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Most games recently just kind of suck and rest upon the shoulders of innovative graphics. This does not make me hopeful for the future of gaming.
However, if this technology isn't a scam like I suspect, I still welcome it. It could change the face of computer graphics as we currently know it forever.
Most games recently just kind of suck and rest upon the shoulders of innovative graphics. This does not make me hopeful for the future of gaming.
Generally speaking, I'm in agreement on the suck part, but hold on a second there with the conclusion. If this technology is real and games do see a massive jump forward in graphics, wouldn't that allow for an end to each successive title needing to simply out-polygon the competition? Isn't it equally likely this would force a paradigm shift, where if nothing else art- real art, would supplant technical graphics specs?
5:45 - he makes the claim that real-world scanned objects can't be used in games because the resolution is too high. This is completely false. Game developers have scanned objects for a long time, and even more often, made extremely high resolution models on purpose. The models are then lowered in resolution down to a usable form, and the differences between the low-res and high-res models is compiled into a normal (bump) map. This is how almost all first person game textures are made these days. (The benefits of this process are mainly surrounding the better efficiency of textures in holding the depth data than polys, especially at varying distances where complex geometry results in extreme aliasing, and the fact that high-poly models cause serious issues with more advanced lighting schemes.) To make the claim this guy just did is highly suspect.
So, what you're saying is that people scan real world objects, but don't actually use those models in games... so... once one accounts for market speak "you can't use a scan of a real-world object in a game [without dropping enough detail so that you're not using the original scan]."
No, they don't use the raw point cloud models, they perform some processing first. And I doubt these guys use unprocessed point clouds for their engine either, so it's a ludicrous claim.
Their specific claim is that they are using point clouds. My thoughts are that if you strategically collapse points of the model (like a dynamic LOD sort of thing) that you could feasibly accomplish something similar to what they're doing.
I mean, seriously, they're talking about large point fields for grains of sand... if that were true, then why wouldn't they be able to use a raw point clouds from scanned objects?
Seen this video few years ago - definitely a scam.
Seen this video few years ago - definitely a scam.
How is that possible? Crysis 2, featured in the video, was only released this year. I'm not saying this ISN'T a scam or that you might have see a similar video, but you did not see THIS video a few years ago.
Parts of the video were awfully familiar, especially in the beginning. If I remember correctly, last time around they produced this with functions for curves etc. and created models with these curves, allowing "unlimited" detail.
They claim they can do in realtime what you say is impossible. Now, if you don't actually have any technical argument, I'll take the view of an expert: John Carmack does not think it is a scam. That said, there are big always big challenges to go from the tech demo to the finished product for sure and they are unlikely to make it especially in the current game market which is already struggling to create content.
Here, kid, as an actual graphics programmer, I'm translate Carmack's producer- and marketing-approved Twitter into plain, run-of-the-mill English for the simple-minded:
Statement: "No chance of a game on current gen systems, but maybe several years from now."
Translation: "No chance of a game on current-gen systems, nor what will be the next generation, as Wii U devkits have already been seeded to developers and it'd be foolish to think that Sony or Microsoft are very far behind. Insofar as nobody, not
There is almost every day an article about revolutionary new material, source of energy, cure for cancer,
The idea that they've come up with a new LoD algorithm for point cloud data is reasonable. It would then allow their ridiculous claims to be (technically) true about the size of datasets. But, if everything is held procedurally then it must have a low complexity description in order to compress that vast dataset (say 20,000Gb) into something that can be processed. Low-complexity descriptions tend to exist for highly regular geometry, and if you look at their demo they appear to have very high detail objects in a very coarse, regular and repetitive mesh to the extent that when they zoom out it looks like Minecraft.
No need for it to be a hoax, I'm guessing that they can make horrific looking (regular, craply lit, static) graphics as they claim in the video with the projected datasizes they refer to. What they gloss over is that it can't just be translated onto a real level design and scaled up to the level of complexity that you see in real level design.
It would be kind of like me saying "hey, I can draw circles at an infinite level of detail, equivalent to trillions of line segments. Can't draw more complex shapes like faces yet though....."
There's an awful lot of instancing in the scene...if you calculate the total when the instances are baked then you can get those numbers.
This is a hoax, or an exceptionally ill-advised way to generate developer interest in their middleware
Yep. My prediction is that they're just after investor money and this will never be more than a tech demo.
It would be interesting (to me, as a graphics programmer in the games industry), if they stopped bullshitting. The claims in that video, when writtten down, are absolutely absurd. 20,000Gb of Ram. That's right. 20,000Gb of ram (at least!) to store the number of 'atoms' they claim they are displaying.
What figures are you using for that calculation.
Now, that simply can't be true - so they must either have left out a hell of a lot of information (such as, we are drawing the same object 20,000,000 times, or we are throwing everything at some procedural geometry shader)
Well of course they are drawing each object many times. So do all the polygon based games. It would be stupid not to. No one would store the full unique geometry for each blade of grass.
Simple tool to magically convert polygons (that we've been lambasting for the last 5mins) into an infinite detail point cloud (thereby adding detail to the mesh that was not there to begin with? WTF?)"".
You're ranting. The polygon's that they are lambasting are for example tree trunks with 6-12 sides. If instead they take a model with a very high polygon count, higher than would be used in a polygon based game, and convert it to their "point cloud" system, that would be quite
I find myself wondering if what they are doing is using voxels to step down the detail level om distant objects while stepping it up on near objects, and not even bothering with the objects out of view.
Actually, it was being done realistically in near real-time over 10 years ago, using splatting based techniques (see surfels and QSplat http://graphics.stanford.edu/software/qsplat/ [stanford.edu]). These systems weren't really suitable or fast enough for games at the time, but 10 years is a long time for hardware and software to progress.
He's a con artist who can program graphics (or get other people to while he takes all the credit).
Perhaps they've invented a compiler that's so smart that it can deal with (code handling single) atoms by cleverly dividing them into groups or something.
As an analogy: fluid mechanics also does not describe one atom at a time, yet the equations are valid on a larger scale.
It's called a spatial index.
It's pretty basic computational geometry stuff.
I do get your skepticism...
Thing is though, some members of the demo scene have been doing really impressive things with particle-based rendering systems over the past few years.
To see what can be done, you should check out the demos "Ceasefire (All falls down)" and "Numb Res" by CNCD & Fairlight. They both make very heavy use of particle-based rendering engines - the latter features a rather long section of real-time particle-bsed computational fluid dynamics simulation - the kind of stuff that one te
I remember when Wolfenstein 3D came out. It seemed unbelievable that a world of textured polygons was being manipulated in real time on a 4.77 MHz PC. We'd seen nothing like it!
Later the details of how Carmack had done it came out. This wasn't the traditional matrix manipulation of 3D points, hidden surface removal, plotting of textures and the painter's algorithm we were used to. It was 2D raycasting from a simplified data structure. Each ray cast allowed the plotting of 128 pixels. Only 280 rays had to b
Now is not the time for voxels. At current hardware specs, the computing time:image quality tradeoff comes out so far in favour of rasterizing (or whatever) polygons it's insane.
These guys had a tech demo floating around a few years ago, and to my eyes, not a lot has changed.
This is probably not actually what is generally called "voxels", but a hierarchical point cloud system consisting of points on the surface of objects, rendered via some kind of weighted splatting mechanism. There was a lot of research into such systems for visualising some of the very high resolution point clouds coming out of digital laser scanning systems (for example QSplat, which came out of the Digital Michelangelo project http://graphics.stanford.edu/software/qsplat/ [stanford.edu]).
(I submitted this article) I fired off a request for more information from the developers about this and they got back to me indicating they're willing to answer some more questions, so I've summarised some of the main ones that I've seen around the place.
We're based in the same city as this company (Brisbane, Australia) so I'm hoping that I might be able to actually go out there and eyeball this stuff myself to get a feel for it (and possibly drag along a graphics programmer to do some grilling).
I too am interested in hearing more about this.
Oddly enough, I'm working for a company that's working on a modelling tool for "infinite detail", with a aim for 3d fabrication. But it's not voxels, like the engine here shows.
Don't bother, they're taking credit for other people's work. You want to know how their technology works? Here's a couple of research papers:
http://research.nvidia.com/publication/efficient-sparse-voxel-octrees-analysis-extensions-and-implementatio [nvidia.com]
http://artis.imag.fr/Publications/2009/CNLE09/ [artis.imag.fr]
Want some source code? http://code.google.com/p/efficient-sparse-voxel-octrees/ [google.com]
Want a video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HScYuRhgEJw [youtube.com]
