freshman Bryce Kendrick (77-73—150), freshman Mitch Thomas (76-79—155) and senior Greg Kitts (79-77—156). Senior Lee Maxwell competed individually and tied for 35th place with a 75-77—152 total.
Host Augusta State, which won the NCAA Division I National Championship in 2010 and 2011, won its own tournament by 16 shots. Augusta State shot team rounds of 292 and 278 for a 570.
Northern Illinois (300-286—586) placed second, jumping past two teams in the final round. Third place went to Jacksonville State (303-288) and USC Upstate (293-298) which tied at 591. Wofford was fifth with scores of 303 and 292 for a 595, just one shot better than the Golden Eagles.
Tech, which held third place after a first-round 297, shot 299 in the second round to finish at 596. Charleston Southern (597) was seventh, followed by Presbyterian (606), Gardner-Webb (608) and North Carolina Central (670).
Tech's next outing will be the Samford Intercollegiate, March 4-5, at the Hoover (Ala.) Country Club.


text:
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89 RX dual range question
Posted 10 February 2006 - 11:10 AM
Posted 10 February 2006 - 11:28 AM
The "normal" dual-range is fwd, 4-hi, & 4 low.
Posted 10 February 2006 - 11:38 AM
The ones in the RX's are FullTime.
The "normal" dual-range is fwd, 4-hi, & 4 low.
isn't that only 87+
the 85 RX sedans had PT4WD D/R with the 1.196 Low Range (and I'm assuming the 86 RX's did as well)
Posted 10 February 2006 - 11:53 AM
(Luckily he was asking about an 89' RX which I didn't even notice until now)
Posted 10 February 2006 - 12:09 PM
how hard is it to swap this 89 dual range RX trans into an 87.5 turbo XT FT4WD? only issue is room for the additional shifter?
(not including the low range) the gearing is the same right?
Posted 10 February 2006 - 12:11 PM
the '85 and '86 RX had the same 5-speed 4WD D/R tranny as the GL's (PT4WD, usually FWD, then 4WD hi and lo), but with different gearing, and 25-spline front stubs - they were NOT full-time 4WD, so you had to be on a slick surface to use the 4WD
is the dual range RX transmission a FT4WD or does it have a FWD mode as well? i thought the dual ranges were all FT4WD, but saw another thread today that says there are dual range trans with FWD modes.
The 87+ RX has the same transmission as you, while you can make it work like a regular 4WD by locking the center differential, there is no easy/reliable way to make it FWD - at the very least it is a bolt-on-bolt-off change of the driveshaft (just the rear section), and locking the center diff - but I don't know if the locking mechanism could take the strain, and it would probably fail if it was driven hard
grossgary - I am ~90% sure the high-range gearing is the same - there seems to have been only two main gearing schemes for MT 4WD cars - turbo and non
Posted 10 February 2006 - 12:18 PM
awesome, you're the MAN!!!
grossgary - I am ~90% sure the high-range gearing is the same - there seems to have been only two main gearing schemes for MT 4WD cars - turbo and non
Posted 10 February 2006 - 12:23 PM
When I swapped an RX trans into my wagon, I had to retain the RX shift linkage stuff on the trans (different bolt pattern thingy) so don't toss anything.
Posted 10 February 2006 - 12:48 PM
cool thanks, will (or won't!) do. i wasn't going to, but sounds straight foward, i'm swapping soon as i can two the car here. looks like snow may delay that. thanks again all.
so don't toss anything.
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My first computer was the ZX-81 kit where you had to soldier it together.
Although in a lot of ways I know this is simply not practical for most people to do, I have to say it was a really awesome way to be introduced to a computer. It's probably just nostalgia but I feel a little sorry that almost no-one going forward will be introduced to computing in that way...
It's nice to see someone keeping the history of this very unique system alive.
My first computer was the ZX-81 kit where you had to soldier it together.
Well there's yer problem. Me, I just used solder.
I think what he meant was you had to "soldier on" and write all the programs yourself, because I, for one, had a damned hard time finding any.
Was the ZX-81 the same as the TS-1000, or was it the same as the one that came after?
At any rate, I probably still have casettes with TS-1000 programs on it. Are there any emulators for modern PCs that will run Sinclair BASIC or TS-1000 machine code and will read the tapes? If so, I'd love to get a copy.
Was the ZX-81 the same as the TS-1000, or was it the same as the one that came after?
I also had the TS-1000. The ZX-81 came before, I ordered mine from England. The Timex-Sinclair was the U.S. version, already assembled for you.
Yes, there was not a lot of software, though there was some you could buy on cassette as you say, or type in from magazines. It was however a great way to get into programming. I won my first programming contest with it, writing a crossword generator that won me a Timex-Sinclair 2048...
There are definitely emulators for both the ZX-81 and TS-1000, though I've not enough nostalgia I know where any are. I'm sure Google can find them.
Was the ZX-81 the same as the TS-1000, or was it the same as the one that came after?
The ZX-81 came before, I ordered mine from England. The Timex-Sinclair was the U.S. version, already assembled for you.
