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It would be a lot louder than what you see on TV
unmanned drones sniping the shit out of each other over ridiculous distances using lasers and maybe perhaps anti-matter "nukes".
It would be brief, anonymous, and if any of the targets where manned, mercifully swift. It'd make a boring anime.
Yeah, pretty much that.
Little to no action inside line of sight. Probably a lot of use weapons that can hit indirectly (flak shells, nukes, etc.) Area denial (spreading a bunch of ball bearings all over the place) likely as a last-ditch MADD-type effort. My money'd be on cheap, small, one-time-use smart missiles being the most common weapon, probably just trying to get close enough to fire a ton of shrapnel in the direction of their target rather than actually hit it. As a rule, the bigger the object th
One show I think did do a good job was Babylon 5. The battles tended not to be overdramatic. In particular acceleration was used to accelerate.. There was use of kinetic bombardment which seems to be the consensus method to kill a planet.
I think we are seeing the beginning of what space battles will be like. Namely, drones controlled by remote operators. I am sure we will see autonomous. drones playing a key role.
My prediction: slow and boring.
Based on my experience in the military 20 years ago, it will remain the same as today... 99.99% boring as all hell; a bad dilbert cartoon would be better, and 00.01% holy cow. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
The key to combat anywhere is stealth and ambushes followed by application of maximum force. In space this translates to first getting to the enemy star system undetected. This is dead easy, due to space being so huge and the spaceships being so small. Once you get close to the system, land in the cometary cloud. Spread through the cloud over a couple of centuries. Build fusion drives on every comet you land on. Paint each one a nonreflective black to make them undetectable by any means other than star occlusion. Fire the drives to alter orbits in such a manner as to bring maximum amount of comets impacting each habitable planet at the same time. If the poor shmucks detect anything, it will be very close to impact time and with the number of huge rocks flying at them, a few hundred will get through and turn each planet totally uninhabitable. For best results, follow through with additional bombardment to keep the dust up for a few decades; this should come close to sterilizing the entire surface. When the dust clears, land the colony ship. Repopulate the biosphere with Earth stock. Exterminate anything else. This is the only realistic kind of space combat there's going to be.
you're assuming 'combat between people and some other species we simply want to annihilate', which is all well and good, but it's not the only possible type of combat.
it's pretty much a given for anyone who's thought about it for more than thirty seconds that kinetic bombardment is pretty much unanswerable, and hence the only type of combat that it's worth really thinking about is the kind in which kinetic bombardment of a 'stationary' target doesn't really achieve anything - so we're talking about, say, combat between two factions, whether human or non-human, for control of existing resources which have value to both sides. There's no point kinetically bombarding a planet if the whole point of the war is to gain control of something on the planet.
My alternative prediction: over in seconds, but planned ahead days/months/years* in advance.
*Orbits are like that.
I'm pretty sure space combat would consist of humans trying to kill each other in space considering if there are aliens, we are unlikely to ever meet them, and if they make it this far, they aren't going to waste their precious resources trying to kill us.
And as far as mankind on mankind action, I'd guess it would amount to throwing small masses at high velocity at each other (throwing rocks in a glass house).
> and if they make it this far, they aren't going to waste their precious resources trying to kill us.
Actually, if they make it this far, killing us (if they are inclined to do so) would be a trivial exercise, like shooting fish in a barrel.
Better comparison -- Like spraying insecticide on an ant nest.
Every time someone makes that argument I think of stories like The Road Not Taken [wikipedia.org] (summary: aliens show up, detect no FTL drives on earth, conclude we'll be an easy target, land, try to take over using matchlock weapons, get slaughtered, humanity realizes what a bunch of idiots we've been for not figuring out FTL travel on our own, galaxy is fucked....)
Thanks for pointing that out, seems like an amusing story!
But probably not very likely. Thing about even our human history -- ability to sail long distances correlated pretty strongly with superior weaponry and technology.
And as far as mankind on mankind action, I'd guess it would amount to throwing small masses at high velocity at each other (throwing rocks in a glass house).
Doubtful -- distances get pretty big pretty fast in space. I would think of something more like "grapeshot," mounted on a radar or laser guided missile with a proximity fuse. Then, once a spacecraft was destroyed, all the other spacecraft would run away to avoid being hit with debris. Expect plenty of electronic warfare, since communicating is going to be even more important when trying to organize battles in space.
I also envision lots of really interesting technologies. Long range communication or
Passive radar using solar radiation?
Fancy name for a camera you have there.
First, actions would take place over distances of 1000's of kilometres. Maneuvering would be slow and expensive in fuel use - as would any change in course or speed. In that respect it would be like a naval action from the days of sail.
However the weapons would be directed energy, rather than projectile and the vessels themselves would be almost impossible to detect - partly because of the distances and partly because of the stealthy designs they would employ. Visual detection methods would be almost obsolete, the only exception being to look out for occultations.
and the vessels themselves would be almost impossible to detect - partly because of the distances and partly because of the stealthy designs they would employ. Visual detection methods would be almost obsolete, the only exception being to look out for occultations.
So all the ships would operate at a temperature of 3 Kelvin?
One small rock accelerated for a long enough time then steered at a large ship (or moon or planet) would pretty much be the end of it.
Can't really imagine much combat going on when it's a mutually assured destruction scenario any way you look at it.
Most mass entertainment scenarios make sure that the attacking force needs to capture (not destroy) what they are attacking to make sure this doesn't come up.
I suppose lots of tiny enclaves (small hollowed out asteroids) on both sides could duke it out with small ships. Still can't imagine a large enough industrial base to keep things going very long, though. Anything big enough to build ships would just be destoryed.
I imagine it would bear a resemblance to the old sailing ships. Any maneuvering would have to be done before you engaged the opponent, as it takes quite a bit of energy and fuel to maneuver inside of a vacuum. Ships would try to come at their opponent at a T while firing large mass drivers. Although lasers are more effective in space than on land, I don't think they would be nearly as effective as huge chunks of mass. Electronic launch systems would solve many of the problems with recoil. Lasers would only make sense if the fuel required to power them is more mass-efficient than the combination of fuel required to power mass drives plus the mass itself.
Fighters/bombers like we traditionally think of them probably wouldn't be used. Instead, small single-manned ships could be used to stealthily deliver a single-shot payload - they would operate more like mini-subs carrying a single torpedo.
If I've learned anything from anime, it's that space battles will consist of giant armadas of robots piloted by people who all get slaughtered until a random girl in a giant robot suit with infinite capabilities eventually achieves the self esteem she needs to take the fight straight to the bad guys and wipe them out, escaping at the last possible second.
I'm going to start from a few first principles here. First - and I don't think this one is seriously open to dispute - (A) space is an exceptionally harsh, unforgiving environment. Failure in any one of these systems: the hull, the carbon dioxide collectors, the heating unit - will render a space vehicle uninhabitable. A failure in either the engines or navigation system will likely lead to a ballistic course to nowhere.
Now, (B) if the history of human space exploration is any indicator, we really don't know how to build fault-tolerant space systems at all. Almost any malfunction tends to produce a catastrophic outcome. Putting principles A and B together, any battle damage of any sort is likely to render the vehicle unsurvivable and kill all the crew.
Now, consider the expense of launching anything of size. Remember, the ISS is the most expensive structure ever built by man. So the idea of putting large, fragile, massively expensive craft (where they can be shot down by space-capable ballistic or nuclear missiles, or damaged with a ground-based lasers) is a total non-starter.
If you want to know what a real war in space looks like with our current level of technology, it's going to involve small, expendable space-based satellites hiding from ground-based things radar and weapons.
And lastly, *any* space combat is going to dramatically increase the amount of space debris in orbit of earth (as China's test a couple years ago did, or the accidental irridium satellite collission did). Just a few incidents could turn dramatically render Earth's near space too dangerous for manned craft for a long time to come.
Silence. Occasionally a small flash off in the distance as a projectile smashes into its target. No need for explosives, just high relative velocity and a high mass projectile. Actually, this is probably what a planetary defense network would look like - thousands of massive projectiles in different orbits, with some means of nudging each one to meet an incoming ship approaching from any direction.
No space fleet would ever fly in close formation. You'd probably have 100km spacing between vessels. Evasive action would be a matter of nudging your heading by a tenth of a degree, thus missing pursuers by hundreds of kilometres. Whoever can detect threats first wins, period - and evasion, not confrontation, probably makes the most sense.
Actually, fleets probably don't make sense - easier to see a cluster of ships travelling together than to see ten ships all on wildly different orbits, all arriving at a specific attack point within minutes of each other. Worse, once you deploy your ships you probably won't have enough fuel to react effectively to a change in the tactical situation. Your plan is locked in at launch. God help you if your enemy's intelligence gathering is good.
Human crew would be nearly useless, unless there were resources to be captured from the enemy which required EVA. Shock troops only, no return trip.
All the pew-pew-pew zoomy shit we see in movies with Cylons banking like fighter jets is just not workable. And honestly, the more I think about it, the less defensible a planet seems to be without massive improvement in detection tech and energy weapons. Even fleet warfare is unlikely; two fleets could easily miss each other and pass in the night.
I think the only space warfare we're likely to ever see is between two enemies sharing a planet. Whoever gets the upper hand in orbit wins.
That was my first thought, too. Reading the codex, someone put a LOT of thought into what real space combat with real physics might be like.
Remove ships out of the equation entirely. I don't quite see what they could contribute. They're slow and inefficient, and impossible to give orders in time over large distances.
Relativistic kill vehicles [wikipedia.org] are far more menacing weapons than any ship. It's a reinvention of one of mankind's earliest weapons: The humble rock, thrown at the enemy. But this rock is accelerated very near the speed of light, making it nearly impossible to detect, and completely impossible to stop (if you blow one up, it just increases the destruction). Even a fairly modest RKV can carry the destructive force of a hundreds of atomic bombs and absolutely obliterate it's target.
I believe it will end up being a lot like that described in Niven's "Protector"... you launch your weapons, and, five years later, you look to see if they hit.
That's for interstellar combat. For orbital combat... a lot would depend on the goal. Are you trying to knock out the enemy's satellites? Drop bombs on his population centers? Stop his transport ships from leaving Earth and getting to their destinations?
The easy answer is "drones, drones, and more drones", but this assumes ECCM will equal ECM well enough to make it at least a tossup that you'll get through the other guy's defenses. I'd also make a guess that we'll never get as much damage potential out of a beam weapon as we will out of an explosive, and the simpler the technology, the less things can go wrong. I'm seeing, basically, drones that get as far as they can from the enemy, analyze their motions, and then launch direct-fire weapons based on prediction algorithms as to where the enemy will be when the projectiles get there. I'd also speculate that anything launched, including the drones, would be absolutely blind to any kind of orders to go home, change targets, respond to IFF, etc, because the chances of being fed false data are too great. This would lead, of course, to the launch of basically uncontrolled weapons armed with considerable destructive power, so, if they were hacked pre-launch... oops...
This, in turn, might lead to remote control, where the drones have no "brains" but are piloted by humans. Of course, this opens the same problem -- if the drones are controlled in any way by an outside signal, an enemy can and will find a way to hijack that signal. So, back to self-guided vehicles with no way to turn them off or shut them down. (And even this leads to problems... if there's a "mission complete, go home" algorithm, you run the risk of someone figuring out what the drone needs to "see" to conclude "mission complete" and finding a way to fake it. So, logically, you just have the drone explode when it's done.
If the general area being fought over is well defined, you might have some kind of minefield, using virtually-inert devices that rely on passive sensors to come to life and go 'boom' when something is near, but I've read a lot of people arguing that nothing is inert enough to not be trivially detected far off.
(Of course, I'm not sure there's anything to fight over in space other than to knock out the other guy's satellites, and there won't be anything else up there for a long, long time... so long that making predictions about the kind of tech used is probably impossible. As for the satellites, it's probably much easier to just fire some ground-based or plane-based missiles at them than to try for any kind of "space war".)
We don't have any kind of "shields" technology, so a laser is a pretty useful weapon in space. You can aim it from a long distance, you can overheat just one spot on a target, and you can reuse the laser once you get it into space. So there is likely a place for lasers in near-future space combat.
And with the kinds of speeds that things travel in space, even small masses can wreak major harm if the vectors are opposed. If you can fling a cloud of ball bearings where a satellite's orbit will take it into collision, you can likely destroy the satellite pretty cheaply. So I'm definitely not ruling out some sort of kinetic weapons.
But the space weapons that are sufficiently non-classified that I have been able to read about them are all missiles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon [wikipedia.org]
I think for the near future, any space combat will be anti-satellite operations. For example, if the USA were fighting a land war, and the enemy could take out the GPS satellites, that would put a crimp in the high-tech armed forces of the USA. (A crimp only. As far as I know, they still train in the use of map and compass, and not all guided weapons are GPS-guided.) So I pretty much figure the first actual space combat might be someone knocking out GPS satellites. (I don't think Iran can do it, but they might try to pay someone else to do it.)
Moving around in space is nothing like flying around in the air or scratching around on the surface of the Earth. And in combat, regardless of its form, it's all about movement and positioning. The key always lays there from the most basic form of hand to hand combat to the most advanced stealth jet fighter combat.
If you are serious about getting an Idea about how a space battle would look like, I suggest the following. Get the Orbiter space flight simulator [ucl.ac.uk] and try it out a little. Figure how you move around in space. Search around a little and do the tutorials.
My guess is that, like most people, you'll get bored after the first 2 days waiting to reach a target... you'll quickly (or rather very slowly and longingly) notice that space travel is slow and complex. When most people think of in-flight combat, they think about dogfight, with quick instant maneuvers to evade immediate danger or quickly engage a target. Space, its another business. Orbits are planned months ahead, years or even decades in advance for some satellite. Even on very short term missions, you do small precise maneuvers that will have noticeable impacts hours or days later.
The most accurate movie depiction of space combat is probably 2001: A Space Odyssey... sort of. There's just no combat, but it wouldn't feel any different.
One thing that most of science fiction gets wrong is that spaceships, even small and maneuverable fighters, are not airplanes. They do not contend with air resistance and accordingly do not require a wedge-shaped bow - let alone wings. Spheres or cylinders are more likely for small ships, while larger and slower ships might afford less compact designs that would deal poorly with high acceleration.
The second is manned flight. Hell, we've mapped much of the Solar system and been in orbit around about half(?) of all planets, without going further than the moon, or in fact leaving Earth orbit for very nearly 40 years. Even on Earth, it becomes increasingly more practical to wage war with remote-controlled drones than manned planes. Add the possibility of AI advancing far enough for autonomous drones, and I don't think an organic individual would be within light-hours of the battle.
Which brings us to the third part: Soldiers say that battles consist of long periods of waiting followed by brief bursts of excitement. Space battles would consist of months, possibly years, of unmanned travel and intensive computation, followed by seconds of computers trying to out-maneuver and out-predict each other, followed by hours or days of the leaders waiting for news of the outcome.
If your "base" or "ship" is located it is going to be targeted. Targeted things will die in a swarm of smart munitions that shoot mass and high energy and at the same time do mecho-kamakazi dives.
The way to survive is to not be found. So stand off a long long way. Shed heat out of system, put a cloak on yourself from an insystem perspective. Send in your drones to locate the enemy and destroy them. Do not enter any area unless you are sure it is safe.
At the least you will be blanketed by a massive set of drones to find and destroy any drones near you. And locate and destroy any main/mother ship if it is detected.
Everyone jumps to space opera when the question of space combat comes up. Cruisers. Remotes. Lasers fired from absurd distances. F***ing death stars. Rail guns. Doomsday machines.
Sure they could happen I guess, but the events that would get us there remain bad science fiction. My first thought when I think about space combat though is...
Marines. Hand to hand.
Blowing stuff up is one thing. Capturing cargo ships is where the value lies in space combat. So how do you capture that load of ore/food/gas? Or to the other side, how will you and your crew of 7 stop those 23 hardsuited boarders from taking your ship?
I think the books of Alastair Reynolds are quite accurate, describing fleets moving near light speed. In such a case all you really have to do is arrange for some debris in the path of the oncoming fleet (e.g. sand) and that will take it out.
One thing that has always annoyed me is that I've never seen a reasonable treatment of space wars in orbit. No one gets the orbital mechanics correct. There are a lot of counter intuitive things there. For instance, you wouldn't want to shoot a missile directly (line of sight) toward an enemy. If he's in a lower orbit you'd actually fire it backwards from the perspective of your orbit. The missile would lose orbital energy until it reached the target's orbit. Likewise, if he's in a higher orbit you'd fire it forward, in the direction of your orbit. (Thrusting toward or away from the planet you're orbiting serves to make your orbit elliptical, but doesn't raise your orbit) One also needs to be very careful about overtaking your target. There may be tactics like overtaking an enemy by dropping to a lower orbit, then thrusting back to the enemy's orbit. A dogfight would be a very counter-intuitive affair. I wish someone would make a little space sim that had the physics correct, and let players figure out the appropriate tactics.
All that was assuming attacker and target are in parallel orbits (concentric circles). If the're not, say one is in a polar orbit and the other is in an equatorial orbit, there is such a substantial difference in their energies that any collision would be devastating, so again just dumping debris that intersects the orbit of the target would be sufficient to wipe him out.
There are lots of other tricks. The slingshot effect, for instance, is used to hurl probes out to the outer reaches of the solar system. Essentially, the probe steals angular momentum from the planet, boosting its own velocity. The lowest-energy and highest-speed path to reach a given point can often involve such bizarre trajectories. NASA uses big computer programs to find these paths, see the Cassini [wikipedia.org] probe's trajectory for an example. If you have thrusters, you can enhance your slingshot by thrusting at the point of closest approach (the velocity bump you get by thrusting there is more than thrusting at other times).
You might claim all this orbital mechanics junk can be circumvented by using lasers or particle beam weapons. But light feels gravity too, so one has to calculate the effect of bending on the laser's trajectory from planets and other orbital bodies. Another important point is that diffraction from the aperature of the laser's lens is substantial when the target is planetary-distances away. Your nice narrow laser beam will be a harmless diffuse mess by the time it gets to Jupiter.
Finally one should bring up the Lagrange points. These would probably be the ideal place to put weapons platforms, refuelling depots, etc. But there are only a handful of them, and an attacker would know where they are on approach, so would probably send the first volley toward them, before he could resolve any infrastructure there.
All in all, I think orbital wars would involve a lot of calculation, a lot of waiting, a lot of un-spectacular deaths (e.g. no explosions but running into debris instead), and a lot of speculative offense. You want to fire before you can see your enemy, to take advantage of orbital mechanics. Your weapons don't need lots of energy or explosive power, you can just use orbital mechanics to your advantage. But you have to be willing to wait.
In terms of war, the main location of interest is Earth, so battles would be in earth orbit, not deep space. The other locations of interest are asteroid fields, for mining. Planets are uninhabitable, and the gravity wells surrounding them are too expensive for resource extraction.
Because asteroid fields are large and asteroids are plentiful, battles there would be unlikely - the attacker would need too many weapons to cover the field, and the defender could hide too easily.
Cheap transport to Earth would depend on gravity slingshots and Lagrange points, which move about and change as matter circles the sun. Those would probably not be good locations for battles - even if they were, what would be the point? The resources sent from the asteroids would still have to travel to Earth whoever was winning.
So it would most likely all be battles in Earth orbit. Since sending material up into space is expensive and even then it's going to be low volume, whoever can deploy weapons first should have a strong advantage. Then it's a game of king of the hill.
If a nation controls Earth orbit first, then it can threaten other nations that might want to go into space. Any other nation that tries to build launch capability would be targeted easily and bombed. So having a space battle to wrest control of Earth orbit will be a low success proposition.
I suspect the most likely "space" battles would be terrestrial. If the enemy can invade the king's land/take control of the king's assets, electronically or economically or politically, then they'll get the space weapons for free and become the new king. At that point they can send their own weapons up safely to upgrade or modify the system.
My aunt was in Iraq with the army the first time around and had a good story. She described a US armor force who had detected a line of Iraqi tanks and decided to engage them. They took out the first one in the line, then the second one. The Iraqis couldn't see the US tanks, so they had no idea where the fire was coming from and therefore couldn't return fire. After tank 1 and tank 2 blew, the US forces could see the guys scrambling out of tank 3. They gave them a few seconds to get out and get away then blew the tank, and so on down the line.
The lesson is, the force with the better detection/sensors/eyes can engage an enemy before that enemy even knows there is a fight, provided their weapons have sufficient range. A slight edge in information becomes overwhelming superiority.
Applying this to space, if we have two opposing forces, and one has a Hubble telescope level optics capability where the other doesn't, those with the capability will be able to engage in the fight at a much greater distance, and pick off the adversary at will.
Of course they will need an advantage in weapons range, too. In space you can't afford to use up your limited mass to attack, because sooner or later you'll run out, and it will affect your trajectory. It will be all about energy weapons, including lasers. And making those effective at distance is also dependent on your optics.
So, optics for observation and optics for achieving high range with energy weapons leads to force superiority in space.
Thufir's a Harkonnen now.