Euclideon is just spinning up the marketing bullshit and trying to make a profit off of it all. They don't even have good lighting, they're just doing forward shading for each voxel ray-cast intersection using diffuse lighting with a single global point light source. And they haven't demonstrated robust animation yet.
Guess what, it is possible to animate voxel octrees, but Euclideon never came up with the method either. Some researcher in Germany came up with a working solution for his bachelor's thesis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl6PE_n6zTk [youtube.com]
Except that this isn't Voxel. Euclideon is marketing for Unlimited Tech now. Go do a search for Unlimited graphics engine, they've been showing off their work for the last 2 years. The only thing new here is their marketing partner.
The technology is rather related to point cloud rendering which is about 10 years old now. This is the most clever implementation of point cloud rendering that I am aware of and it is pretty cool: http://graphics.stanford.edu/software/qsplat/ [stanford.edu] It renders amazingly fast.
It has its shares of problems including requiring a lot of precomputation and as far as I know noone was able to do proper anitaliasing on point clouds. Texture interpolation in the traditional sense has also not been solved to my knowledge because with these point clouds all you can do is give individual points colors, so you will always have hard edges between points. Those two combined result in a lot of visual noise that destroys the illusion in the demo videos that I have seen so far.
The commentary in the video said that they'd demonstrated an early version a year ago and then disappeared. They're back now that they've got something new to show.
So that means 100,000 times more work to make everything that detailed?
Or else everyone who makes games uses a standard library of objects to cut/paste and so the games end up looking the same anyway?
This is voxels all over again, in a modern iteration. Yeah, it looks cool, but it increases your development time and isn't anywhere near as fast as other techniques and all those graphical "shortcuts" that standard 3D cards do are done for a reason - nobody *really* notices or cares so long as the game runs s
I see this as the equivalent of FLAC vs MP3 - yeah, sure it's definitely contains more information but at the cost of storage size and, in the end, 99% of people won't actually care.
But FLAC sounds so much better then 512Kib/s mp3 with my $ 15 headphones and on-board soundcard!
If they really could do realtime graphics that were "100,000 times" more detailed than current stuff, they'd do one of two things:
1) Release a demo so people could actually try it and see it working on their systems, to prove it was real. Or more likely...
2) License that shit to a company in the industry. Intel would be extremely interested if it ran on CPUs as they'd love for people to spend more money on CPUs and none on GPUs. Any game engine maker would be extremely interested either way. Wouldn't matter if things still had to be hammered out, at the point they claim to be, that would be more than plenty to sign a licensing deal and get to work.
So I'm calling bullshit and saying it is a con. This is classic con man strategy: You show a demo, but one that is hands off, where the people watching only get to see what you want them to see and don't actually get to play with your product. You make all sorts of claims as to how damn amazing it is, but nobody actually gets to try it out.
This has been a con tactic for centuries, I've no reason to believe it is any different here.
So to them I say: Put up or shut up. Either release a demo people can download that will let them see this run on their own systems, or get a reputable company to license it. If Intel comes out and says "This is for real, we've licensed the technology and will be releasing a SDK for people as soon as it is ready," I'll believe them, as they have a history of delivering on promises. So long as it is some random guys posting Youtube videos, I call bullshit.
On the vague off chance it is real, the last thing they would do is release a demo. The first thing everyone else would do is reverse engineer it and rip them off.
Intel had its own similar project for a while, but they cancelled it.
The technology itself isn't bullshit, but what is bullshit is that Euclideon is taking credit for other people's work.
They say they've invented the methods and algorithms behind it all, well that's just pure fantasy. Here's what Euclideon is basing there technology off of:
http://research.nvidia.com/publication/efficient-sparse-voxel-octrees-analysis-extensions-and-implementatio [nvidia.com] [nvidia.com]
http://artis.imag.fr/Publications/2009/CNLE09/ [artis.imag.fr] [artis.imag.fr]
Here's video from 2009 which looks better than Euclideon'
You should look into the underlying engine. The reason that they call it 'unlimited' is because the performance is based on a search engine that only has to be executed once per pixel instead of the more traditional for each poligon. With traditional engines, the more poligons, the more performance suffers, with the Unlimited engine, adding more points has a negligable effect on performance, adding higher resolution on the other hand, has a significant impact.
You still run into the same problem as you increase the resolution of your voxel octrees, thus increasing the depth of your octrees or spatial lookup structures, which requires that you need to recurse an more levels as you perform a spatial query, although it scales logarithmically instead of linearly. Still no reason to call it "unlimited."
This russian guy made his own voxel engine as well, which I believe is hardware accelerated and also pretty impressive: http://www.atomontage.com/ [atomontage.com]
So did they just essentially develop a super intelligent LOD loading system that uses procedural instancing? I'm pretty sure you could put together similarly impressive demos using the latest tricks from Nvidia and ATI using standard polygon rendering. The fact they are using points vs. polygons isn't that interesting to me.
What is fundamentally missing here? Animation, lighting and shadows. Those are going to be really hard problems to solve and I'm curious how they will go about it.
Also, it's not "infinit
Actually, 64 voxels per square millimeter is "unlimited" for all practical purposes. If you can simulate a world to the limit of what the eye can see, you're done.
If they do indeed do anything procedural (but there's not hint that they do), then a simple fractal will take care of actual unlimited detail.
(and yes,
I love the detail of the models in the demos. I'd love to see games without the polygonal trees and such shown in the video. But I agree the lighting of their demos could use some serious work. It's as if there's a uniform light source shining from all directions at once in their palm tree world. There are a few shadows in their demo, but the contrast is way too low.
I'd love to see the combination of good lighting, and this non polygonal world.
Think of it this way, a model is made up of a whole lot of points, billions of them even. This engine takes on pixel of the output and searches for which points will fill it. Imagine the whole world as points (not polygons) in a giant cube. The pixel is actually 1 point with an contracting square extrude coming out of it. The engine starts close and works further and further away until the entire pixel is filled with points. The resulting image is then compressed back down to 1 pixel and sent for output as
It'll take a while for this tech to get turned into an engine with animation/shading/lighting working, and no game developer will touch it until that happens. Euclideon had the right idea making a converter to turn polygonal models into voxel models, since noone was going to dedicate the money to create high-quality voxel assets that couldn't be used if they decided to scrap the tech and use a normal polygon engine. This tech is risky, so the first game to use it is likely going to be a cheaply-made game, p
It'll take a while for this tech to get turned into an engine with animation/shading/lighting working, and no game developer will touch it until that happens.
That's also my highest doubts. How does the system handle animations at all? The demos they have shown so far have no movement aside from the camera.
I am very, very much looking forward to this. I can barely imagine the amount of creative potential being freed up if for most real-life objects you don't need hours of artist time anymore, but simply throw them into a laser scanner and be done with it. Your artists could focus on other things.
But I'd very much like to know what the shortcomings and limitations
We've had this discussion some time ago.. and from what I remember it came out that the procedural creation of "atoms" is kinda powerful and scalable, but will inherently not allow any kind of collision detection and/or animation.
so basically, yes, this can be used to create a very detailed static world.
First of all, I have nothing against the government spending money on computer game graphics engines, in fact I think such money is wisely spent (more wisely than most defense projects, at least). However, out of sheer curiosity I'd like to know how a small software company can get 2 million AUD$ government funding?
Euclideon is unjustly taking credit for other people's hard work. They say they've invented the methods and algorithms behind it all, well that's just pure fantasy. Here's what Euclideon is basing there technology off of:
http://research.nvidia.com/publication/efficient-sparse-voxel-octrees-analysis-extensions-and-implementatio [nvidia.com]
http://artis.imag.fr/Publications/2009/CNLE09/ [artis.imag.fr]
Here's video from 2009 which looks better than Euclideon's videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HScYuRhgEJw [youtube.com]
They might also be using othe
Sorry, that first URL is missing a character at the end, it should be: http://research.nvidia.com/publication/efficient-sparse-voxel-octrees-analysis-extensions-and-implementation [nvidia.com]
I see a lot of very skeptic responses and I must admit I am a bit too. But then I thought back to the first time I saw "Doom" on a 486 and almost had my eyes fall out. It was just such a big step... I could have imagined it. All it took was someone with a very bright idea. Perhaps we might be in for a similar surprise...
Towards the end of their video, they talk about a demo of an island using 21 billion points. Which is pretty much impossible to keep in RAM on anything less than a minicomputer.
Let's assume that each point is storing the bare minimum of data needed - xyz position (each as 32-bit ints) and two pieces of color information (diffuse and specular, also 32 bits a piece). So that's 20 bytes of data per point, which comes out to be 391GB of data (for a static, unanimated mesh, I remind you). You can't store that in
In less than a century, computers will be making substantial progress on ... the overriding problem of war and peace. -- James Slagle