There were three distinct "original" ZX machines sold on the UK market:-
* ZX80 [wikipedia.org] came first in 1980. Black and white, text-based display, 1KB RAM, 4KB OS ROM with integer-only BASIC. Yes, it was very basic, but it was also very cheap- first computer under £100 back when even the Apple II cost many, many times that. Apparently it was also sold in the US in both kit and assembled form. (I don't know if the pre-assembled version was ever sold in its native UK?)
* ZX81 [wikipedia.org] came next and was even more popular. Essentially an improved and cost-reduced refinement of the ZX80 design. Still black and white with 1KB RAM (expandable to 16KB) and a new improved 8KB OS and BASIC ROM. The Timex Sinclair 1000 mentioned above was an NTSC version with 2KB and other minor differences for the US market, but to all intents and purposes the same machine.
* ZX Spectrum [wikipedia.org] followed on in 1982. Colour, high-res graphics, sound (albeit crude single channel). There was a US machine based on the Spectrum design (the failed Timex Sinclair 2068) but unlike the TS1000, it made significant changes and improvements to the original design.
There were very many clones and variants- both authorised and unauthorised- of the above machines in various countries. In part because their architecture was based around clever design using cheap off-the-shelf parts (e.g. the ZX80's inability to compute and display at the same time was because the display was primarily generated in software). This made them easier to rip off than (e.g.) the Commodore 64.
The ZX81 replaced the ZX80 as it was essentially a refined and improved version of the latter (better OS and moving graphics possible- the ZX80's display flickered and went blank whenever it was busy) and at a lower price (18 chips in the ZX80 replaced with a single functionally equivalent chip). In fact, the ZX80 could be almost upgraded to a ZX81- minus the steady graphics- simply by replacing the ROM OS.
The Spectrum was a slightly more expensive machine with colour and high-resolution graphics and (very crude) single-channel sound. It was sold alongside the cheaper ZX81 for some time. (I think they stopped making the ZX81 in 1984?) In the long term the Spectrum was the most successful as it was usable for games- its success quickly spawned rivals, but its early lead had already established a network effect [wikipedia.org] (i.e. users led to support and software which led to more users, which led to more support...) and it survived until the early 90s.
Thanks for the timeline - I got on board with the ZX-81 (ordered from England, sent to the U.S.) then after that I was with the U.S. versions - the Timex-Sinclair 1k (forget why I had that since after all i had the ZX-81), the the Timex-Sinclair 2048 (which was the U.S. version of the Spectrum). Or I might have got the 2068, can't remember exactly.
Too bad the line didn't continue into modern days.
Too bad the line didn't continue into modern days.
The successor was the QL (based on the Motorola 64k IIRC, instead of the Z-80 of the older machines), but that basically failed. Too expensive for the market, and not nearly enough of the software that people wanted (games). In some senses, the real successors to the Speccy were consoles and the PC, depending on how much money you had and whether you were just playing games or were determined to write software as well.
In some senses, the real successors to the Speccy were consoles and the PC, depending on how much money you had and whether you were just playing games or were determined to write software as well.
Not quite, or at least, not directly. The late-80s and early-90s successors to the Spectrum were really the Atari ST and Amiga, the latter of which may have flopped in the US, but was massively popular in Europe around the turn of the decade. It wasn't until circa '92-93 that the ever-falling price of PC clones and the Mega Drive (AKA Genesis) and later SNES took over and *really* started to dominate the home market.
(Remember that the original NES was never as big a deal here as it was in the US at the time- it was even outsold by the Sega Master System in the UK).
(*) Sinclair sold the QL on the basis that it was a 32-bit machine, which the 68008 *was*... internally. But then, the Amiga and ST's 68000 was generally considered a 16-bit processor (not 32-bit) due to the size of its data bus, so following the same system the QL would only be an 8-bit machine. It depends what slant you want to put on it!
Anyway, AFAIK, the QL partly flopped because Sinclair aimed at the business market instead of hobbyists.
Even then (apparently), IBM PC compatibility was quickly becoming more important to such people. Also, I'm assuming that the quirkiness and flakiness of Sinclair products would have been less tolerable to business users in the quickly-maturing mid 80s market
The IBM PC was the natural upgrade path from CP/M.
The big names in business software all had product out for the IBM by 1982.
Two built-in ZX [85 KB] Microdrive tape-loop cartridge drives provided mass storage [for the QL], in place of the more expensive floppy disk drives found on similar systems of the era.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_QL [wikipedia.org]
Two built-in ZX [85 KB] Microdrive tape-loop cartridge drives provided mass storage [for the QL], in place of the more expensive floppy disk drives found on similar systems of the era.
Yes, but this is what I mean about hobbyists vs. business. Hobbyists would have been willing to tolerate the non-standard nature and (arguably) lower reliability of the microdrives, but I suspect that this wasn't so much the case for businesses.
(IIRC I read somewhere that the QL Microdrives were more reliable than the Spectrum version, but still).
Also, there were things like the QL being released what some people considered way too early, with early versions having bugs and requiring "dongles" where the
A friend's Dad bought a ZX80 when they came out and then first thing I did was program a home-made "breakout" game into it. The screen flashed every time the ball went up and down, and then the game ran out of memory.
I think what he meant was you had to "soldier on" and write all the programs yourself, because I, for one, had a damned hard time finding any.
I didn't. There were cardboard crates full of jumbled discount tapes at the local bargain store. "Ooh, look! A coupon manager!"