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CAMERON, Wis (WEAU) --A mysterious twitter account appears blasting those who work and learn inside a local school but then another twitter account pops up to fight against bullying.
Last week, Cameron High School Administration was alerted to two anonymous twitter accounts called @cometsportsprobz and @camproblems.
"I had seen the pages but didn't really think much of it," said Spencer Smith, 17.
Spencer Smith, captain of his schools cross country team, says it was when saw tweets targeting his team and others that he could no longer sit on the sideline
"I went on and saw that they had continued and put other posts on attacking individuals and I knew that something had to be done," said Smith.
Spencer took to his Facebook wall asking the students behind the tweets to take it down. And within the hour of his post the twitter pages were gone.
"I wasn't really expecting what came up I thought a few students to follow me and others just to say I was being a goody goody," said Smith.
What spencer found next is what this story is really about. A new twitter account popped up called @camnicethings.
"An anonymous group of students decided to make this account. So they are out there posting nice things about people, sports the arts," said Sarah Joosten.
Cameron High School senior Sarah Jooston says she was proud of her classmates when she saw the tweets
"I think getting rid of the negative was a big step but adding the positive shows that people are noticing you and the good things you do and you do matter to our school," said Joosten.
So far the twitter page is getting great feedback from the school staff and students. The principal told me he's proud of his students and it shows the positive power of peer pressure.