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You can't define things that are variable over time and include them in a classification system, unless you want to update the classifications every couple of months. That would render it pretty much worthless as you'd have to make a note of what the definitions were back when some one cited a statistic that used the definition.
All of your classifications are so dependent on things that could change tomorrow. If you can develop on the device.... If you can perform action A on it without the use of another device... Its like piece wise defining a sine wave... There is probably a better way to do it without having so many conditions to examine. I don't mean to knock down everything you are suggesting, but I think you need to zoom out and take a wider look at the situation as others seem to be on a more sensible track.

subset: commoncrawl


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WAKEFIELD — The Acton-Wakefield Watershed Alliance (AWWA) team and volunteers recently went back to school to test students' well water at the Acton Elementary School and the Wakefield Paul School.
This time of year starts to get exciting again for team AWWA. After a slow few months getting all our paperwork straight, planning for the coming year, meetings, and other office and desk related items, we get to get out and hit the schools. On Jan. 24, Program Manager Dustin Johnson showed up at Acton Elementary School for day one of "Well Water Testing with AWWA", part of our groundwater curriculum for 7th graders. This is the first of at least three days that an AWWA staff person is in the school working with the 7th grade. On the 25th, Dustin spent the day with the Wakefield Paul School 7th graders.
This project is all about getting students a first hand experience at being real scientists. Day one is dedicated to information. Students received a bunch of info pertaining to groundwater, well water, contamination, and an intro to the upcoming testing day. They then receive their test sample bottle and are told how to properly sample their water. We leave the first day with a plan to return within a week to test samples.
Testing Day
The following week we returned to the Acton Elementary (Jan. 28) and Wakefield Paul School (Jan. 29) for testing day. Testing day requires several volunteers in order to make things run smoothly as there are six testing stations and a computer station to run. AWWA would like to thank our volunteers up front: Sam Wilson (AWWA), Sally Soule (NHDES), Lisa Loosigian (NHDES), Barbara McMillian (NHDES), John Hraba (AWWA), Dave Cote (Acton 7th Grade Teacher), Gavin Kearns (Wakefield 7th Grade Teacher), and all other volunteers and classroom aides that help make this possible.
When students arrive to class there are six testing stations all set up to test for; pH, conductivity, hardness, chloride, iron, and nitrates. Students grab their sample bottles and a data recording sheet and break up into small groups and begin testing their samples.
This project offers a great opportunity for the students and community. Students get to be scientists adorning gloves and goggles, working with chemicals, recording data, and thinking about what is in the water they drink. From this, there is also the opportunity for screening samples. The tests run are not for anything too harmful, except nitrates, but if a test returns higher than normal results, the teacher will recommend to the family that they should have a full scale water test done.
After completing the six tests for their samples, the students enter data into a spreadsheet and use GPS to locate their homes. This data and GPS information is then used to create distribution maps for analysis the following class.
For more on this project, visit http://awwatersheds.org/well-water-testing-with-awwa/


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Story highlights
- Tamar Jacoby: In recent years many states have taken issue of immigration into their own hands
- She says when Supreme Court rules on SB 1070 it will be making a judgment on federalism
- She says states that have tried pragmatic approaches run up against federal immigration law
- Jacoby: SB 1070 should fall, but if not, ruling should let states experiment on immigration policy
As recently as six years ago, it was conventional wisdom among lawyers, legislators and policy advocates that the states had no role in setting immigration policy. Since then, there has been a federalist revolution of historic proportions.
One-third of the states now mandate that some employers enroll in the federal employment verification program, E-Verify. Seven states require it of all but the smallest employers. Five have enacted policing laws similar to Arizona's SB 1070 that allow local police to inquire about the immigration status of people they stop for other reasons who they suspect are in the country illegally.
No wonder the Supreme Court is weighing in, hearing arguments this week on the Justice Department's challenge to SB 1070. Refereeing turf battles between Washington and the states is one of the court's first responsibilities.
But something is troubling. The court is considering and will eventually rule on one very particular, polarizing state stratagem. That doesn't come across as impartial refereeing. Whatever the outcome, it will feel like judges making policy -- either endorsing or outlawing police questions about immigration status. If the justices are going to encourage federalism, I'd like to see them encourage it more evenhandedly, opening the way to a broader array of state initiatives, including those that go beyond enforcement.
Those who want Washington to make immigration policy have a hundred years of history and a raft of persuasive arguments on their side. The Constitution reserves some powers for Congress: naturalization and, by extension, determining who and how many immigrants we admit. Federal law carves out other areas, including most worksite enforcement. And sheer practicality argues for one national policy on the border.
But after five years of federal paralysis, with Washington still unable to act to fix the immigration system, it's understandable that states have been taking matters into their own hands. The laws have come in waves: One state tries something, others follow.
The first waves were all enforcement measures: voters and lawmakers trying anything to get control, first by regulating landlords, then limiting hiring, then using local police and even public school teachers to inquire about people's immigration status. But recently, a handful of states have tried to go beyond enforcement.
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Utah pioneered the new path. Three-part legislation passed in spring 2011 combined an Arizona-like policing measure with a state-run guest worker program to bring in legal workers from Mexico, plus an initiative to grant work permits to unauthorized immigrants already living and working in Utah. This year, lawmakers in five other states as different as Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Vermont and California floated similar worker authorization bills. Legislators in many states express interest in guest worker programs. It's not just immigrant rights advocates who are driving the measures -- many are backed by surprising coalitions.
In some instances, business is engaged. Even in the downturn, farmers, nonfarm seasonal employers and other industries that rely on physical labor need immigrants to do jobs for which there are few willing and able Americans. In some states, the sponsors are pragmatic conservatives. Republican state Sen. Curt Bramble of Utah is as eager as Arizona's enforcement-minded sheriffs to get control of illegal immigration.
But Bramble believes it will take a combination of enforcement and realism about the unauthorized population. "Most aren't going home," he says, "no matter what we do. And the states are stuck with the costs. We have to educate, medicate and incarcerate them. But we can't let them work. It's the biggest unfunded mandate in history."
What's different in the states is that this kind of pragmatism can break through, and lawmakers aren't afraid to try experiments, even unlikely bipartisan experiments like Utah's worker authorization program.
The problem for Utah is that the Obama administration, determined to limit states' rights and keep the lid on state immigration enforcement, hasn't let the state implement any of its initiatives. Unlike states pursuing enforcement alone, states seeking to combine enforcement with other measures can't simply take matters into their own hands.
A state-run guest worker program can't bring legal workers across the border without cooperation from federal authorities. And without permission from Washington, a state-run worker authorization initiative would leave employers and employees dangerously vulnerable to federal immigration enforcement.
The result is a dramatic asymmetry in the experiments in immigration policy being conducted in the laboratories of democracy. It's no accident that the Supreme Court, which many observers see as inclined to encourage state initiatives, is about to consider the merits of yet another enforcement measure.
How do we get off this narrow path? How do we break the logjam where Congress is paralyzed, creative state lawmakers are stymied and the only people implementing new immigration policy are those seeking to use draconian enforcement to drive immigrants out of the United States -- a theory known as attrition through enforcement?
Personally, I hope the Supreme Court will strike down the Arizona law and put the responsibility back on Congress' shoulders. But if it doesn't -- if the justices decide to empower the states -- I hope they and the administration will open the door as widely as possible, with the court ruling broadly to free the states, and the administration cooperating with some constructive state experiments.
As many state lawmakers are starting to grasp, the best antidote to illegal immigration is a legal immigration system that works. Let them experiment -- as freely as possible. Over time, their experimentation just may point the way for Congress.
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HANOVER, N.H. – Senior Olivia Quaglia and sophomore Eliza Becker scored two quick goals early on in the second half, but the Dartmouth field hockey team fell, 4-2, Tuesday afternoon to Maine at Chase AstroTurf Field.
The loss drops the Big Green to 4-7 overall this season, while the Black Bears improve to 8-6 win the win.
The visitors took an early 2-0 lead on goals from Sydney Veljacic and Danielle Aviani in the fifth and 10th minutes, respectively. The two-goal advantage stood for the rest of the first half and the opening minutes of the final frame before Holly Stewart made it a 3-0 lead in the 42nd minute.
The Green and White wasted little time in answering Stewart's marker as Quaglia made it 3-1 just 2:07 later. After a Dartmouth penalty corner was stopped, the ball was loose in the circle when a Maine player fell on it, giving the home team a penalty stroke opportunity.
It was Quaglia's shot that started the play, so it seemed fitting that it would be the senior from Los Altos, Calif., that would finish it, going to the top left corner of the net on the stroke and pulling her team to within two.
Becker continued her hot play of late as she notched her fourth of the season and second in as many games just two and a half minutes later.
Once again it was Quaglia starting things with a shot from the high left portion of the circle on a corner play. This time, the shot was redirected by Becker above the collective sticks of the on-rushing defensive unit and into the netting, forcing Maine to burn its timeout to re-group following the Big Green's sudden resurgence in the visitors' end.
However, the flurry of goals concluded with Maine's Nicole Sevey getting the insurance marker rather than a Dartmouth player scoring the equalizer. Less than two minutes after Becker's tally, Sevey knocked in a loose ball through traffic to once again give the Black Bears the two-goal lead.
The final 20 minutes were a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to find the back of the cage again, giving Maine its fourth straight win in the series dating back to 2009.
The final shot total read 20-14 in favor of the visiting Black Bears. They also held an 11-7 advantage in corners thanks in large part to a 5-0 first-half figure.
Junior Ellen Meyer made several key saves in the game, including four in the second half, finishing with six for the afternoon. At the other end of the field, her counterpart in Maine's Kolysher Sydney posted five saves in her 70 minutes of play.
Dartmouth returns to Ivy League play Saturday in New Haven as it takes on Yale at noon.