Are there any emulators for modern PCs that will run Sinclair BASIC or TS-1000 machine code and will read the tapes?
I can't imagine it'd take more than 50 lines of Python.
It's okay, they didn't have hyperlinks back when you got into computing. I hear wearing an onion on your belt was fashionable...
either use the
prefix or

If you use the old discussion system it gives you a hint below the post area.
Was the ZX-81 the same as the TS-1000, or was it the same as the one that came after?
The TS1000 had a slightly different motherboard, with an NTSC RF modulator and twice the RAM (2K!) built in. If I remember correctly, you couldn't get TS1000 kits either.
Either two 4bit chips or one 8 bit chip.
That's what sinclair did with the successor, the Spectrum, too. It came in 2 editions, 16 and 48k. That extra 32k was actually 64k, with only upper or lower bank mapped. Apparently they shaved some costs using partly broken memory chips in consumer products.
It' didn't go so well for me. I was 12, uncoordinated, and had never soldered before. I, my desk, and everything on it were covered in burns by the time I was done, and I never could get it to work. Had to send it in to have them fix it for me. It was a mess... I suspect they just yanked the z80 and threw the rest away.
...but I don't see my favourite piece of ZX81 ephemera, the promotional poster that placed on some sort of darkly psychedelic space opera lectern:
http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/userdata/images/large/PRODPIC-9064.jpg [computinghistory.org.uk]
I actually learnt the QWERTY layout from a free copy of that, while waiting excitedly for the actual computer (an expected Christmas present). Yes, I would tell you to get off my lawn, but I actually have a hedge maze patrolled by a dinosaur:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKvd0zPfBE4 [youtube.com]
"Finally you can afford to satisfy your lust for power."
Well, it's about time!
I love looking at old advertising. Shows what a crotchety old geezer I'm turning into now that was when a programmer was a programmer - fit a whole suite of applications in 16K of memory and stored on cassette tapes
I was 12 years old. I worked for a summer and made enough money to buy the unassembled version. It was essentially a bag of parts that you soldered together yourself. Add an old black and white TV, a cassette tape recorder and you were on your way. That way back when "built your own computer" meant that either you assembled it or actually designed the darn thing. Today it means you connected the major components together and hoped everybody followed spec.
The best part of the ZX81 was the fantastic instruction manual it came with that essentially taught you how to program (in BASIC). Very well written. I eventually left basic behind and started programming in Forth.
I don't have mine anymore, but I wish I did. The membrane keyboard was truly horrible to use, the RAM (1K) insufficient (I eventually purchased the 16K add-on), and the entire thing painfully slow. But it was an affordable, functional computer back when that was a rarity. I owe it and it's designers a great debt.
I wore my membrane keyboard out playing two player battle tanks (I wrote it in assembly and hand-assembled the machine code because BASIC was too slow. Had to put loops in to slow it down enough to be playable in assembly).
But I was 30 (damn but I'm getting old).
I totally forgot about the thermal printer! That was pretty cool.
I still have both of them somewhere, though I'm really hazy about where I put the thermal printer.
Damn kids with your high
The ZX81 was a cool box. My friend had one and his mom had an semi-pro U-Matic video editor that we made programs on for titling. The only computer I had used before that one was the SWTPC 6800 (6800 w/ 4k, just enough ROM to load BASIC from cassette, 14 minutes.) I can see where the VIC and C64 took a lot from it with all the graphic chars on the keyboard.
I did have one of the early Sinclair programmable calculators, 32 steps IIRC. All RPN. My 7th grade teachers cou
The ram pack was prone to wiggling a bit and you'd lose the entire contents of memory. You had to prop it on a book or tape it in place. Kind of a nightmare really. I also hated the ultra-fiddly tape storage, where you had to have the volume and tone adjusted just right to get those weird black bars that showed the program was loading or saving correctly.
I also hated the ultra-fiddly tape storage, where you had to have the volume and tone adjusted just right to get those weird black bars that showed the program was loading or saving correctly.
Yes but the bars were very helpful, because you could see if the tape was going bad and had the volume fluctuating... then you could adjust the volume on the fly to adapt, and read in even very worn tapes.
By "great" I mean at the time of course, it would not be "great" today to have to adjust an analog knob while you w
I also hated the ultra-fiddly tape storage, where you had to have the volume and tone adjusted just right to get those weird black bars that showed the program was loading or saving correctly.
I never had any trouble, but that was because I had a really cheap and nasty tape recorder without any fancy auto-level circuitry that would try to make the data "sound nicer" (hah!). Wasn't nice to use for playing anything to listen to, but was perfect as a cheap-ass storage device.
The cool thing about the ZX-81 in particular (kit version) was how when you built something from scratch you really felt not a care at all about modification to it.
You didn't like the chiclet keyboard? Neither did I. That's why I replaced with with a spare TI-994A keyboard (real keys). After all, when you were the one that personally attached the keyboard connector you feel no trepidation in taking it out.
Or the wobbly 16k ram pack. The problem was the thing was as you say rather bulky, and would with some vibration work its way off the connector just enough to crash the system.
Again when you were the one assembling the case you have no issues attaching struts to the case to make the 16K expansion far more stable.