subset: commoncrawl


text: WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - President Barack Obama will ask Congress Tuesday to craft a small package of short-term spending cuts and tax revenue to put off the automatic across-the-board cuts, known as the sequester, that are scheduled to kick in March 1, according to press reports. The request will come in a public statement from the president at the White House early this afternoon, the reports said. If Congress does not act, about $85 billion would have to be cut from government agencies, including the Defense Department, this fiscal year. Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner used a press conference to urge Obama to offer proposals to replace the spending cuts. A White House official said the small package was needed to give the White House and Congress more time to achieve a bigger budget deal.


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The Lexington City Council unanimously voted to adopt an amendment to the city's land use ordinance to permit and regulate food trucks within the city limits during its regular meeting on Monday.
The Lexington City Council unanimously voted to adopt an amendment to the city's land use ordinance to permit and regulate food trucks within the city limits during its regular meeting on Monday.
Josh Monk, a city planner for the Lexington Office of Business and Community Development, gave a presentation on the amendment to the city ordinance prior to the mandatory public hearing. He said a food truck is a vehicle that is regulated through the county health department where food is cooked and prepared on site and that food trucks would fill in the gaps when established restaurants have already closed.
"There is a large night crowd (uptown) on the weekends, especially during the summer, that stay out late," Monk said. "After these events they are looking for somewhere to eat and a food truck would fill that need."
As part of the ordinance, food trucks would have to be regulated through the county health department, they would not be allowed within 100 feet of an established restaurant, they would not be able to operate in a residential area past 10 p.m. and they would be responsible for disposing of their own trash. Any disposal of gray water or cooking grease would be subjected to existing laws pertaining to dumping of restricted materials.
Trailers or trucks selling prepared foods, such as cotton candy, candy apples or funnel cakes, will not be included in the definition of a food truck. They require a special use permit for one-time celebrations such as a customer appreciation day. Push carts, including hot dog vendors, are already permitted through the city and would not be effected by the amendment to the ordinance.
Also according to the ordinance, the only time food trucks would not be permitted as normal is during the Barbecue Festival and the BBQ Capital Cook Off. They would not be allowed within 1/4 mile of the event area during that time.
The City of Lexington Planning Board unanimously voted during its meeting on Dec. 16 to recommend the ordinance establishing a food truck as part of the city's zoning ordinance. The new ordinance is considered to be an alignment with city council's goal to continue a new economic direction for the city. The Lexington Strategic Planning Committee recommended the city diversify retail and restaurant choices, and the use of food trucks is a way to provide such variety in a relatively short period of time.
During the public hearing, Lexington resident Kassaundra Lockhart spoke in favor of the amendment to allow food trucks.
"Having recently lived in Raleigh, I can tell you what an industry like food trucks can do for a city," Lockhart said. "There are many late nights when I am hungry and there are not a lot of food options available. It's nothing for me to drive to Winston Salem or Salisbury looking for something new. It would be nice to have those options here. I think its a great idea and not one you see very often in smaller towns."
Also during their meeting, members of the Lexington City Council continued some unfinished business by appointing Jane Whitehurst to the historic preservation commission. The remaining appointments to various city council boards and commissions were deferred to another date.
During regular business, the council adopted the annual budget schedule for the fiscal year 2014-2015. City of Lexington Finance Director John Overton reported the city council will review the budget on April 30 and May 1 and the public hearing and final adoption of the 2014-15 city budget will be held on June 9.
Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at email@example.com.