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Group Honors Locals
ST. MARYS — A countywide organization recognized a slew of volunteers who helped make a difference in the lives of their neighbors.
The United Way of Auglaize County held a Celebration and Appreciation Luncheon Thursday afternoon at the St. Marys Eagles. The event was a celebration of the accomplishments of the past year, an opportunity to recognize the hard work of its volunteers and present awards and to announce the results of its 2012 campaign.
"This is our wrap-up event," Director Randy Fisher said. "We're announcing how much money we raised in 2012, and all that money will be used by those (20 partner) agencies in 2013, which will allow them to achieve that mission."
That mission, Fisher said, is providing basic needs, education, both academic and character, and health and wellness to the community.
"We're going to celebrate how far we've come, recognize those who've gotten us here, and realize how far we have to go yet," Fisher said.
The campaign goal of 2012 was to raise $315,000 after having raised $300,000 in 2011. That figure was the most money the organization has raised since 1998. It was a huge achievement, Fisher said. "(This year's) goal was a stretch goal for us," Fisher said. "The challenge is that we didn't make it."
Nevertheless, the more than $300,000 they did raise was no small number, he said, and the luncheon was a way to recognize that and thank everyone who contributed to making that number a reality.
"I don't have to sugarcoat to tell you it was a tough year," Fisher aid, noting things could have been much worse, if not for the people sitting in the room.
"We did raise $301,000."
Fisher then moved on to recognize the hard work that went into the campaign, changing the focus of the event to a positive one.
The first award, for Campaign Chair Recognition, Fisher presented to Anne Larger, Campaign Chair and Community Outreach Coordinator for Joint Township District Memorial Hospital.
Fisher described that her hesitancy to tackle the job did not prevent her from attacking it with 100 percent of her efforts.
She spoke to three different rotary clubs, he said, and "our campaign was bright because of the work she did" throughout the community.
Next, he recognized Dave Voisard and Cheryl Musto of AAP St. Marys with the Outstanding Campaign Award, for raising $14,246 — a significant improvement in their campaign, Fisher said.
The Day of Caring Award went to the Utilities Union of America Local 565.
"They have been a significant key player and we're going to continue to build on that," Fisher said.
He then moved on to recognize the Agency Volunteer of the Year, Rick Williams of Catholic Social Services.
"No matter what the event, he was there with a smile — whether it benefited his agency or not," Fisher said.
The recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award was a particularly hard choice to make, Fisher said, because "so many volunteers have done so much for us." Rich Spencer, an engineer at Crown Equipment, received the award.
"I'm not here to cede defeat or to celebrate victory," Fisher said. "Our campaign goal was ambitious ... We can't expect great results overnight, but we have to try," he said.
One of the programs the United Way of Auglaize County hopes to expand upon in the future is its relationship with TSC in Wapakoneta.
"Chief Operating Officer Lonnie Pedersen understands where we are, how close we are, and that we need a good push," Fisher said.
"And because of that he has given us this opportunity."
Fisher said he hopes the organization and the county as a whole come together.
"One of the things we as a county have to do — we have to stop thinking of ourselves as Wapak and Celina and St. Marys," he said.
"Until we overcome those rivalries, we're never going to make it."


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MABTON - The Mabton School District Board of Directors is expected to adopt a $9.8 million general operating budget for 2005-06 at their Monday, July 25, meeting.
Mabton School District Assistant Superintendent Charlie Plesha, who oversees the budget process for the district, said the board will also be looking at approving the Associated Student Body, debt service, capital projects and transportation funds budgets.
"We are looking pretty good," said Plesha.
The district's budget is driven by student enrollment. Plesha is anticipating 863 students in Mabton this year, up two from the previous year. The largest anticipated enrollment in the district will be in the third grade, with 84 students. Plesha said he doesn't expect the student enrollment counts to differ much from what he has projected.
The district will have 63 certificated employees on staff, up two from the previous year. Plesha said the additional staff members will be at the elementary school. Mabton will also employ 34 classified employees, which is right on track with last year's figures.
Plesha said Mabton is seeing the end to some of its major grants this school year. The district has only one grant from the Bill Gates Foundation left in the amount of $4,010. However, the district is in the process of applying for several other grants, including one for $200,000 from the Paul Allen Foundation. Plesha said the district should know if it has received the Paul Allen grant by the beginning of the school year.
This year's general operating budget is $700,000 more than last year, said Plesha. This is the result of some grants the district obtained and the educational pay raises the legislature approved this past session.
Most of the other district funds are right on target from where they were last year.
The ASB fund has an identical budget of $78,000 that it did last year. The debt service fund is budgeted for expenditures of $153,835 and the capital projects fund has a budget of $430,000. The capital projects fund is actually down $20,000 from the previous year. Plesha said there will be some discussion by the school board on what projects to address in the capital projects fund. He said the district earlier this year purchased 40 acres next to the elementary school for possible future construction.
"It was a really good buy," said Plesha.
Transportation has a budget of $111,000 this year.
The food service department has an operating budget of $331,135. Plesha said the food service department runs a tight operation, serving a majority of the students in the district.
One new change in this year's budget comes in the athletic department. Mabton Athletic Director Denny Brown now has his own separate budget. Brown's athletic budget accounts for much of the $78,000 ASB fund, totaling $38,000. Plesha said the athletic fund used to be included as part of the building budget, but now Brown operates it separately, seeing a $3,000 increase from the previous year.
The district will be collecting $195,000 from a four-year levy this year. The district is in the second year of the $700,000 levy.
The salary for Supt. Sandra Pasiero-Davis for the 2005-06 school year is $98,705. Plesha's base salary is $94,801.
Patrons of the Mabton School District may comment on the budget at Monday's meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the director's board room.
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Linus Torvalds Explodes at Red Hat Developer 786
sfcrazy writes "Quite a lot of people raised their eyebrows the way ex-Red Hat developer Matthew Garrett made Microsoft the 'universal' control of any desktops PCs running with UEFI secure boot. Though the intentions of Garrett were clear — to enable GNU/Linux to be able to run Linux on Windows 8 certified PCs with secure boot; it was clearly putting Microsoft in a very powerful position. Linus, while a supporter of secure boot, exploded at Garrett and Howells when they proposed its inclusion in the kernel. Linus responded: 'Guys, this is not a d*#@-sucking contest. If you want to parse PE binaries, go right ahead. If Red Hat wants to deep-throat Microsoft, that's *your* issue. That has nothing what-so-ever to do with the kernel I maintain. It's trivial for you guys to have a signing machine that parses the PE binary, verifies the signatures, and signs the resulting keys with your own key. You already wrote the code, for chissake, it's in that f*cking pull request.'" Update: 02/25 17:24 GMT by U L : The headline/article are misleading, since mjg seems to agree that the patch is a bit complicated : "(I mean, *I'm* fine with the idea that they're *@#$ing idiots and deserve to be miserable, but apparently there's people who think this is a vital part of a business model)". The issue at hand is a set of patches to load and store keys inside of a UEFI PE binary which is then passed to the kernel, which then extracts the keys from the binary. It's absurd, it's messy, and it's only needed because Microsoft will only sign PE binaries so not supporting it makes restricted boot even more difficult to support.


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A former close aide to Gov. Chris Christie said the governor knew about the George Washington Bridge road closures while they were happening, disputing the governor's assertions that he only learned about the mess later.
A lawyer for David Wildstein, who engineered the lane closures while working at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said in a letter that the closures came at the "at the Christie adminstration's order" and that "evidence exists" to show the governor learned of it during the closures and the ensuing four-day traffic jam in Fort Lee, the town leading to the bridge.
The Friday letter to the Port Authority from lawyer Alan Zegas, first reported by the New York Times, does not spell out what that evidence is, or say exactly what Christie knew and when. But it is the first sign that a member of Christie's inner circle has broken ranks on the bridge scandal.
During a marathon press conference earlier this month, Christie said he only learned about the closures after they were over.
"I don't know what else to say except to tell them that I had no knowledge of this -- of the planning, the execution or anything about it -- and that I first found out about it after it was over," Christie said. "And even then, what I was told was that it was a traffic study."
In a statement issued Friday, Christie's office said Zegas' letter "confirms what the governor has said all along -- he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened" and only learned of them in press accounts. The Christie statement did not address whether he continued to maintain that he learned of the traffic mess after it was over.
Wildstein, a schoolmate of Christie's at Livingston High School and his appointee to the Port Authority, in August received an email from Christie's then-deputy chief of staff: "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."
"Got it," Wildstein replied. In September, he exchanged emails apparently reveling in the traffic jams and the headaches they were causing for Fort Lee's mayor, who did not endorse Christie for reelection.
During his epic news conference, Christie also downplayed his relationship with Wildstein, saying he barely knew him in high school and rarely spoke to him in Trenton.
Zegas wrote the letter to protest the authority's decision not to pay legal fees for Wildstein, who resigned from the port authority in December as controversy over the lane closures grew. It says that Wildstein "contests the accuracy of various statements the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some."
The Democratic National Committee in Washington quickly issued a chronology dating to 1977, when Christie and Wildstein were in high school, aimed at contradicting the governor's earlier effort to distance himself from his appointee.
"We all know what's coming next -- Chris Christie and his allies will go after David Wildstein to question his credibility and long-standing ties to Christie," party spokesman Michael Czin said in a blast email to reporters.
Ben Dworkin, a political analyst at New Jersey's Rider University, cautioned against reading too much into Wildstein's statements at this early stage.
"The bottom line is this letter seems designed to maximize its political impact and to entice both the Port Authority to pay for [Wildstein's] legal expenses and for the U.S. attorney to offer immunity," Dworkin said.
He noted the letter was vague about the precise nature of Wildstein's relationship with Christie as well as how the governor supposedly knew about the lane closures while they were happening.
"Did someone tell the governor?" Dworkin asked. "Was he blind-copied on an email? Does it mean someone showed up in his office and mentioned it? We don't know what the evidence is."
Still, Dworkin suggested the tumult stirred by Wildstein's assertions underscored the political toll the controversy continues to take on the potential presidential candidate, whose standing in polls -- both nationally and at home -- has fallen since the scandal broke.
"This issue isn't going away and it's going to be hard for Chris Christie to move forward with his own agenda, either for New Jersey or for the country, until it all gets resolved," Dworkin said.
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Health corps to see 3% hikes
Auglaize County Health Department employees can expect to see 3 percent pay increases in the new year.
"The cost of living gets more expensive each year," county Health Commissioner Charlotte Parsons said. "We want our employees to be able to live substantially. They do good work and we want to be able to reward the work they do as much as the budget allows.
"We can never afford to pay them what they are worth," she said.
Auglaize County Health Board members approved the pay increases for the department's 27 employees following an executive session during Tuesday's monthly meeting.
Health Department employees were given 2 percent pay increases in 2012, in addition to some employees receiving additional compensation to get them at a higher level for where they should be in comparison with
similar positions across the state.
This year, with no statewide survey of health department salaries completed, Parsons said she hopes the 3 percent cost of living adjustments continue to get employees where they should be compared to others in their positions throughout Ohio.
"We want to get our rates up to statewide averages and keep it fair," Parsons said. "Last year's increases got us part of the way there. We may still be on the lower end of the averages, but I hope we are getting there with the 3 percent this year."
She said other health departments across the state seem to be giving between 1.5 and 3.5 percent pay increases this year.
With a couple retirements of employees who were not replaced in 2012, Parsons said they are actually saving money on payroll in 2013. The responsibilities of those unfilled positions are being divided among other employees, leaving the Health Department with two fewer people employed in 2013.
The biggest line item in the Health Department's budget, employee salaries is expected to decrease by $60,000 in 2013, even with the pay increases. Employee salaries account for more than $1.27 million for the department each year.
Another reason it was important to Parsons to give employees pay increases in 2013 is the added insurance costs they will face.
Staying with the same carrier and renewing their plan, insurance costs are increasing 13 percent for the Health Department into the new year. Employees are responsible for paying 15 percent of their premiums.
Insurance costs are expected to go from approximately $152,000 a year now to $178,000 a year in 2013, although exact figures are not yet known as some employees are expected to be changing their policies, Parsons said.
"It's an estimate," Parsons said. "Permanent appropriations will be approved in January."
While she didn't have an estimate of what the Health Department's total budget may be in 2013, Parsons said she expects it to be a little less than in 2012 with anticipated reductions in grants.
"We will budget for the worst and make adjustments," Parsons said.
Health Board members also approved 11 holidays for employees in 2013. Most follow the federal calendar, with the exception of Christmas Eve, which employees have opted to take off rather than Veterans Day.
The Health Department's 2013 budget is expected to be approved at the next meeting of the Health Board at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15.