That's why there is still as much nostalgia for the ZX-81 as other more popular computers like the Atari or Commodore models that were easier to set up and use, because it was generally a more personal attachment and level of effort involved for those that really got into it.
Being mass market things I didn't keep any of the other early computers - but I did keep the ZX-81, because a lot of personal effort had gone into it.
If you haven't seen the movie Micro Men about Clive Sinclair, it is very entertaining. Now playing at your nearest torrent.
Yes, mod parent up - the UK's Bill Gates (Sinclair) versus a young Steve Jobs (Curry/Hauser - discuss?)
I've never really thought about it before, but yes there is a big similarity. The cheap, market share leading but clunky Sinclair computers, vs the high design values at a higher price of the Acorn computers. And then there's Clive Sinclair's phone throwing echoed in Ballmer's chair throwing.
If you haven't seen the movie Micro Men about Clive Sinclair, it is very entertaining. Now playing at your nearest torrent.
I've a couple of points to make about the programme. It was okay in some respects- nitpicking aside [wikipedia.org], I knew most of the details already and it seemed to get them broadly right.
However, I did have a problem with how "Clive Sinclair" was played. Whatever one thinks of the guy- and I've heard some things said in the past that don't cast him in the greatest light- I think he deserved a fair portrayal. Whereas all the other parts (including Acorn's Chris Curry) were acted pretty much straight, Alexander Armstr
There is even a YouTube channel for the diehard 8-bit fans out there
8-bit? 2-bit. Good grief, that thing was painfully limited except relative to its immediate competitors. Prior to my parents buying my a ZX81 for Christmas, my home computer was an Atari 2600 with a BASIC Programming [wikipedia.org] cartridge. It had 62 bytes of code memory.
Let me repeat that in case you thought I misspoke: it had 62, sixty-two, 2^6-2 bytes of memory.
The ZX81 came with a whopping 16KB, which seemed mansionlike to my very inexperienced mind. But that's like having a better civil rights record than North Korea. It wasn't the worst of the worst but it wasn't far from it.
I'm pretty sure the ZX-81 only came with 1K (I think the TS-1000 same with 2K). There were expansion boards out to take it up to a whopping 64K.
My ZX81 came with an external 16KB RAM expansion. When I said "the ZX81", I meant "the ZX81 my parents bought me for Christmas in hopes that I'd stop bugging them for a computer".
The service manual explains how to fit a 2kB or 8kB RAM chip and jumper it to suit. Many people did just that, or even a stack of such chips to make 16k.
Prior to my parents buying my a ZX81 for Christmas, my home computer was an Atari 2600 with a BASIC Programming [wikipedia.org] cartridge. It had 62 bytes of code memory.
I read a bit about that "BASIC" cartridge a while back. It's obviously a ludicrous idea.
But then, I'm not attacking the VCS / 2600 in itself for that- it's clearly *not* what the machine was ever intended for. The machine has 128 bytes of RAM but supports up to 4KB ROM cartridges- obviously designed such that the program was stored on ROM, with the precious few bytes of RAM being used for data storage. (And *that* was using assembly language, and it was still apparently damn hard to develop "regular" 2600
The biggest stumbling block was with my parents. That BASIC cartridge wasn't exactly free and they were gun shy about buying me a better system. I kept my mouth shut about the limitations of that little ZX81 until I learned enough to make use of it anyway. I was able to impress them enough with my enthusiasm that it was easier to talk them into getting a Commodore 64 a few months later.
Again, my own ZX81 came with the 16KB cartridge. It had 1KB "native".
I learned on a ZX81, and I still have one.
I learned Z80 machine code by reading other peoples listings and comparing to the mnemonics at the back of the ZX81 manual.
I programmed a cool morse-code decoder, and a music program that played sound out of the TV speaker (along with a load of junk).
I also beat someone elses implementation of read, data & restore.
Then I went on to a CPC6128, then BBC Micro with econet and advanced programmers guide. Then hacking MSDOS with debug and edlin. Then Windows 3.1 and Delphi; win95, then moving to winXP and Linux and sticking with Linux - for the freedom you know.
For a while I had a ZX81 emulator on my android phone, but like the other guy said, you couldn't pay me to go back to it.
It was awful. At the time it was great and helped make me, but I won't go back. You can't make me!
The really nifty part is that the Z80 processor is a superset up the 8080, meaning that most of your Assember code would still run on a Pentium.
If it's a Z80 that's any similar to the one in the first GameBoy, there's nearly 1024 opcodes in that CPU. There's register bit set/bit clear/bit test for all bits of nearly all registers.
Thanks, I thought they were source level compatible.
price is not the only factor
for one the time had a lot to do with it, now YOU could have a computer without breaking the bank, much more impressive in 81 vs 012, next all you had to do is plug it in and your computing, PI well your going to have to choose and install a linux distro on the thing before it does more than sit there, which sad to say is still a challenge for most people today.
The ZX-81 was my first computer, too.
I really liked the little Basic book and 10-line games. Unfortunately, my 16K memory expansion had this annoying feature that it would reset the machine when you knocked on the table -- not so nice when you had entered a long program and it happened before you had saved it to cassette tape.
And yeah, the keyboard really sucked.