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Texas schools get major cafeteria upgrades with bond
Jan. 7—How do you remodel a school cafeteria while still serving students five days a week? That's the question Marty Walters has had to face since work began on enlarging the cafeterias at Coronado and Monterey high schools in Calif.
"It's been a challenge to do this while kids are in school and to keep serving," said Walters, the manager for the Lubbock Independent School District's $198 million bond, which voters approved in 2010.
The cafeteria expansions are a key part of the bond's $25 million safety and security budget. The 2020 Committee that developed the priorities for the bond included transforming the 29,000-student district's four high schools from "open campuses" that allowed students to leave for lunch to "closed campuses," where the majority of students will stay on campus for lunch.


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Some ads just make you sad.
I know it's the sign of the old fart to complain about adverts. But I'm complaining here on behalf of old farts, so I'm hoping that will de-fart me to some extent. Yes, some of them are TOO LOUD, although apparently they've been turned down a bit. Some of them annoy the bejesus out of me for no discernible reason. This is always a subjective thing. For instance even the sound of the Pak 'n Save stick-man irritates my bowl but I kind of like the crazy lady from Big Save Furniture. Also I have no problem with the Briscoes lady and her wig. I even miss Dave from Wendy's, who seems to have disappeared from our screens. And even though it's promoting what some refer to as 'the stupidity tax', the Lotto commercials, with the dog and creepy homeless guy, are still tremendously enjoyable. Mind you, having Nick Cave on your soundtrack never hurts.
Very few ads actually do us good. They are there to sell us things. That's a given, but one is, I believe doing ill. It's not evil - after all it's selling a legal product - but it's a bummer, a downer, a stink-buzz. While watching those Keith Quinn fronted Cigna adverts in which people are encouraged to pay for their own funerals, in advance, I think of all the older viewers tuning in for some escapist entertainment.
There they are, possibly knitting some booties for a grandchild while they watch Masterchef, or tuning in to see who is up the duff on Packed To The Rafters, only to be hit in the chops with a reminder that screams: YOU WILL DIE SOON.
Not only do the ads remind them that the reaper is on the way, they also scream AND YOUR USELESS KIDS WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR YOU. No doubt the useless kids are terrible with money, and worse with organising anything. As you get older, everyone knows that if you want something done properly, you'll have to do it yourself. You can see how they work.
Perhaps we shouldn't be so focused on banning ads that are sexist, racist or that encourage people to drink like fishes before driving like chimps. Perhaps it's time to deal to the ads that are just plain downers? What terrible manners to bring up death in the middle of Downton Abbey. As the dowager would no doubt say, "How f**king rude."
I do wonder if today's elderly will be the last generation to fork out in advance for their own death? The late baby boomers, Gen X's and Y's are way too selfish for that carry on. We lack the martyr gene. Most of us begrudge having to pay back a student loan, let alone a credit card debt. You won't find us putting a brick in the cistern to save water during a drought. We didn't live through any wars or learn the art of putting money away for a rainy day. We don't darn socks. Pay for our own funeral, in advance, not likely.
The other ads that make me sad are the ones that encourage people to saddle themselves with debt.
These come from all manner of financial institutions, retail chains and peddlers of so called 'easy finance'. Battling this barrage of propaganda there is a lone mouse. It may be a losing battle but the Government is fighting vermin with vermin, thanks to their admirable Sorted campaign.
The latest installment, which encourages saving for a Vespa scooter rather than getting one on tick, is refreshing because it's honest and informative.
The message is simple: "When you save you don't pay interest, you earn in." So while, good music, great casting and hilarious scripts can bring us joy in the ad breaks, it's good to know that good old fashioned public service announcements can also make us smile. The mouse, god bless it, just wants us to have better life, the herd of hard sell elephants on the other hand, want us to sign it away.
A friend tells me I'm lucky being a man because "if you own a vagina the ad-breaks are a constant reminder of all the ways it can let you down."
Seven Sharp's buried treasures
The birth pangs of Seven Sharp have provided plenty of column inches over the past weeks. The ratings are being tracked on an almost forensic basis, all to a background chorus of axes being ground and in some cases buried between shoulder blades. For followers of media it's the sort of festive atmosphere that hasn't been seen since Holmes moved to Prime.
That show also had an interactive element, live uncensored texts scrolled across the screen. Comedy followed as did abuse. The problem then, as now, is that while you're reading what someone at home reckons about a given issue it's impossible to listen to the expert who's been wheeled onto the show to talk about it.
Here's a rather brilliant take on the curse of interactivity, from comic geniuses Mitchell and Webb, and here's a rather brilliant story from Seven Sharp's Brodie Kane that cleverly illustrates what Christchurch has lost since the quake. (Story starts at 1.45) In all the debate and babble about the show's style and format it's easy to forget that good stories are still to be found, even if they are hidden in the rubble.
Oh and this uplifting piece from Sunday a few weeks back deserves a mention. For once I agreed with the human emoticon, Miriama Kamo. Yes, it did make me want to cry just a little.
The Otara Overture tells the story of the creation of an orchestra of underprivileged kids in South Auckland. It's moving stuff, and comedic. As reporter Ian Sinclair delivers the stock "When you think of Otara, you think of the cliches like gangs, drugs, crime ..." two dudes pop up behind him making gang style hand gestures, one even unloads his imaginary handgun at the camera. Usually that type of photo bombing would be edited out but you couldn't plan something as perfect as this.
What ads make you feel sad? Is Seven Sharp getting better? Comment below.


text:
The lights are on
Plenty of video game
stories are predictable from beginning to end, so it's satisfying when
developers try to shake things up a bit. In this feature, we take a look at
points in games when you think the story is over - but there may be some more
twists in store.
Note: Spoilers follow
for Red Dead Redemption, Ghosts 'n Goblins, The Binding of Isaac, Dragon's
Dogma, Dead Space 2, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Resident Evil 2, and
Dead Rising.
Red Dead Redemption
With Red Dead
Redemption, Rockstar managed to encapsulate everything good about classic western
tales and revitalize them for a modern video game. The flawed protagonist, the
varied villains, and the tragic story arc all worked seamlessly in this game.
By the end, we've come to understand and sympathize with John Marston. He was
far from a perfect human being, but he had motivations that we cared about -
which made it all the more heartbreaking when he met his demise at the hands of
a man he once trusted.
After his death, the screen
fades to black. It's easy to assume that the game would be over then. But
before the credits roll, the game cuts to his son Jack and his wife Abigail on
horseback. Controlling Jack, you ride back to find your father dead. Fade to
black once more. Is it over now? Not quite, as Jack and his mother visit John's
grave. This seems like a fitting place to stop, but another fade to black is
followed by Jack standing over both of his parents' graves. From there, you
control Jack as you hunt down your father's killer. Once John Marston is
avenged, you finally see the credits roll.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Notorious as one of the
most challenging games ever made, there is no doubt that many-a-controller has
been thrown in frustration on its behalf. The biggest and most glaring of these
moments would be at the end of the game. You plodded your way through a myriad of
difficult enemies and platforming sections to confront the final boss - and by
some miracle you win! Your moments of joy and relief are whisked away in an
instant when you find out that you didn't actually beat the final boss, and
that you would need to beat the game again - on a higher difficulty, no
less - to fight his true form. It's one of the most infamous screw-overs in
gaming history.
The Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac is
known for its difficulty, as well as its depth. The assortment of enemies,
bosses, and items sucked many into the roguelike. The first dozen hours or so
of playing result in you learning what weapons do and how to efficiently kill
most enemies and bosses. However, the game's seemingly final boss, Isaac's Mom,
is difficult and different from anything you've previously fought. The entire
game is set up so that you think defeating Mom will be the end of the story.
But you would be wrong.
After Mom is slain a second time, a new area opens up with bosses, enemy types,
and items to discover. Another cellar door opens, and entering it sends you to
the Womb, a difficult level where the final boss is Mom's Heart (reaching this
boss fight again replaces the heart with It Lives, a slightly altered version
of the fight). Even then, the game isn't over. After fighting It Lives, you can
enter a new area known as the Cathedral, an even harder level. The boss
of the Cathedral is none other than Isaac - you - himself. After completing the
Cathedral six times, you get the opportunity to find the Polaroid item. If you
defeat the Cathedral using the Polaroid, you can enter the true final level of the game: the
Chest. Every room in the Chest is a boss fight, culminating in a fight with
"???", a boss that looks suspiciously like Isaac and fights similarly to the
previous Isaac encounter. In a difficult game like The Binding of Isaac,
satisfaction is nothing more than a fleeting hope before more trials and
Dragon's Dogma
In Capcom's fun and
dangerously addicting action RPG, your quest is to recover your heart, which
was stolen by a dragon. Now that we've suspended our disbelief, suffice to say
that you eventually find the dragon, slay him, and recover your heart, that
being your quest for the first 25-30 hours of the game. The game seems to be over.
However, upon returning
to the capital city of Gransys after the fight, you find a dark, mysterious
cloud and a giant crater. From here, a new and practically unrelated story
forms, pitting you and your companions against the toughest monsters in the
game, followed by an elaborate and confusing final ending sequence many hours
after the dragon was slain.