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Greetings All,.. Does anyone have any interesting applications for the Kata Nijushiho,.. or can you direct me to any sources or references about this particular Form ? Thank You.
5 posts / 0 new
Wed, 2011-11-09 23:40#1
Thu, 2011-11-10 09:52#2
Try these
Thu, 2011-11-10 16:22#3
Or this:
Regards Holger
Thu, 2011-11-10 23:52#4
Thanks for taking the the time to attempt to help me & my Classmates with the Kata Nijushiho ,.. I was wondering if anyone has worked with any of the more obscure aspects of the Kata i.e. the throws & or joint locks,...beyond that has anyone seen any Texts on the subject . Thanks Again . Happy Training.
Sat, 2011-11-12 16:54#5
Vince Morris has a DVD. I personally like his stuff. For his online shop follow the link.
I have not seen this myself so a bit of a risk, but his other DVDs are full of good info.
PS Iain, really enjoyed the seminar in Chelmsford a few weeks ago.


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Inter Milan have stated that if Mario Balotelli leaves Manchester City, they have first option to take him back to the San Siro, reports Sky Sports.
The 22-year-old striker has been heavily linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium, after a turbulent few months with the Premier League champions.
Only last week, Balotelli was involved in a training ground bust-up with manager Roberto Mancini, fuelling speculation he would be sold during the January transfer window.
Inter have been linked with a bid to take him back to the club, but city rivals AC Milan are regarded as favourites, while Serie A champions Juventus are also believed to be monitoring the controversial Italian's situation.
However, Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio has stated that rival interest in Balotelli's signature is pointless, given that they have first refusal on him, thanks to a clause inserted when he was initially sold to Manchester City.
"The first refusal right exists," he told Italian magazine Panorama. "We will decide whether to exercise it or not at a time when City decides to sell."
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to whom it may concern
My name is : mell
student number : 4237h8
Program : Master of Business Administration
Informing that I was absent from school on my third and fourth term, because at that time I found out that I have some medical problems and as for that has to undergo some treatments and therapy to improve my health condition both in KL and Singapore.
The therapy ended one week after my fourth term has started. So it is too late for me to join that term and I must wait until the term ended and join the next term.
thank you,
Student or Learner


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MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Public employees in Wisconsin could see another increase in the contribution rates they pay into the Wisconsin Retirement System.
A Wisconsin State Journal report says the system board is set to consider 2014 rates on Thursday. The plan is for rates to be 14 percent of payroll for teachers and general employees, with workers and their employers each paying half.
The retirement system gets 80 percent of its income from investments. But large market losses in 2008 and 2011 forced rate increases and cuts in retiree benefits.
Benefits to retirees have dropped for five state years. Next year would be the fifth straight year that the contribution rate increased. It was 13.3 percent of payroll last year and 11.6 percent the year before that.


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Compuware has released an update to its Mainframe Workbench — a modernized developer environment, which introduces a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for managing mainframe application development activities that are currently performed in the character-based TSO/ISPF (green screen) environment.
Compuware justifies the existence of its latest product line by saying that organizations must integrate new cloud and mobile applications with legacy mainframe applications at a record pace — often in a specialized development environment — while ensuring those applications deliver superior quality and performance.
"Mainframe usage continues to increase with the addition of new customer-facing applications — often connected to the web and mobile devices — plus growth in existing workloads. This growth is producing sizable increases in MIPS consumption and in deployed application complexity," said Tim Grieser, program VP for enterprise system management software at IDC.
Compuware Mainframe Workbench is designed to give developers an option to get quick access to MVS (multiple virtual storage) data and file types that are critical for large enterprise application development and testing. There are also quick debugging capabilities with an enhanced Xpediter debugging capability enabling IT staffers without advanced application knowledge to get into an interactive test session with minimal effort to quickly and confidently move applications into production.
"Mainframe applications power the top retailers, banks, insurance companies, telecommunications, and manufacturing companies worldwide. At the same time, as experienced developers retire, fewer developers are acquiring the mainframe skills needed to maintain these complex applications. This puts enterprises at significant risk for financial losses," said Kris Manery, SVP & GM, mainframe solutions business unit, Compuware. "It's never been more important to have the tools and people in place to ensure mainframe applications deliver superior quality and performance."


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Very weak jobs data from Statistics New Zealand yesterday raised economists' eyebrows.
They see the labour market as soft, but not as weak as a 1 per cent drop in employment in just three months would imply.
The unemployment rate dropped to 6.9 per cent from 7.3 per cent in September because of a collapse in labour force participation - the proportion of the working age population either employed or actively seeking work. It recorded its steepest fall and to the lowest levels since 2004.
Had the participation rate remained unchanged, the unemployment rate would have been an eye-watering 8.4 per cent, the highest since 1994, ANZ economist Sharon Zollner said.
"The fact that the number of people receiving an unemployment benefit is yet to rise strongly suggests that number does not reflect reality."
So why does this survey of 15,000 households tell us the number of people employed fell 1.4 per cent last year, when a survey of 18,000 workplaces recorded a 1.4 per cent rise in filled jobs?
Is it plausible that 47,000 fewer people are employed outside Canterbury than a year ago, a drop of 2.5 per cent, when the economy is thought to have grown around 2 per cent over that period?
Or that the self-employed dropped by 50,000 or nearly a fifth, over the past year to an 11-year low?
And if employment is in decline, how come the PAYE tax take is up nearly 7 per cent on a year ago?
The Bank of New Zealand's head of research, Stephen Toplis, points to other puzzles such as the contrast between the contraction in employment recorded by the household labour force survey (HLFS) and the hiring intentions in surveys of business sentiment.
"Why have businesses been telling us porkies for so long and why do they continue to expect employment growth?" he said.
"Why are consumers so confident when so many are supposedly losing their jobs? The housing market usually reflects the state of the labour market. Why is it so strong?"
The HLFS is a survey and subject to sampling error. Strictly speaking Statistics NZ is saying it is 95 per cent confident employment in the December quarter fell 22,000 to 2,194,000 - give or take 22,100. The rise of 10,000 unemployed is also within the margin of error. About 40 per cent of the drop in the labour force occurred among those over 65. There was also, Zollner notes, a sharp increase in 15- to 19-year-olds in education.
"This may be a bad sign with respect to the current state of the labour market but it is positive for New Zealand's long-term growth prospects," she said.
The survey has construction workers down 4.3 per cent on a year ago, which is hard to square with the rebuilding in Canterbury gathering pace.
Zollner said the HLFS surveyed established households and would not pick up people in temporary accommodation, probably involved in in the rebuilding.
As for the disparity with Tuesday's quarterly employment survey (QES), based on data collected from businesses which recorded 0.4 per cent growth in employment in the December quarter, Statistics NZ's labour market survey project manager Daniel Griffiths points to several respects in which the QES is less comprehensive than the household labour force survey.
It does not include agriculture, the self-employed or those working unpaid in family business. It also misses the 90,000 people working in enterprises with just one or two employees.
If those groups are stripped out of the HLFS, employment rose over 2012, not too far from the 1.4 per cent rise in filled jobs recorded by the QES.
The latest quarter's drop in employment was entirely explained by a drop of 31,000, or 6 per cent, in people working part time (less than 30 hours a week). Full-time employment rose 0.4 per cent and usual hours worked rose 0.3 per cent.
Over the year the number of people working between one and 15 hours fell by 20,000, but the number who usually work over 40 hours a week rose by 30,000, Griffiths said.
Given the progressivity of the income tax scale, that would help explain the apparent disparity with the PAYE take.