Oh well. At that point I realized that I had already been screwed by this thing called a computer and I didn't even know what the heck it was yet. Not to be beaten and then kicked when down, I forced the University to 'creatively' come up with another way for me to graduate (a semester late, but graduated none the less), and then went out and I bought this Sinclair kit and built my own computer in my dorm room.
I had to buy all the solder, wire, and stuff, to be able to build and assemble it, and then I went down the dorm hallway knocking on doors until I found someone that actually had taken that computer science class and dragged him down to my room and had them explain what they did. With a three line program printing out my name in a loop I allowed him to go back to his party, and it was history from there. The local electronics swap shop had numerous visits as I bought a second hand teletype keyboard, power supplies, and odds and ends, and rewired them all to interface with this little computer. It morphed over time to have more memory than it was ever designed to have and lots of relays and controls for all sorts of things. The creation kept growing in both size and complexity. Every peripheral that was ever designed for the Sinclair, and later the Timex version of it, was in there somewhere, and then many many creations of my own.
After graduating I began taking courses in microprocessors and digital electronics and was part of the manufacturing engine that built the next generation of computers. Eventually I became a Computer Scientist, now with fond memories if those simple days, when it was fairly easy to see how something worked and to find ways to improve upon it. Its nice to see that others have fond memories as well. The Sinclair was one of a kind.
I cut my teeth on the ZX81 when I was 8 years old, and I've still got it... I had a 1k ZX81 which later got upgraded to 16k with a "proper" keyboard. My dad mounted it on a wooden base and fixed the RAM pack to eliminate wobble.
By the time I was 9 I was a confident BASIC programmer, writing my own (very slow) games, and was learning Z80 machine code (note all you commodore people: the 6502 sucked in comparison).
When I was 10 I got a multi-tasking FORTH ROM. It was a replacement for the built-in Sinclair BASIC ROM and was 8k. It contained a Real Time multi-tasking threaded-compiled (as opposed to interpreted) FORTH system.
You can get a ZX81 emulator for *nix and the ROM image is out there somewhere. I downloaded a copy a year or two back. Google for "zx81 husband forth rom".
Some Sinclair staff who had worked on the ZX81 left to form their own company to make a computer called the Jupiter Ace, which was somewhere between a ZX81 and a Spectrum in terms of hardware (no colour, but high-res graphics and more RAM than the ZX81). The FORTH in that was more conventional.
Those were the days!
I never had one (although I wanted one). Now, after reading about the horrible hacks that Sinclair's engineers did to make it all work (did you know that they repurposed the Z80's DRAM refresh circuit as a video generator? 'strue) I suspect I'm glad I grew up with the BBC Micro instead.
But I cannot deny that the set of standard manuals had the best cover art on any computer reference book, ever. Mmm, those lovely John Harris paintings [alisoneldred.com]... and he sells prints!
Many of us have larger collections.. Why is this 'news' ?
I recall magazines selling the ZX-81 in kit form, but at that time, I had no interest in spending a whole $100 (after shipping and/or sales tax, anyway) for a bag of unassembled parts. I really wanted my own home computer though, so the assembled Timex-Sinclair 1000 version was just the thing for me.
I even owned a very rare plastic carrying case for it, that I had to order direct from Timex with a special coupon to get. As I recall, it held 4 cassette tapes in their plastic cases, the computer and AC adapter, TV converter box, and maybe a spot for that 16K RAM expansion pack (it had 2K internally).
Good times!
Be nostalgic if you want to - but that keyboard really was horrible. We're not talking Samsung proximity touch screens - this was as painful as the weird old lady who works at Burger King punching a special order into the funky membrane keyboard point-of-sale system.
It was a blessing that you only had 1K - it meant your Basic program probably wouldn't be very long.
Before I upgraded to the C64 and became more of an asshole with my-computer-is-better-than-yours flamewars with the Apple IIe and Atari 800 dudes, I had a VIC-20. Even at the time, I knew how bad the Vic was, and there was no one I could snobbishly look down upon, like the douchebag antagonist of any of a dozen early 1980s movies. No one I could look down upon, that is, except the poor TS-1000 / ZX-81 guys.
"You're running out of memory, so your display is starting to get smaller?"
"Nice keyboard you've got
Use the Archive.org link:
http://web.archive.org/web/20110724142332/http://www.zx81museum.net/adverts.html [archive.org]
I tried the Coral Cache link:
http://www.zx81museum.net.nyud.net/adverts.html [nyud.net]
But it returns "500 Internal Server Error".
Old ZX 80 hardware is expensive and rare from what I have seen. You can use the MESS Sinclair ZX 80 [mess.org] target to relive those 8-bit days of yore without the fear of electrical or mechanical breakdowns associated with running on the actual hardware. A lot of early microcomputer equipment often had power supply or other problems which means that even if you can get your hands on the real hardware now, and it works, it may not run for long before things start breaking. I do not have any old ZX 80's and don't have
...there can be no public or private virtue unless the foundation of action is the practice of truth. - George Jacob Holyoake


text:
Exclusive Presale Window Starts Today
for Cirque Club Members and MichaelJackson.com subscribers
General Onsale Begins Saturday, November 6 in 30 Cities
The Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil announced today the official international launch of Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour™ written and directed by Jamie King, the leading concert director in pop music today. This once-in-a-lifetime electrifying production will combine Michael Jackson music and choreography with Cirque du Soleil creativity to give fans worldwide a unique view into the spirit, passion and heart of the artistic genius who forever transformed global pop culture.