text:
The Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) offers an alternative to formal litigation in resolving workers' compensation disputes. Parties may choose to be represented by an attorney in alternative dispute-resolution or may participate without representation.
DLI provides free mediation services to all parties to any workers' compensation dispute. Mediation is voluntary. If all parties are agreeable, a department mediator assists the parties in resolving their workers' compensation issues. If an agreement is reached, the mediator arranges for the Mediation Resolution/Award to be signed, awarded, and served and filed.
View/print the mediation brochure
For additional information about the Department of Labor and Industry's mediation program: phone
(651) 284-5005 or 1-800-342-5354.
In the Duluth area: phone (218) 733-7810 or 1-800-342-5354.
New! Mediation request available online from DLI's Alternative Dispute Resolutionunit


text:
The Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley will conduct off-site pet adoption events this Saturday, May 11. Available for adoption will be dogs, puppies, cats and kittens.
From 7:45-10:45 a.m. Saturday, adoptions will be facilitated on the north lawn of the Doña Ana County Government Center in conjunction with the 'Running For Cats & Dogs' event to benefit the Doña Ana County Kitty Condo project and the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley.
Adoptions will also take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Farmer's Market in downtown Las Cruces. Dogs available for adoption will be located at the north end of the mall. Cats can be adopted from the offices of the Center for Spiritual Living at the north end of the mall, across from the site where the dog adoptions take place.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, adoptions also will be facilitated at both PetCo, 3050 E. Lohman, also in Las Cruces.
Adoption fees are $75 for dogs/ puppies and $50 for cats/kittens. The fee includes the first set of vaccinations, spay/neuter and microchip.
At the PetCo event, microchipping for pets that already have homes will be available to the public for $20, and city pet licenses will be available to neutered pets for $5 each. Licenses for unneutered pets are $25 each. Proof of spay/neuter is required before a $5 license will be issued. Pet owners also must bring current proof of rabies vaccination for each animal to be licensed.
The Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley also offers low-cost spay/neuter operations at the rate of $35 for dogs and $25 for cats. Appointments can be scheduled by calling the shelter offices.
For further information, call the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley at (575) 382-0018, or visit the website at www.ascmv.org. People who are hearing-impaired can call (575) 541-2182. Shelter hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
You can also visit the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley's Facebook page for information about the Pet of the Week and other services and news items. The facility is in need of donations of dog crates, towels, blankets and long-strand shredded paper. Volunteers also are needed to assist with animal care and socializing.
Action Program for Animals and Doña Ana Pets Alive are teaming up with Red hawk Golf Course for a June 8 golf tournament at Red Hawk Golf Club. The tournament will feature an after-play lunch and several contests on the course during play. Openings remain for players, sponsors and registration. For more information, call (575) 621-4942.


text:
|2011-04-30, 18:40
|Link #41
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 60
Basically, Fluff is using his own personal definition of "feminist literature" to pass judgement on the rest of the thread So... while he's "right" in that "no, none of this anime/manga really promotes modern feminism" ... he's wrong in that.. .*for Japan* - some of the material stretches the envelope. In other words, whether it is "feminist" or not rather depends on the context of the culture or of the viewer's own baggage.
He's also making outrageous assumptions about other posters, but then hey, its the Internet where some people don't believe I'm what I say I am either. Its like those MMOs where player X refuses to believe player Y is female or that anyone is female on the "net" (as I sit watching Player Y laugh her head off next to me).
Last edited by Vexx; 2011-04-30 at 19:05.
|2011-04-30, 18:46
|Link #42
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
I'd like a decent explanation of feminism too.
I mean, isn't it just men and women are equal? One does not serve the other?
Personally I think the story of Marcela and the shepherds in Don Quixote is a pretty example of a strong female representation.
The shepherds lament that the beautiful Marcela is cruel for not loving any of them, and that she is responsible for one of their number committing suicide. Eventually she appears and says that it's not her fault that she is beautiful, and just because she is beautiful and they love her does not oblige her to love any of them in return, and that she just wants to live with nature and doesn't need to be with a man. She has the right to choose whatever lifestyle she likes, she might get married in the future, but for now wants to experience the world a bit more. The novel portrays her as being in the right, while the shepherds are basically idiots with stupid romantic fantasies.
Pretty good for 17th century Spanish literature.
Last edited by DonQuigleone; 2011-04-30 at 19:04.
|2011-04-30, 19:02
|Link #43
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Here's a general site I've seen linked many times elsewhere when "what is feminism?" is asked:
Here's Geek Feminism's take on it (shorter, at the very least), with some links:
Googling Feminism 101 tends to get results.
Over at Girl Wonder they mostly talk Western comics, but sometimes they dip into anime, manga and games, especially on the forums.
Iris Gaming Network is a site mainly for feminist gamers.
When Fangirls Attack has had recent nostalgic coverage of Sailor Moon and Sailor V.
I recommend mostly lurking until you've learnt ropes on these sites, as feminists have become so tired of repeating themselves, that they have little patience left for questions that have obvious answers if you've read the Feminist 101 blog. (And really, if you have to explain to people for the umptieth time that drugging someone and having sex with them is real rape, one's patience tend to run out.)
|2011-04-30, 19:08
|Link #44
Lolli for loli :D
I also dislike "extreme feminism to the point of hating men". It doesn't have to go this far. We want equality, which means no bashing of either sex. >_> Man-hating women don't look any better than men who think "women are weak idiots who belong in the kitchen".
|2011-04-30, 19:18
|Link #45
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
I've yet to meet a feminist that hates men. Most have men in their lives that they like, love and are comfortable around, however, many cultural depictions of feminists use the Straw Feminazi.
Basically, instead of making feminism about "making all equal" many authors think that feminism is "putting down men and elevating women", and this isn't true. Yet so many TV shows go "It's a better story if we make this extreme feminazi, nevermind that we've now represented a minority about a million times more than there actually is people thinking like this".
Many feminists will, for example, explain at great lengths why putting women on pedestals is wrong and sexist, and why portraying men as sub-human, and expecting sub-human morals, logic and ethics from them, is also sexist.
I know that when I was a kid, I thought feminism was about hating men, but that was because of inaccurate portrayals in media. I grew up, learnt about what feminism actually was, and then ran with it.
|2011-04-30, 19:26
|Link #46
Lolli for loli :D
Which is why they are foolish.
...........we've got so many stupid portrayls and ideas to "thank" them for, don't we? >_>
|2011-04-30, 19:43
|Link #47
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
I don't think Feminism is about hating men either, but I think a core feminist value is that women can live without men. They are free to choose their own lives, and how they'll live. A woman is her own individual. She doesn't have to love a man just because he wants her to, and she isn't a "bitch" if she doesn't reciprocate a man's feelings. She just doesn't love them.
The story is also a reaction to the tendency of pastoral literature to put women on pedestals and objectify them. Marcela isn't a pure object, she has her own desires and wants, and happens to be a bit eccentric, and wants to live outside in nature, rather then a more conventional lifestyle, and her suitors are denigrating her for it.
But I think some women's responses to the episode would be interesting. I've put her speech in spoilers below, you can judge it as you will. Excuse the kinda archaic language, the only translation online is from the 1800s, though it's fairly readable.
Spoiler for Marcela's speech:
Last edited by DonQuigleone; 2011-04-30 at 19:56.
|2011-04-30, 20:48
|Link #48
blinded by blood
I'm not a feminist, I am a humanist. I think we're all humans and we should all be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of whether we've got a pole or a hole between our legs.
Vexx has the right of things. While most Japanese fiction media ranges from mildly to horribly sexist by Western standards, when measured against their own yardstick, it tends to fare a lot better.
Personally I believe that most bog-standard "shoujo" (and josei, as well) stories are rather sexist, exemplifying and encouraging a female ideal that is extremely appealing to the patriarchy. If little girls have that as their role models when young, they just might be more "perfect wife" material later on.
Needless to say, I hate those kinds of shoujo stories.
|2011-05-01, 02:08
|Link #49
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 31
In general one would assume that the genre is sexist because its so utterly concerned with making female characters appealing to a male target audience.
However, my girlfriend actually expresses admiration for a lot of girls in seinen shows for being strong characters - particularly in terms of decisive decision making. I actually think a few of her favourites make decisive decisions that are actually really poorly thought out - such as Chihiro from EF (a character I also really like, BTW) and Kaori from Kanon - but she admires them regardless, probably because she's shy and wishes she could act more like that.
A lot of girls I know who watch seinen also seem to like girls that are "crazy awesome" - such as Fuko from Clannad or various yandere characters. They just happen to be pretty cute in the process.
And then there's the cosplayers I've met who take their cosplays really, really serious. To me, it feels like a fashion statement of sorts, and not one necessarily done just to impress guys.
So while I wouldn't exactly call seinen anime feminist, girls do seem to be able to identify with seinen anime culture and characters from it in an (often) positive manner. The fact that female characters in seinen run such a huge gamut of character types probably helps since it gives them a lot of choice.
(Side note: Just as an interesting historical note, the way I understand, cute culture in Japan could hardly be accused of being patriarchal when it first started. The way I understand it, it was started by girls and was a way of rebelling against ideals placed on adult women. Whether its being co-opted into a patriarchal structure since is another story, not going to try and analyze that here.)
And I seriously LOLed at Chibi identifying with our petite, waifish gunslinger. You go girl - actually, I imagine there's a number of women who like these sorts of characters when the sexual element is keep to a moderate level (as it is in Aria) for precisely this reason.
|2011-05-02, 00:15
|Link #50
Lolli for loli :D
I would be using just a katana, myself. Guns make me too nervous...
But yes, they're appealing little characters; if you've been small all your life and have been regarded as a "weak and helpless kid", seeing "little girls" (who look like they're in the same boat as you) actually kicking ass and taking names is just one of the coolest things ever. Rukia, Shana, Maka, Aria, I love them all to pieces!!
Last edited by Chiibi; 2011-05-02 at 00:25.
|2011-05-04, 17:31
|Link #51
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
hmmm in general, i like animes because they portray traditional gender roles as a GOOD thing.
so are they anti-feminist? depends on what you believe feminism is. the americanized definition is one that looks down upon traditional housewife/mother roles and values. one that looks at a woman who knows how to cook as someone who is holding themselves back and is lower than a "career-oriented" one
which is of course, bullshit
but i digress...
shoujo animes may have more main heroes that appear like jerks, but they obv have a more soft side. its no diff from women, who will say the ideal guy is someone who is "nice...but with an edgy side"
|2011-05-04, 18:52
|Link #52
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: 42° 10' N (Latitude) 87° 33' W (Longitude)
Age: 39
As they say in Japan - Men come first, Women come second.
When you watch series like this, then you really have to turn off your American eyes. It's quite easy to take the American views to some of these series and question it. Often times, I fail to do so. This is in particular when fighting series that include female fighters. Many such characters have prominent roles; but eventually, they get "shoved to the side" in favor of a dominant male character.
|2011-05-05, 01:22
|Link #55
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In line to confess his sins.
Age: 30
They are, almost exclusively.
Shoujo is generally aimed at girls in early to late teens, while Shounen is aimed at boys in the same age group. Both do, of course, have lots of fans outside their targeted demographic.
|2011-05-05, 09:14
|Link #57
Yuri µ'serator
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: FL, USA
Age: 30
For example, Most Romance series from VN sources that have a "harem" per say generally are considered Seinen, or none since they aren't based off manga which is where the labeling tends to come from ussually.
|2011-05-05, 09:16
|Link #58
Also a Lolicon
Join Date: Apr 2010
Seinen, shounen, shoujo, and josei are demographics. If something runs in a shoujo magazine, its shoujo, regardless of content. There are things that are more common in some demographics over others, such as harems being more in seinen and shounen.
|2011-05-05, 10:07
|Link #59
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 29
Shounen and Shoujo are demographic indicators, no more, and Harem appeals to both demographics, albeit in a gender flipped fashion, which would make sense.
|2011-05-05, 22:14
|Link #60
Lolli for loli :D
Please watch it.
Spoiler for Awesome show is awesome:
|Thread Tools