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Deer Hunter: African Safari Review
Last year, the folks at Glu brought a new kind of shooter to the App Store in Deer Hunter 3D. Instead of the usual tropes we've seen repeatedly, the focus was on slaying wildlife game in their habitat. To the chagrin of organizations like PETA, a new entry to the Deer Hunter franchise has arrived just in time for summer. Based in the motherland, Deer Hunter: African Safari expands on the formula of the previous game, but it is enough to challenge the mainstays at the top of the charts?
For the uninitiated, Deer Hunter is all about taking down animals using a variety of real-life weapons in exotic locales. No gaudy build-up, contrived storylines or other nonsense to justify the hunt gets in the way. This is a hunting simulation, and there are a ton of mechanics that aim to replicate the feeling of successfully taking down the target.
Click click boom.
The main campaign mode will have you starting out in South Africa. To progress, you need to earn a specific number of points by successfully killing game within a day. Moving along a map helps you find places in the country to hunt, and it's almost like a random battle from an RPG.
After diving down into an area with targets, you'll see all kinds of wall-mount material like zebras, buffalo, or lions. Successfully completing the level objectives opens up new difficulty settings and countries like Cameroon and Tanzania.
The gameplay functions and mechanics in Deer Hunter: African Safari are essentially the same as last year's game, hate it or love it. To aim, you tap and drag a big reticule across the screen. Upon lining up the target in your cross-hairs, just tap the screen again to fire. Attempts at realism come with the random 'shakes' that leave your gun swaying around. Using a scoped weapon allows some control to steady your hand, but the controls never cease to feel mechanical and clunky.
Time to disturb the peace.
Headshots are the cleanest way to get one-shot kills, and getting them is easy. Once a shot is fired, all the wildlife lounging around goes running for the hills. On occasion you'll get a raging buffalo or lion coming after you, but assuming you're not stuck in the scope of death, putting a bullet between their eyes shouldn't be a problem.
One of our big complaints from last year's game was the lack of depth and variety. Unfortunately, that problem still remains. With the exception of varying point totals required for advancement, every level feels the same. It's a shame too, because the game looks and sounds amazing. Within a couple of hours, you'll see all the locations and animals the game has to offer. We recognize the attempts at fixing this problem through achievements, upgrading skills, and weapons, but the gameplay still grows stagnant, fast.
It's a shame that Deer Hunter: African Safari didn't take a huge, evolutionary jump. On paper, it has all the features you'd want in a simulation-style hunting game. The biggest innovation that this franchise would benefit from would be more differentiation in the day to day missions. We can appreciate realism, but the fun can't be left behind in the process.


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Columbia tragedy: Local astronaut looks ahead
For one Central Virginian, news of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on Saturday hit particularly close to home. Kathryn C. Thornton, former astronaut and now assistant dean and professor in the UVA School of Engineering, completed her final mission in space on the Columbia shuttle on November 5, 1995.
She is reticent about her own feelings for the human cost of the shuttle program, the Columbia and Challenger tragedies. Her first flight aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1989 came just three years after the Challenger disaster, so no doubt safety was a personal concern on her travels.
Thornton knew three of the astronauts aboard Columbia's last flight, which began disintegrating 207,000 feet above Texas on February 1.
"They had just entered the program and were doing their training. We overlapped by a year. I spoke with them, but I didn't spend a lot of time with them," she recalls before falling silent.
Asked about any further reactions, she says succinctly: "It's very sad for the families."
Thornton points out that to crews, the shuttles appear alike, but Columbia was the heaviest by 8,000 pounds. It was the only one of the crafts that was not loaded with a docking station so that astronauts could work within the space station, where three astronauts are still orbiting.
The Columbia is "a self-contained space station" used for scientific experiments, Thornton says, adding, "Dry weight, it is the heaviest shuttle to come home." For that reason, it carried a lighter payload than other shuttles.
But neither the weight of Columbia nor its age were issues, in Thornton's opinion.
"Discovery is the second oldest shuttle, and it has had almost as many flights as the Columbia," she notes.
Columbia was proceeding on an unremarkable course for re-entry, Thornton says, but she acknowledges that there may have been a problem with the heat tiles or the thermal testing system. Unwilling to speculate further, she prefers to look ahead.
"The intent of the shuttle program was to transport materials to the space station," she explains. "We can't stand down for three years. There aren't spare parts available now to build a new shuttle, as there were to build the Endeavour (which Thornton and colleagues took on its maiden voyage in 1992).
"The current shuttle is a work horse, but the program has to move forward with funding for a new generation of shuttles. Now is the time to get going on that," she says.


text:
Scooped by
Vincent Demay
onto iPhone and iPad development
Good introduction to Blocks. I'm recomend!
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Trupti Nandani's curator insight, November 29, 2014 1:57 AM
White label app..i had create it for my client..
Suwit Kanchaporn-Triplets's comment, April 28, 2014 6:47 AM
great game http://triplets.pranghub.com/?p=229
Curated by Vincent Demay
Development Manager @ Scoop.it - http://www.scoop.it
iPad, iPhone and Android developer
Geek :)


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The Denver Broncos made good on using Dolphins talent at safety, cornerback and defensive line to help the defense rise from No. 29 in 2008 to No. 7 in 2009.
Wouldn't it be ironic if the Dolphins could employ Denver's former defensive coordinator to rise from their No. 25 defensive doldrums of 2009?
Denver defensive coordinator Mike Nolan is now former Denver defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. He has "mutually decided," to split with the Broncos, according to Jay Glazer's twitter.
And I'm reporting the Dolphins plan to interview him.
Nolan is the 50-year-old son of former 49'ers coach Dick Nolan. If you're too young to remember that Dick Nolan was a defensive genius once upon a time, you should know the younger Nolan was the defensive coordinator when the Baltimore Ravens continued their run as a fine defense from 2001-2004.
Prior to that, wait for it, wait for it, he was defensive coordinator of the New York Jets in 2000 when Bill Parcells was the general manager of the Jets. Cha-Ching!
Obviously, Nolan was also the head coach at San Francisco in 2005-2008.
Throughout his career, Nolan has been a 3-4 guy. He's been an attacking kind of guy. His defenses have been very good.
And so he instantly becomes a possible defensive coordinator replacment for Paul Pasqualoni.


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Linked by Eugenia Loli on Wed 1st Oct 2003 23:09 UTC
OSNews was the first news magazine to break the story on Gnome's Seth Nickell effort to replace the Init system. Soon, it became confusing to many readers as to if Seth is planning to completely replace the Init system or simply "bridge" it. We had a chat with Seth and discussed about his plans on the project (which is a personal project so far) and for Storage, an exciting project which aims to replace the traditional filesystem with a new database-based document store.
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by Roast Pork on Fri 3rd Oct 2003 09:05 UTC


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The Worst School Massacre by David Robb
The Emory University Whistle Blower by Michael Volpe
The 1993 Bombing of the World Trade Center: Unanswered Questions by Patrick Campbell
The Murder of the "Beautiful Cigar Girl" byDoug MacGowan
Drowning in Neglect by Eponymous Rox
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- Research Session [4]
NVIVO is qualitative analysis software that allows you to import, sort, analyse and display data from audio, video or text files, and transcripts.
This workshop runs from 9:00am - 4:30pm over two full days (Thursday and Friday) in Room 4f, which is located on Level 4. If you use the main stairwell, walk up two flights of stairs and turn right.
This class is now full. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com [5] to go on the waiting list.


text:
Submission + - AT&T- Verizon collude to offer poor service (bloomberg.com) 1
The two kinds of Internet-access carriers, wired and wireless, have found they can operate without competing with each other. The cable industry and AT&T- Verizon have divided up the world much as Comcast and Time Warner did; only instead of, "You take Philadelphia, I'll take Minneapolis," it's, "You take wired, I'll take wireless."
I am a free market type of guy. I do recognize the abuse that can come from natural monopolies that utilities tend to have, but I have never considered this type of collusion before."


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I sell all 3 brands, so i cant lose..lol I want to do a head to head on the sq subs. MTX is sending me a TS55 12, Kicker will send me a L5 12 as soon as the 2010 subs is out, and I am working on SOUNDSTREAM for a TSQ12 to.
should I do both street beats and burps? or just 1
1) boxes will be built to what the tec wants
2) should i do a death match 2? how long can the last off same power?
3) who are you voting for? and why?
If I can get stuff worked out w/ the city i run biz in... id like to have a spl comp 2! all same day