A riveting fusion of visuals, dance, music and fantasy that immerses audiences in Michael's creative world and literally turns his signature moves upside down, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour unfolds Michael Jackson's artistry before the eyes of the audience. Aimed at lifelong fans as well as those experiencing Michael's creative genius for the first time, the show captures the essence, soul and inspiration of the King of Pop, celebrating a legacy that continues to transcend generations.
THE IMMORTAL World Tour takes place in a fantastical realm where we discover Michael's inspirational Giving Tree—the wellspring of his creativity. The secrets of Michael's inner world are unlocked—his love of music and dance, fairy tale and magic, and the fragile beauty of nature.
The underpinnings of THE IMMORTAL World Tour are Michael Jackson's powerful, inspirational music and lyrics—the driving force behind the show—brought to life with extraordinary power and breathless intensity. Through unforgettable performances Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour underscores Michael's global messages of love, peace and unity. In selecting Jamie King as Writer and Director for Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour— which will feature 60 international performers—, The Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil chose a director Variety called one of the most influential "movers and shakers" in the music industry, and the "Jerry Bruckheimer of tent-pole concert tours". A multiple Emmy Award® and MTV Video Music Award® nominee, and greatly influenced by his early years working for both Prince and Michael Jackson, he has choreographed some of the most popular music videos and directed some of the highest grossing concert tours of all time. For the past 12 years, he has served as Madonna's creative director, having most recently directed her 2008 Sticky & Sweet world tour, as well as her 2006 record-breaking Confessions world tour and hit music video, Sorry. He most recently directed Rihanna's Last Girl On Earth world tour, Celine Dion's Taking Chances world tour, The Return of the Spice Girls reunion tour, Britney Spears' Circus tour and Avril Lavigne's Best Damn tour. He previously directed and choreographed world tours for Madonna (Re-Invention and Drowned World); Asian superstar Rain (Rain's Coming); Ricky Martin (Black & White and La Vida Loca); Pink (Try This); Christina Aguilera (Back to Basics and Stripped); and his first collaboration with Britney Spears (Oops! I Did It Again). He has worked with an array of superstars including Mariah Carey, Shakira, George Michael, Elton John, Diana Ross, Jennifer Lopez and even Ellen DeGeneres. This is Jamie's first show with Cirque du Soleil.
Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour will call on the diverse talents of the following creative minds: (see last page for creators' bios)
Guy Laliberté – Creative Guide
Chantal Tremblay – Director of Creation
Jamie King – Writer and Director
Kevin Antunes – Musical Designer
Mark Fisher – Set Designer
Michael Curry – Props and Scenic Designer
Zaldy Goco – Costume Designer
Germain Guillemot – Acrobatic Performance Designer
Scott Osgood – Rigging and Acrobatic Equipment Designer
Olivier Goulet – Projection Designer
Martin Labrecque – Lighting Designer
François Desjardins – Sound Designer
Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour will begin in Montreal in October 2011 and travel to select North American cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver. Additional cities and dates will be announced.
For three days only, Cirque Club members and MichaelJackson.com subscribers will have exclusive access to purchase presale tickets online beginning Wednesday, November 3 at 10am Eastern Daylight Time.
Cirque Club membership is free and benefits include access to advance tickets, special offers and exclusive behind the scenes information. To join, go to www.cirqueclub.com.
Starting Saturday, November 6 at 12pm local time, tickets will go on sale to the public for the cities and dates listed below.
For complete tour and ticket information, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com or www.MichaelJackson.com
The tour schedule is subject to change.
October 2-3 Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
October 7 Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
October 12 Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum
October 15 Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
October 18 London, ON - John Labatt Centre
October 21 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
October 26 Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
October 29 Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre
November 1 Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
November 4 Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena
November 9 Seattle, WA - KeyArena
November 18 Portland, OR - Rose Garden
November 29 Salt Lake City, UT - EnergySolutions Arena
December 3-11 Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
January 6 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
January 10 Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena
January 13 San Jose, CA - HP Pavillion at San Jose
January 18 Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
January 21 San Diego, CA - Valley View Casino Center
January 24 Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
January 27 Los Angeles, CA - STAPLES Center
February 10 Houston, TX - Toyota Center
March 2 Miami, FL - AmericanAirlines Arena
March 24 Quebec City, QC - Colisée Pepsi
April 3 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
April 10 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
June 29 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
In April 2010, The Estate of Michael Jackson and Cirque du Soleil announced an unprecedented arrangement for the creation, development, production and promotion of Michael Jackson projects, featuring touring and permanent shows, based on the music and songs of Michael Jackson. The two entities will each own 50 percent of each Michael Jackson project, sharing equally in the cost of creating, developing, building and producing the projects and in the profits from each project. The Estate of Michael Jackson will also receive royalty payments on various aspects of its intellectual property used in the Michael Jackson projects.