text:
Daily Links, March 15: Polls, priests, and papal cologne
Yesterday, the bishops released a statement vowing to continue the fight for religious freedom...and less than a day later, a new poll declared that 57 percent of Catholics don't think religious liberty is in danger. Scott Alessi discusses this discrepancy between bishops and lay Catholics.
In continuing coverage of the contracpetion mandate, Nick Sementelli of Faith in Public Life discusses some consequences of newly proposed legislation in Arizona that would allow employers to opt out of covering contraception. And, at Commonweal, Joseph Becker examines if the mandate is constitutional.
In another new poll, it turns out that a majority of Republican primary voters are unaware that Rick Santorum is Catholic.
Today we hear from the priest who denied a woman communion at her mother's funeral. He defends his actions; Bryan Cones doesn't agree.
In about ten days, the pope will make a trip to Cuba. Read about important work the church is doing in Cuba to help fill gaps in the welfare net, and also about a group determined to have an audience with the pope during his visit.
Thinking of spending some time outside? Maybe taking a vacation to a national park? Turns out some political leaders are in favor of selling our national parks.
Did you just catch a whiff of a lime tree, verbena, and grass mixture? You could be smelling the pope's newest custom-made cologne.


text:
And with all the "I can put up with his annoyances because he's winning" will be what the "faithful" will use to ask for his head when the struggles come. Lather, rinse, repeat. It happens everywhere.
By the way, its all fun and games now, but we are talking about one conference championship here. And he is hailed as king. You folks are suddenly easy to please.
Last edited by traderumor; 03-12-2013 at 09:28 AM.
Can't win with 'em
Can't win without 'em
Did I care when IU was bad under Crean, not really but then again I didn't really make time out of my day to watch IU play OSU so I wasn't privy to his antics.
Reds Fan Since 1971
I actually am not that concerned about OSU fans think of Crean. I was trying to be funny, which I accomplished.
I'm not that concerned with him being a goofball either. As with the cutting down nets and separate banner deal, I just don't take it that seriously. Are we hailing him as King already? I wasn't officially informed but that's cool, I'll start praying to him tonight.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
IU needs to give him a raise so he can afford a pair of pants that fit.
He looked utterly deranged after being dragged away from the UM assistant.
I tell you who annoys me though. That Thad Matta. Geez. That male pattern baldness and stuff. I mean come on we get it you're proud of your scalp, do you really have to call attention to it like that? Oh my gosh.
And what's with his substitutions? I mean at several times throughout the game he'll just take a guy out and put another guy in, just switch players!! Come on, just pick 5 guys and stick with them.
And then, and then he thinks he can just stop the game when his team has the ball. Like he'll go up to one of the striped players (who never get to shoot and rarely play defense) and put his hands together to make a what looks like "T" and just stop the game! And the other team allows him to do this. Talk about thinking you're a king. Geez, what a pervert.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
IU could go 32-0 and win the Championship under CTC and some folks would still state the following: Yeah, but imagine what (Bob Knight, Brad Stevens, or any other Coach Du Jour) would have done with that team.
Honestly, there is a faction of the IU fanbase that reminds me of the faction of the Packer fan base actually rooting against their own team in the Super Bowl two years ago, just to prove that their (inane) reasoning that the Packers shouldn't have allowed Brett Favre to leave was correct.
According to "fans" like the above, when IU loses it is always Tom Crean's fault; never the result of poor player execution.
No, CTC doesn't walk on water, but that line of "reasoning" gets old in a hurry.
Last edited by Revering4Blue; 03-12-2013 at 12:21 PM.
There are two types of people in this world:
1)Morning people
2)Normal people
Razor Shines (03-12-2013)
As for the winning and losing, I think you make my point. I'm not really defending his personality tics which are moderately annoying, but rather focusing on what I as a fan am asking him to do.
Razor Shines (03-12-2013),Revering4Blue (03-12-2013)
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please.


text:
Proposed by the New York State Assembly's Joseph Lentol (pictured left), the new bill imposes stricter penalties for those that violate its terms and makes the distribution of "violent and indecent video games to minors" a class E felony--a distinction New York also applies to the placement of a false bomb or hazardous substance, incest, and child abandonment. According to New York penal law, class E felonies are punishable by a maximum sentence up to four years in jail.
Specifically, the bill would make it illegal to sell or loan any game containing "depraved violence and indecent images" to a minor in New York. The bill defines "depraved violence" as "any photographic, photo-realistic or similar visual representation or image depicting the rape, dismemberment, physical torture, mutilation or evisceration of a human being" and outlines the criteria for indecent imagery as "any photographic, photo-realistic or similar visual representation or image of a person or portion of the human body which depicts nudity, sexual conduct or sado-masochistic abuse and which is harmful to minors."
Interestingly, the bill does not mention any efforts to label such games as indecent nor does it outlaw the sale of any game carrying a specific ESRB rating to minors. However, the legislation does mandate that new video game consoles must include a system through which users can prevent the play of a game based off its ESRB rating--a feature the current crop of consoles already contain.
Much like last week's proposal by New York senator Andrew Lanza, the new bill calls for the formation of an Advisory Council on Interactive Media and Youth Violence, which would investigate the effectiveness of and suggest improvements for the ESRB's current rating system as well as study the potential side effects of playing violent video game.
To become state policy, Lentol's proposed legislation must first be approved by the New York State Senate and cleared by the New York State Assembly before New York governor Eliot Spitzer has the option to sign it into law.