text:
Institution: Rio Salado College
Section: 10393
Term: Fall 2014
Start Date: 8/25/2014
Weeks: 14
Last date to withdraw: None
Instructor: Brian Burgess
Be sure that you have all the necessary materials prior to the start date of your course.
Calculator: Approved calculators are allowed on the in-person exams. Texas Instruments model TI-83, 83 Plus, 84 or 84 Plus, is strongly recommended.
Note: Calculators with symbolic manipulating capabilities, or CAS, such as TI-89, TI-92 or TINspire CAS are not allowed on exams.
Textbook required for Course:
Title: Introductory Algebra
Authors Lial, Hornsby, and McGinnis
Rio Salado College has developed a unique Textbook Savings Program that uses customized textbooks and saves students up to 50% off the original price of textbooks. This textbook is included in the Textbook Savings Program and has been customized specifically for this course at Rio Salado College by Pearson Custom Publishing so that it contains information most relevant to the course. Your course materials are available through the Rio Salado College Bookstore. All materials should be verified by ISBN before purchasing at the Rio Salado Bookstore (480-517-8710 or 1-800-584-8775 or www.riosalado.edu/bookstore) or from another seller.
Note: Keep a copy of all of your assignments! Make sure that your submissions can be read by your instructor. If you write lightly in pencil it may be difficult to read.
Grading Procedure
There are 600 possible points for this course.
4 mail-in assignments
= 120
Midterm Exam
= 240
Final Exam
= 240
= 600
Note: You must earn a combined average of 60% on the midterm and final exams in order to pass the course. Students with an average on these exams of less than 60%, regardless of their performance on assignments, will not receive a passing grade.
Grading Scale
The final course grades will be determined by the following scale:
Grade Determination
540 - 600 points
480 - 539 points
420 - 479 points
360 - 419 points
0 - 359 points
Please Note: The grading procedure for this course is based on the total number of points possible.
The grading scale is administered equally to all students in the course. Do not expect to receive a grade higher than that earned by your total points. There will be no point adjustments made for such things as "class participation" or other subjective factors.
Extra credit is not available for this course.
This course contains in-person exams which must be completed at an approved testing site.
Students who live within Maricopa county please see the testing information in your Print Based Student Handbook, or you may view it on the Internet at: http://www.riosalado.edu/testing/
Students who live outside of Maricopa county or are registered with Disability Resources and Services must request to have exams proctored by submitting the Proctored Test Request Form during the first two weeks of class. Please contact the Testing Center at (480) 517-8560 or 1 (866) 517-8560 (Toll-free).
Requests may also be made on the Internet by filling out and submitting the proctor request form, located at: http://www.riosalado.edu/testing/examproctor/.
In-Person Examination Procedures
Letter grade (A, B, C, D, F) - Awarded if the student completes all work, including the final exams.
Extension - Students may request an extension because of illness or other extenuating circumstances, if they have been doing acceptable work. The instructor will define the requirements and timelines to complete the course.
Please Note: Instructors are not obligated to give extensions.
Withdrawal - Students may submit a withdrawal request on or prior to the "Deadline for Student to Withdraw with Guaranteed Grade of W" indicated in the college catalog.
Students should not contact their instructor to request a withdrawal. A student wishing to withdraw from a class within the stated timeline must do so by visiting my.maricopa.edu or by calling Student Enrollment Services at 480.517.8540 (1.800.729.1197 toll-free). In extreme circumstances, students do have the option of requesting a complete withdrawal from the college by providing Student Enrollment Services with appropriate documentation.
Assignments that have due dates are due on time according to the due dates. If you need to request an extension for an assignment, a request must be made to your instructor by voicemail at least one week prior to the due date.
Late points may be applied at the instructor's discretion.
Keep a copy of everything that you submit. That way, if your work is lost, you can resubmit your copy for grading. If you don't receive feedback on an assignment or the results of a quiz within two or three weeks after submission, then please contact your instructor. Make sure that your submissions can be read by your instructor. If you write lightly in pencil it may be difficult to read.
The due date that is listed in your course calendar is the last date on which an assignment can be delivered to the Course Support Office.
Extra credit is not available.
Some images used in courses are licensed as follows: Accunet/AP Multimedia Archive, http://www.clipart.com, http://www.jupiterimages.com, EBSCO Image Collection.
All assignments are listed under the "Reading Assignment" box and in the "Assessing Your Learning" section.
Note to students: Keep a copy of everything that you submit. That way if your work is lost you can submit your copy for grading. If you don't receive your graded assignment or quiz results within two or three weeks after submitting it, please contact your instructor.
The due date listed in your course calendar is the last date on which an assignment can be delivered to the Course Support Office, or postmarked.
Distance Learning Drop Box
Distance Learning students can now drop off class assignments (in an appropriately addressed envelope) and return library books, videotapes and/or cassettes at the Distance Learning Drop Box.
The Drop Box is conveniently located along the curb in front of the Rio Salado building at 2323 W. 14th Street in Tempe.
Mailed Assignments
All mailed assignments must be properly addressed and mailed with adequate postage. Please remember all correspondence to Rio Salado College must have a return address, an addressee, and the correct postage. The U.S. Postal Service may refuse delivery if any of these three are missing. All items placed in the Rio drop box must have a return address and an addressee. Please keep a copy of all work turned in to your instructor. Assignments will not be accepted if postage is due. If you are unsure of the postage required, take the item to the post office and have it weighed.
Include the course section number and assignment identifier on the envelope below your name and return address. Envelopes that are labeled incorrectly can cause a delay in processing your work. Address your envelope as shown in this example:
Your Name: Jane Q. Doe
Your Address: 1234 Anywhere Street, Anytown, AZ
Course and Section Numbers: GPH111, Section ______
Assignment Identifier: Essay 1
The Course Support Office Rio Salado College
P. O. Box 63310
Phoenix, AZ 85082-3310
Attn: (Write your instructor's name here)
Your Name: Jane Q. Doe
Your Address: 1234 Anywhere Street, Anytown, AZ
Course and Section Numbers: GPH111, Section ______
Assignment Identifier: Essay 1
Your Name: Jane Q. Doe
Your Address: 1234 Anywhere Street, Anytown, AZ
Course and Section Numbers: GPH111, Section ______
Assignment Identifier: Essay 1
The Course Support Office Rio Salado College
P. O. Box 63310
Phoenix, AZ 85082-3310
Attn: (Write your instructor's name here)
The Course Support Office Rio Salado College
P. O. Box 63310
Phoenix, AZ 85082-3310
Attn: (Write your instructor's name here)
Your section number can be found in your "Welcome Letter".
The Course Support staff cannot answer questions about the receipt of specific mail-in assignments. Only your instructor can do so.
Note to students: Please submit only one assignment in each envelope. The special envelopes provided to you by Rio Salado are only for computer answer sheets. Please mail all other assignments in separate envelopes.
Note to students: The U.S. Post Office no longer offers Sunday or holiday mail posting, and pick-up does not automatically mean that your envelope will be posted the same day. To be safe, allow extra time: mail early.
Faxed Assignments
Assignments may be faxed to (480) 377-4728 for print and mixed media courses. Your name, your instructor's name, and the course name and section numbers must appear at the top of every page. When the Course Support Office receives assignments, they are sent to your instructor for evaluation. Once your instructor has graded your assignment, he or she will return it to you.
Protect your hard work. Again, clearly label every page of your assignment with your name, the course and section numbers, your instructors name, and the name of the assignment as it appears in the syllabus.
A student who registers for a Print or Multimedia course is assigned a start date and an end date. It is the student's responsibility to note due dates for assignments and to keep up with the course work.
Students may request an extension because of illness or other extenuating circumstances, if they have been doing acceptable work. The instructor will define the requirements and timelines to complete the course.
Please Note: It is the prerogative of the instructor to decide whether or not to grant the request.
The Rio Salado Library is committed to student success and provides a variety of materials and services to enhance student learning. Utilizing Rio's online library for your research is the best way to ensure that your sources are validated, authoritative, and appropriate for college-level coursework. Librarians are available to help you at all times via our Ask a Librarian live chat service. You can access all library services at www.riosalado.edu/library.
Academic Misconduct includes cheating, conspiring to cheat, soliciting to cheat, attempting to cheat, plagiarism, fabrication on an assignment, or other forms of dishonest presentation.
Posting assessments on an unauthorized web site, soliciting assessment answers and the unauthorized acquisition of assessments, assessment answers, or other academic material is cheating.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the use of paraphrase or direct quotation of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling or sharing of term papers or other academic materials. Information gathered from the Internet and not properly identified is also considered plagiarism.
We expect every student to produce his/her original, independent work. Any student whose work indicates a violation of the MCCCD Academic Misconduct Policy at https://chancellor.maricopa.edu/public-stewardship/governance/administrative-regulations/2-students/2.3-scholastic-standards/2.3.11-academic-misconduct (including cheating and plagiarism) can expect sanctions as specified in the college catalog.
Rio Salado College uses software that uncovers plagiarism from student to student and other data sources on the Internet. If a student is found to have plagiarized content, grade consequences will be applied in accordance with departmental policies.
The faculty of Rio Salado place a high value on the importance of general ethical standards of academic behavior and expect that communication between students and instructors or among students shall maintain the level of formality and mutual respect appropriate to any college teaching/learning situation.
Language or behavior that is rude, abusive, profane, disruptive, or threatening will not be tolerated. Activity of this type is Academic Misconduct as defined in MCCCD Policy AR 2.3.11. Students engaging in such behavior will be removed from the course with a failing grade. Additional sanctions may be applied pursuant to AR 2.3.11.
Please note that students may be withdrawn from class for non-participation.
If you receive financial aid of any kind, it is your responsibility to protect your eligibility to receive financial aid by meeting the active participation requirements of this class.
Please notify Course Support at (480) 517-8243 1-800-729-1197 or by email at email@example.com. Please include your name, student number, phone number, and new address including city, state, and zip code.
In accordance with Rio Salado College and Maricopa Community College District policies, all students should have equal access to course materials and technology. Please contact the Disability Resources and Services Office prior to the start date of your course at 480-517-8562 if you have any of the following needs:
1 Maricopa Community College District Administrative Regulation 2.8.1:
2 Rio Salado College Disability Resources and Services website: http://www.riosalado.edu/disability_services/Pages/default.aspx
Course content may vary from this outline to meet the needs of this particular group.
Advisement 480-517-8580, Fax: 480-377-4899
Bookstore 480-517-8710 or 1-800-584-8775 Fax: 480-517-8356
The RSC Bookstore does not accept credit cards over the phone. If you want to purchase textbooks with a credit card, including a Citi Prepaid Visa Card, you must either order your books online (www.riosalado.edu/bookstore) or visit the store in person. The bookstore is located in the Conference Center at 2323 W. 14th St., Tempe, AZ 85281. (Major cross streets are Broadway and Priest).
You may also purchase textbooks using the online ordering system.
Cashier's Office 480-517-8334, 480-517-8330, Fax: 480-517-83594
College Safety 480-377-4555 (www.riosalado.edu/about/news-resources/Pages/Safety.aspx)
Computer Labs 480-517-8450
Information about Rio Salado College computer labs located throughout the valley. The computer labs are open to registered students and have a variety of software available. Computer courses can also be taken from your home or office if you have the appropriate hardware and software. Some RSC locations have either Knowledge Commons or staff-supported and monitored Computer Labs.
Counseling 480-517-8785
Counseling for personal concerns that are interfering with your academic success, scholarship information, career planning, job hunting skills, and information or referrals to community services.
Course Support 480-517-8243
Course Support produces and distributes introductory materials such as welcome letters and instruction on how to access their courses to distance learning students and faculty.
Dental Hygiene 480-517-8020 (www.riosalado.edu/programs/dental_hygiene)
The facility is located at 2250 W. 14th St., Tempe, AZ 85281.
Disability Resources & Services 480-517-8562
Provides support and services to students with documented disabilities.
Financial Aid Toll-Free: 1-855-622-2332 Fax: 480-377-4702
Grants and scholarships are available to assist eligible students with college expenses. To be eligible for federal financial aid, students must meet application criteria and select a program of study. Applying for financial aid will take at least eight weeks, so begin early!
Grades (www.riosalado.edu/grades)
Honors 480-517-8656 (www.riosalado.edu/honors)
Includes the President's Honor Roll, Phi Theta Kappa, and Honors Program classes with award stipends for eligible students.
Instructional Helpdesk 480-517-8380, Toll Free 1-866-511-8380
Available to answer questions about your course, help you contact your instructor or your faculty chair, provide Successful Start information, and to help you work through instructional issues that may arise during your course.
Library Services 480-517-8424, Toll Free 1-800-729-1197, Fax 480-517-8449
Library books, DVDs, online databases of magazine and newspaper articles, online encyclopedias, image collections, e-books, reference assistance (phone, in-person, or e-mail).
Registration & Transcripts 480-517-8540, Toll Free 1-800-729-1197, Fax 480-517-8199
Public Safety 480-377-4555
Student Enrollment Services/Student Affairs) 480-517-8540
Ask for a Student Enrollment Representative to assist with general college information, registration and records information, tuition and fee payment information, transcript requests, pre-requisite approvals, basic course selection, or waivers.
Ask for a Student Enrollment Advisor for assistance with: educational goals and objectives, transcript evaluation, disability services and resources, advisement issues, scholarship and financial aid options, program and admissions information.
Sun Sounds 480-517-8300
Technology Helpdesk 480-517-8600
Available to help you work through any technological barriers that may come up during your "Online Experience."
Testing 480-517-8560 or Toll Free 1-866-517-8560
Distance learning midterm/final exams; testing sites, directions, business hours and schedules; exam proctoring for out-of-county students; disability services; placement testing; GED; prior learning assessment; national exams: CLEP, DANTES; degree specific exams.
Testing Information (recorded), 480-517-8558
Tutoring Services 480-517-8247
Tutors help Rio Salado Community College students prepare for tests, learn new concepts, improve study techniques, and answer questions about assignments.
Veteran Affairs 480-517-8153