Media Contacts :
United States
Tim Choy
Davidson & Choy Publicity
323-954-7510 ext. 13
Jim Bates – for The Estate of Michael Jackson
Sitrick And Company
Chantal Côte - Cirque du Soleil
514-723-7646, ext. 7326
Reggie Lyons – Cirque du Soleil
Still images are available for download at http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/press/kits/shows/michael-jackson-tour
Video images are also available for download
B-roll uncompressed:
http://media-www.cirquedusoleil.com/public-materials/michael-jackson-tour/cds-mj-pr-uncompressed.zip (648 MB)
Promo clip English:
http://media-www.cirquedusoleil.com/public-materials/michael-jackson-tour/social-mj-pr-en.zip (220 MB)
Creators Bio
Chantal Tremblay – Director of Creation
At the end of the 1980s, while living in New York pursuing a career in dance, Chantal Tremblay decides to join Cirque du Soleil after having seen one the company's shows. Chantal started out as a dancer on a Cirque project and then became choreographer Debra Brown's assistant on the creation of Mystère. Chantal has worked on many Cirque projects including the shows Alegría, La Nouba and Mystère for which she once was the Artistic Director. Later on her solid credentials helped her land the position of Director of Creation on both The Beatles LOVE and OVO.
Jamie King – Writer and Director
Jamie King is the leading concert director in the world of pop music today. In 2006, Variety named King one of the most influential "movers and shakers" in the music industry, branding him the "Jerry Bruckheimer of ten-pole concert tours". A multiple Emmy Award ® and MTV Video Music Award ® nominee, and greatly influenced by his early years working for both Prince and Michael Jackson, he has choreographed some of the most popular music videos and directed some of the highest grossing concert tours of all time. For the past twelve years, he has served as Madonna's creative director, having most recently directed her 2008 Sticky & Sweet world tour, as well as her 2006 record-breaking Confessions world tour and hit music video, Sorry. He most recently directed Rihanna's Last Girl On Earth world tour, Céline Dion's Taking Chances world tour, The Return of the Spice Girls reunion tour, Britney Spears' Circus tour and Avril Lavigne's Best Damn tour. He previously directed and choreographed world tours for Madonna (Re-Invention and Drowned World); Asian superstar Rain (Rain's Coming); Ricky Martin (Black & White and La Vida Loca); Pink (Try This); Christina Aguilera (Back to Basics and Stripped); and his first collaboration with Britney Spears (Oops I Did It Again). He has worked with an array of superstars including Mariah Carey, Shakira, George Michael, Elton John, Diana Ross, Jennifer Lopez and even Ellen DeGeneres. This is Jamie's first show with Cirque du Soleil.
Kevin Antunes – Musical Designer
Kevin Antunes is a musical designer, musical director, keyboardist and digital audio programmer. His most recent tour was working directly for Madonna on her record breaking Sticky & Sweet world tour. Kevin produced the stereo and surround sound audio mix for the live stadium concert from Argentina released on DVD in 2010. Kevin has also worked with Justin Timberlake for the past 12 years starting with *NSYNC, which then transitioned into Justin's solo career. The stereo and surround sound audio of Justin's HBO Live Concert Broadcast of his FutureSex/LoveSounds (which was released on DVD) was also mixed by Kevin. Throughout his career Kevin has performed with Janet Jackson, Timbaland, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift, Snoop Dogg, Christina Aguilera, Lady Antebellum, P Diddy, Pharrell Williams, Enrique Iglesias, Backstreet Boys, Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch, and the New Kids on the Block, among others. Kevin has performed on many major television events and music award shows including The Grammy Awards, The Academy Awards, two different Super Bowl Halftime Performances, HBO & Showtime Original Live Concerts, Hope for Haiti Now benefit concert, Canadian SARS benefit concert, Amnesty International, Rock-n-Rio, MTV Awards, The Brit Awards, The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, and Saturday Night Live. Kevin is working with Cirque du Soleil for the first time.
Mark Fisher – Set Designer
British architect Mark Fisher's interest in building temporary structures and inflatables caught the attention of Roger Waters and led to his first rock 'n' roll commission for Pink Floyd's Animals tour in 1977. Mark has since earned an international reputation for his spectacular concert designs. His best-known work includes The Wall and Division Bell for Pink Floyd, Steel Wheels, Bridges to Babylon and Bigger Bang for the Rolling Stones, as well as Popmart for U2. Most recently Mark was Chief Designer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and U2's 2009-2010 360° tour. This will be Mark Fisher's third collaboration with Cirque du Soleil following KÀ and Viva ELVIS.
Michael Curry – Props and Scenic Designer
Puppet Designer Michael Curry works widely in both conceptual and technical development with the foremost entertainment companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, London's Royal National Theatre, Disney Theatrical Productions, LA Opera, and Universal Pictures. Michael has been the recipient of many prestigious awards from his peers, including several awards for his puppet and costume work on Broadway, Olympic ceremonies as well as his continuing innovations in the fields of visual effects and puppetry design. He has collaborated with Julie Taymor on many stage and opera productions. Among his numerous awards, he received the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Puppet Design in recognition of his work for Taymor on The Lion King. Michael's other credits include an opera directed by Robert Lepage at the Paris Opera, an opera at La Scala, Milan, directed by William Friedkin, and the Broadway production of Spider Man with music by Bono and Edge, directed by Julie Taymor. After KÀ and Wintuk, Michael Curry collaborates with Cirque du Soleil for the third time.