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After the defeat of Germany, the Allies tried leading state and party officials and military commanders of the Third Reich before a tribunal of military judges from the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and the United States. This International Military Tribunal tried 22 major war criminals during what is commonly known as the Nuremberg Trial, which lasted from November 1945 to October 1946. This footage shows the accused entering pleas following their indictment on charges of crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Hjalmar Schacht, Franz von Papen, and Hans Fritzsche were acquitted by the tribunal. Twelve of the defendants, including Hermann Goering, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner, were sentenced to death. Others served prison terms ranging from ten years to life in prison.
Copyright © United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC


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Java and Web Services Primerby Al Saganich
Web Services are a new technology that could revolutionize the way business-to-business and business-to-consumer services are provided. Web Services use a variety of technologies to allow two applications to communicate. However, none of these are new claims; what makes Web Services different from other similar mechanisms are the technologies which provide the service.
Web Services have at their core XML as a mechanism for communication. Ultimately, Web Services are based on three specific technologies: a mechanism to register a service, a mechanism to find a service, and a mechanism for two parties to communicate. Today, developers can use the Java 2 Enterprise Edition APIs and XML to provide Web Services. Such developments leverage existing Web sites and provide simple methods to extend, interconnect and publish existing J2EE-based applications in new and exciting ways.
In this article we shall examine traditional approaches to electronic collaboration, see the various system services required to solve collaboration problems, and examine how Web Services and J2EE provide these services. In future articles we shall look at each service in detail and develop our own Web Services on top of existing Web applications, exporting these services to the Web community at large.
What are Web Services, Anyway?
Over the past six to twelve months we've begun to see a new Web programming paradigm, that of the Web Service. But exactly what are these Web services anyway? In a nutshell, Web Services are the natural evolution of basic Remote Procedure Calls. In fact, we shall see that Web Services are in fact not a much more advanced technology than RPC of the past, but similar concepts applied in new ways!
But what exactly is a Web Service in the first place? Well, I'm sure BEA, Microsoft, Ariba, HP, Sun and others all have their own particular definitions; however, for the sake of argument, a Web Service is three specific things:
- A way to find and register interest in a service.
- A transport mechanism to access a service.
- A way to define what the input and output parameters are for such a service.
These three properties, when used in combination, provide a new form of Distributed Computing environment. The difference between this computing environment and DCEs of the past is in standards and implementations. A standard definition mechanism, standard lookup services, and standard transport definitions via Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). All of which are provided without concern for the underlying implementation mechanism. What makes Web Services so cool is that, at least in theory, a Web Service written in C and running on a Microsoft IIS can access a Web Service written in Java and running on BEA WebLogic Server. All without concern for how each Web Service is actually implemented.
These three components of our new DCE can be as simple or as far- reaching as required. For example, both UDDI and ebXML provide similar services, one for the more simple cases, the other the more complex. Before we get into more specifics on each of these services, let's look at the standard Web Services model.
Figure 1 shows a diagram many of us have seen in one form or another over the past few years. But what exactly does figure 1 represent? First and foremost we have a service provider. Service providers hosts any number of services, some of which are exposed as Web Services. Secondly, we need a centralized service repository for publishing information that clients can use to find information about published Web Services. And finally, we need various mechanisms to find and access the services.
Learn more about Web Services at the O'Reilly Peer-to-Peer and Web Services Conference, in Washington, D.C. on September 18-21, 2001. Network with the most innovative technologists, Internet business developers and lawmakers while exploring the next generation of the Internet.
In a moment, we'll look at each of the underlying standards that a Web Service relies on to function. But first, let's look at the figure in general and understand what's going on.
- 1 represents a service provider publishing a service to an external repository. Once such a service has been exported to a registry, it can then be used by a client.
- 2 and 3 represent looking up a service from a repository and returning information about a service, respectively. Information, such as the format of the procedure calls and the address of a service provider, would normally be provided, amongst other details.
- 4 and 5 represent the client binding to an underlying service and then accessing that service to use whatever functionality the service provides.
Nothing about Figure 1 is new. In fact Sun/RPC, DCE/RPE, DCOM and EJB all provide similar services. The difference, however, is in the how these services are provided. Traditional RPC services require similar underlying architecture, byte formats, etc. For example, in order for two divergent RPC implementations to interoperate, both must provide mechanisms for communication. Such communication was historically poorly defined and required a large amount of care and handling in order to make the two systems interoperate.
Web Services differ from traditional RPC mechanisms in many different ways:
- Data is formatted for transfer using XML, improving or eliminating marshalling, unmarshalling, and various other translation-related requirements normally coded by a developer.
- Data is passed using standardized protocols such as HTTP or SMTP, which have published well-defined standards.
- The underlying exposed service is well-defined using a known accepted mechanism, WSDL.
- Services are found using a well-defined standard, UDDI, and the more advanced ebXML.
All of this background is important and leverages why Web Services are as they are. However, we need to look closely at the underlying mechanisms which provide the basis for Web Services and why they are fundamentally different from past DCE and RPC mechanisms.
First and Foremost, XML
Web Services have as their core a fundamental set of functionality based on XML. XML is a wonderful technology, and it has really found a home in Web Services. Let's look for a moment at the process of data passing to understand just one area where XML excels. Historically, in order for two systems to communicate, they needed to be tightly bound. One area where such a tight binding occurred was with respect to data passing. Data needed to be placed onto the wire in a fashion such that both ends of the pipe could understand and read the information. Such problems let to a solution called "Network Normal Form." Network Normal Form was a format that allowed Bytes, Integers, Floats, Doubles, etc. to be placed on the wire in a format that both sides could understand. However, it had a number of drawbacks. Any number of complicated schemes had to be devised in order to make sure that data was packed together correctly: that each side knew how to pack and unpack the data; that everyone agreed on the format. All because no common data-representation and -definition mechanism existed. XML changed all that by providing a well-defined data representation as well as a well-defined set of validity and well-formed rules. As a result, XML is an excellent vehicle for packing data in a fashion that both ends of the pipe can easily read and understand. XML does have its drawbacks; for example, it's very verbose. But such verbosity is a rather small price to pay with today's high-speed networks.
Defining a Service, Web Services Description Language
Historically, defining what both ends of the pipe look like in a traditional RPC or DCE environment was problematic at best. Various incarnations of Interface Description Languages (IDLs) exist, but always start attempting to define the interface first, and then develop the implementation second. The Web Services Description Language (WSDL for short, and often pronounced wisdel) takes a different approach in that it fully specifies, in XML of course, the interface to an existing application, a new application, or anywhere in between. You needn't generate the interfaces from the IDL, as we did with CORBA and other RPCs, nor generate the interface from the code, but rather define the interface with WSDL. WSDL defines the syntax, the semantics, and all the various administrative aspects of a Web Services procedure call.
Specifically WSDL provides a number of key pieces of information:
- A definition of the format of the messages that are passed between two endpoints using its
<message>elements and appropriate schema definitions.
- The semantics of the service: how it might be called to make a synchronous request/reply, synchronous reply-only or asynchronously communicate.
- The end point and transport of the service via the
<service>element: that is, who provides the service.
- An encoding via the
<binding>element, that is how the service is accessed.
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I still resent Intel for gouging me all through the 90s, but let's face it they are the best and AMD have largely kept Intel in check.
That said, if their pricing strategy is illegal, well I guess they should get sued.
I'm an
Often times, what appeared like a bad CPU was actually a motherboard issue with voltage not being applied correctly. I found this on a few KT266A boards where the BIOS would be set for 1.65v but instead supply 1.58v, or barely enough to boot. The fix for this, was to set the BIOS voltage to 1.7 and usually achieve a voltage of 1.6+ which was sufficient most times.
This wa
Nice... did your new CPU render
I recently compared a Dell dual quad opteron and a like Dell dual quad Xeon, and wound up buying a few Tyan barebone dual quad's with adaptec raid cards and double the ram and still saved a couple bucks over anything Dell could do fo
At the moment, I'd probably only consider AMD for servers, because I know there are a few good server chipsets. I tend
... why not go to a amd system with 2 cpus and Hyper Transport links?
The short answer is "I don't know." My assumption was that it was some combination of:
It boils down to two things. First, Intel had the Pentium M, and were about to launch the Core (slightly improved Pentium M) and Core 2 (new, lower power, microarchitecture) lines. Apple were selling more laptops than desktop and this trend has continued. The Mac Pro is a tiny, tiny fraction of their turnover and profit - it's a showpiece, while the machine that actually sell are the laptops. AMD had nothing comparable in the mobile CPU and (importantly - one of the reasons for the switch was that Apple
While I know I'd be getting a better product, I'd rather make sure my money goes to a company I support instead of one who tries to force people out of business instead of J
Logic is a pretty flower that smells bad.