text:
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iPhone 4 unlock now available with ultrasn0w!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Software,
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text:
He constructed a model of the Columbia J2F6 "Duck" and donated the model to the Valley Stream Historical Society. This model is now on lease to the Cradle of Aviation Museum. In 1944, while working at Columbia Aircraft (now the site of Home Depot near the Green Acres Mall), Gabe observed the landing of a "Duck" which had been on a test flight over Valley Stream. The landing appeared to be perfect but when it came to a stop, the plane immediately tilted and rested on the lower left wing float. The emergency siren went off and Gabe quickly jumped on the emergency truck. While riding to the plane, the landing gear foreman was very worried that the landing gear had collapsed. When they reached the plane, the test pilot, John Miller, was standing in the cockpit. His first words were, "Calm down, fellows, it's all my fault. I forgot to let down the landing gear."
Gabe took his first instruction flight at the Tri-State Airport in Montgomery, N.Y. in 1944.
In January 1993, there were still six airport hangars in Valley Stream. Above each of these hangars was an emblem showing a monoplane flying through clouds. The size of the emblem was nine feet by six feet and weighed 6,100 pounds. In June 1993, word was received that two of the hangars were about to be demolished to make room for Home Depot. Gabe contacted Marge Chvatal, who was president of the Valley Stream Historical Society at that time, to see if the society would be interested in obtaining one of those emblems. Marge replied "yes," and Gabe contacted the Home Depot Community Affairs Division in Atlanta. After explaining his request, Home Depot helped with the retrieval of the large emblem.
Bay Crane Service of Hicksville had a crane at the demolition site, and Hendrickson Brothers of Valley Stream donated a flat bed truck to deliver the emblem to the Pagan-Fletcher Restoration on Hendrickson Avenue on June 24, 1993.
Gabe began digging three-foot deep footings to encase the "I" beams that would support the emblem. He spent the whole summer of 1993 working on the installation. The historical site now has a wonderful memento of aviation history in Valley Stream, thanks to Gabe Parrish.


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How to compute separation pay in the Philippines according to the Labor Code? Separation, especially when employer-employee relationships are already well-established within the workplace, is one happening that can be heartbreaking. But as the old saying says, "the only permanent thing in this world is change". People change; people reach the point that they need to take new steps and directions. For this kind of situation, what we can only do is to hope for the best and do the things that are necessary. Thus, employers should take responsibilities and obligations, and give what is lawfully due to their terminated employees. On the other hand, employees, who are terminated or have decided to resign, should know their rights and understand how to exercise them. The following are guidelines on the computation of separation pay.
Who are entitled to separation pay?
Separation pay is given to employees whose services are terminated by their employers for the following reasons as stated by Articles 283 and 284 of the Labor Code as follows:
Art. 283. Closure of establishment and reduction of personnel. The employer may also terminate the employment of any employee due to the installation of labor-saving devices, redundancy, retrenchment to prevent losses or the closing or cessation of operation of the establishment or undertaking unless the closing is for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this Title, by serving a written notice on the workers and the Ministry of Labor and Employment at least one (1) month before the intended date thereof. In case of termination due to the installation of labor-saving devices or redundancy, the worker affected thereby shall be entitled to a separation pay equivalent to at least his one (1) month pay or to at least one (1) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. In case of retrenchment to prevent losses and in cases of closures or cessation of operations of establishment or undertaking not due to serious business losses or financial reverses, the separation pay shall be equivalent to one (1) month pay or at least one-half (1/2) month pay for every year of service, whichever is higher. A fraction of at least six (6) months shall be considered one (1) whole year.
Art. 284. Disease as ground for termination. An employer may terminate the services of an employee who has been found to be suffering from any disease and whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his health as well as to the health of his co-employees: Provided, That he is paid separation pay equivalent to at least one (1) month salary or to one-half (1/2) month salary for every year of service, whichever is greater, a fraction of at least six (6) months being considered as one (1) whole year.
Who are not entitled to separation pay?
An employee may also be terminated for just causes as enumerated below under Article 282 of the Labor Code. Generally, employees falling under this article are not entitled to separation pay.
Art. 282. Termination by employer. An employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes:
a. Serious misconduct or willful disobedience by the employee of the lawful orders of his employer or representative in connection with his work;
b. Gross and habitual neglect by the employee of his duties;
c. Fraud or willful breach by the employee of the trust reposed in him by his employer or duly authorized representative;
d. Commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representatives; and
e. Other causes analogous to the foregoing.
Are employees who voluntarily resign entitled to separation pay?
Generally, an employee who resigns is not entitled to separation pay except when it is stipulated in his employment contract or collective bargaining agreement, or such is an established practice or policy of the company. An employee resignation is presumed to be voluntary.
Is separation pay taxable?
Under Section 32(B)(6)(b) of the 1997 Tax Code, any amount received by an official or employee or by his heirs from the employer as a consequence of separation of such official or employee from the service of the employer due to death, sickness or other physical disability or for any cause beyond the control of the said official or employee is exempt from taxes regardless of age or length of service. The phrase "for any cause beyond the control of the said official or employee" in effect connotes involuntariness on the part of the official or employee. The separation from the service of the official or employee must not be of his own making. (Sec 4(f). Revenue Regulations No 1-68; Sec 2(b)(2), Rev. Regs. No 6-82, as amended). Therefore, separation pay under the foregoing ruling shall not be subject to income tax and consequently to withholding tax.
Other notes in computing Separation Pay
The amount of the separation pay shall be multiplied with the number of years of actual service. In computing the length of service, a fraction of at least six (6) months is considered as one (1) whole year. The computation of separation pay shall be based on the latest salary rate, unless the same was reduced by the employer to defeat the intention of the Labor Code, in which case, the separation pay shall be based on the rate before the deduction.
Disclaimer: New and subsequent issuances, rulings, or laws may cause the whole or part of the article inaccurate or obsolete. It is advised to make inquiries with the Department of Labor and Employment for more information.
source: http://businesstips.ph/how-to-compute-separation-pay-philippines-labor-code/