Zaldy Goco – Costume Designer
Zaldy is one of New York's most celebrated and innovative designers. Since 2001 he has created custom looks for entertainment icons such as Michael Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Mary J Blige, Will I. Am, Rufus Wainwright, Scissor Sisters, Alicia Keys, Britney Spears, Halle Berry, Parker Posey, Gabourey Sidebe, and Mick Jagger among others. In 2009 Zaldy was named head designer for Michael Jackson's This Is It concert series as well as Lady Gaga's first North American Monster Ball Tour. He was the man behind Gwen Stefani's label L.A.M.B. collaborating with Stefani for nearly four years while maintaining his namesake label. This is his first collaboration with Cirque du Soleil.
Germain Guillemot – Acrobatic Performance Designer
A graduate from Centre national des arts du cirque in Châlon, France, Germain Guillemot started his career with the French troupe Cirque Archaos and toured with the company for two years. With other circus fellows he created the French circus company Les Arts Sauts where he worked both as a creator and performer for 15 years. Germain joined Cirque du Soleil in 2007 as a coach for the flying trapeze act on ZED and then became Acrobatic Training Manager for Viva ELVIS. This is Germain Guillemot's first collaboration with Cirque du Soleil as Acrobatic Performance Designer.
Scott Osgood – Rigging and Acrobatic Equipment Designer
Scott started his career as an acrobat as part of the Sailor Circus program in Sarasota, California. His disciplines included ladder, teeterboard, clowning and juggling. Scott picked up his knowledge of acrobatic equipment and rigging design from veterans in the business. He worked in the worlds of theatre and rock music, where his rigging expertise was in demand. At the same time, he continued to work around the world as a performer, appearing with many circus companies including the Ringling Brothers, and Barnum and Bailey. He also worked as an acrobat in theme parks including Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Scott's first assignment with Cirque du Soleil came when the Cirque show La Nouba was being created in 1997. He worked on the rigging design for that production. ZED was Scott Osgood's first mandate with Cirque du Soleil as Rigging and Acrobatic Equipment Designer.
Olivier Goulet – Projection Designer
Active in the field of video design since 2001, Quebec producer, stage and video content designer Olivier Goulet specializes in video stage design. Since 2007, he has designed and produced video content for many productions and artists including Maria Carey, Alicia Keys, Joe Cocker, Michael Bublé, Tina Turner, Pink, the shows of Cher and Bette Midler at Ceasar's Palace in Las Vegas, as well as the production Paradis Perdu in Montreal. Olivier is the President of the Montreal-based video stage design company Geodezik, which collaborated with Cirque du Soleil on the shows DELIRIUM and ZAIA. Other Quebec (Gilles Maheu, O Vertigo Danse) and American (Linkin Park and The Killers, Justin Timberlake) artists turned to Geodezik to enhance their show through video imagery.
Martin Labrecque – Lighting Designer
Martin Labrecque's professional credits include more than a hundred theatrical productions, as well as circus shows. Martin contributed to the critical success of several Quebec shows. He has won many Quebec awards for his lighting design in addition to several nominations. Martin Labrecque created the lighting for two critically acclaimed circus shows produced by Cirque Éloize, Rain and Nomade, as well as Cirque du Soleil shows Corteo, KOOZA and Viva ELVIS. In 2009, Martin designed the lighting for an eleven-hour show by Canadian author, director and actor Wajdi Mouawad, which was presented in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France. He also worked on the show Paradis Perdu, directed by Dominic Champagne and presented in Montreal.
François Desjardins – Sound Designer
For nearly 25 years, François Desjardins has devoted himself entirely to enhancing sound environments in the music world. As a sound designer, he creates soundscapes that are tailored to each artist's expectations. Since 1992, François has toured with Céline Dion on all her live shows, He has also worked with several Canadian and foreign artists including Garou, Roch Voisine, Tragically Hip, Tom Cochrane and Pavarotti. As a crew chief, he has installed, maintained and operated the most sophisticated sound systems available in the industry. François also participated in a large number of events as Head Sound Technician of Solotech (Montreal) and Chief Technical Advisor of Solotech (United States). He was sound designer during the World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002 (Papal visit) and for the re-staging of Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco.


text:
The Toyota Corolla just won't go away - and there are a large number of Kiwis who would go into a huge emotional decline should that ever happen.
We love our Corollas here - and rightfully so. Just do a quick survey among friends and colleagues to see who has owned one, and it's highly unlikely that nobody puts a hand up.
Owning a Corolla - or one of its extended whanau that encompasses Levin and Trueno amongst others - is almost a rite of passage in New Zealand.
Want reliable, reasonably cheap cost of ownership and a solid resale? It ticks a whole lot of boxes. Even Toyota's glory car - the recently-launched 86 - puts a Corolla at the top of its family tree, the Levin AE86.
As time as ticked on, and technology has improved, the Corolla has carefully maintained its market position as an easy-to-drive, easy-to-live-with, family-capable machine without pretensions, nothing too flash Harry, and a good, honest face. And this has quite obviously worked a treat. With the next generation upon us as from this week, and Toyota's sales figures again putting it in Goliath position on the Kiwi car charts, it's undoubtedly going to be a solid success.
I've had a'rolla or two over the years, and certainly wouldn't discount owning one again.
Every company that I've worked for that has run a fleet has counted some of Toyota's favourite in its line-up, and that doesn't seem to have changed.