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Business Cards - Linen Business Cards
Templates are Fully Customizable, Change Logos, Backgrounds, Images & More
Want to learn about all of the design tools in the online studio? Watch the video Here
If you are physical fitness professional you are going to need fitness business cards. At 1800businesscards you can design a fitness business card that expresses your unique personality and abilities with an athletic theme. Get access ti unlimited fitness images and an easy to use design studio to create the best business card. Having professional quality business cards on you at all times is one of the most important things you can do to promote your physical fitness business.


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Ancient Artifact Shadowbox Collections
Due to demand for NRC's Roman Military/Camp artifacts, we have begun this new catagory.
We will do our best to present a variety of attributable Ancient Roman through Medieval Artifacts for your collecting interest.
Each of our 'Shadow Box' collections will be unique - what you see in the photos will be exactly what you'll recieve.
If you're interested in collecting Roman Militaria, we strongly suggest that you include
Roman Buckles and Military Fittings by Appels & Laycock to your reference library.
Hair Pin, Zoomorphic, Dragon


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The hit Off-Broadway musical Avenue Q has been making audiences laugh for years, but now the show is going beyond the stage to make a difference in the community. Joining forces with the cable TV channel Logo, Avenue Q is taking part in a series of nationwide public service announcements created to increase public awareness about topics related to HIV.
These special Avenue Q PSAs, also known as "Puppet Service Announcements," will feature some of the musical's characters, such as Rod, Ricky, and Lucy The Slut. There will be six TV spots in total, each written by Avenue Q's bookwriter, Jeff Whitty. The importance of being tested for HIV, talking to partners about HIV, and taking appropriate treatment if positive are among the subjects that will be discussed in the PSAs.
"These 'puppet service announcements' will use the comedic talents of Avenue Q to fearlessly address issues surrounding infection including frequency of testing, anonymous sex, stigma, open communication and more," stated Logo's senior VP of Marketing and Creative, Amy Wigler. The first of the campaign spots will air during the season premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race on January 28.
Jennifer Chen
Latest posts by Jennifer Chen (see all)
- Kenneth Lonergan's "Lobby Hero" Concludes Run - May 18, 2018
- The 2018 Tony Nominations Have Been Announced! - May 2, 2018
- Broadway Industry Steady as Spring Season Settles - April 25, 2018
- "Farinelli and the King" Recoups Investment - April 19, 2018
- "Saint Joan" Begins Starring Condola Rashad - April 12, 2018


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Originally published on December 5, 2012 11:04 am
Some public schools across the U.S. are setting different standards for students based on their race. The goal is to cut the achievement gap in half. Host Michel Martin speaks with Emily Richmond, of the Education Writers Association, about criticisms to this approach.


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Sir, you deserve a medal! How did you managed to get up moderated with this wonderful piece of Astroturfing?
RMS, waving his katana, will lead the HURD in the counter assault.
Looks to me that this is a phony account and journal spam (which, by the way is averaging over 250 adverts a day) is spilling over onto the front page..
I went to Northgate Mall in Seattle three weeks ago looking to get either a Nexus 4 or a Samsung galaxy s3.
Samsung products were everywhere.
The only place I could find a Nexus 4 was the Tmobile store, and yes, what tipped me to the Nexus was trying it out.
There was an unaffiliated tablet/phone store elsewhere in the mall that had a Nexus 7 and maybe a 10, but you had to look hard for them.
It still seems weird that you would need to open a whole store as opposed to striking deals for retail space for your stuff, though.
There is almost no consumer demand for Nexus devices, therefore there is almost no retailer demand for Nexus devices, therefore you can't find Nexus devices at retail very easily. The idea with Google opening its own store is apparently to stimulate consumer demand by showing them the devices and enabling them to try them out.
Another problem with Nexus devices at retail is that Google is not a phone maker or seller, or a consumer electronics company. They did not know what they were doing when it came to ma
If I can't find what I'm looking for in 0.254 seconds, I'm out of that store again.
Spoiled brat
Who bets that there are ads in the store
It should be quick - they only have five products.
This is suicide for google, and a traditional play by managers with no imagination who want to show that they can do things in an environment which is dominated by technical types that they can't and won't understand. This is money better spent by infiltrating the educational space or keeping margins lower. Please Google, keep the list of names of the people who support this initiative so that is can be a permanent blemish on their reconds. I for one won't be employing them.
You walk into the store, which unexplainably changes its facade for every random holiday far after the novelty has worn off.
You go up to a sale person and tell him you want to buy a Television and before he can respond, you get 3 other sales people from other stores that jump in front and shove ads in your hands. You stare, dumbfounded, at the sale person and he says, "did you mean Telephones?" and then shows you 6 phones, none of which are what you wanted. And then he shows you 10 other boxes of phones th
Google has a very small product line - it's hard to see how they can fill a store, unless they're going to be carrying a lot of "partner" (competitor's) Android phones. And, at this point in time, most of those partners are probably not that comfortable in their relationship with Google.
Not at first, no. But when the Nexus 27 smartphone is launched at Google I/O this year, the need for a full retail space will make more sense.
The Nexus devices sell in extremely small numbers, and mostly to computer nerds who decided to buy them before they even shipped, and who will almost certainly just order them online whenever they become available. That's the exact opposite of why you open a store.
I may have been too subtle (or just unfunny, which is often the same thing). A Nexus 27 would take up a lot of space. Android phones are getting humorously large (Note II). 93 Escort Wagon was wondering how they would fill a store with so few products...
So, nothing?
Google is a search service. They provide a lot of useful information. I wonder if I should go there seeking anything and everything? I ask Google for things of all sorts not the least of which is how to hack my nexus 4 and nexus 7 devices. I wonder, then if I should go to those brick and mortar sites for the same sort of service?
Perhaps this is my clever way of wondering if Google isn't exceeding itself a bit too much. I can see Google "guiding" the Android user experience with their own, ostensibly non-competing devices and I was prepared to let it slide. But the idea that they would open a brick and mortar shop? To sell something? I'm a little confused.
On one hand, I would be more inclined to buy Google devices from local Google stores than I would to buy them online. But that's just me. This all leaves me curious... and maybe a little suspicious.
eBay is beyond incompetence. My favorite recent interface fuckup is price ranges. Last I checked you can no longer search on items under or over a price, you have to search on a price range. But you can remove one bound or the other from the URL to get an under/over search. So the functionality is still there, but they've removed it from the GUI. Netflix does the same stupid bitchy shit. List views are still there; just add vt=tl to the URL. But you can no longer get them via the GUI...
"an extremely reliable source" - sounds like teenager chatter to me
COURT ROAD, Tottenham, Friday (NTN) — Internet advertising agency Google [newstechnica.com] is opening its first retail store, selling the Internet-only Chromebook.
"We've put a lot of effort into making it feel welcoming, homely and, dare I say it, 'Googley'," said Arvind Desikan, head of consumer marketing. The revolutionary shopping experience leverages Google's famous abilities in customer service, having no staff. Customers seeking advice on a product can simply log in with their Google account to the in-store foru
hopes to have the first flagship Google Stores open for the holidays
Why would they care about being open for Earth Day? I know companies like to be 'green' nowadays but what is so special about opening on April 22?
This keeps in practice with their policy of never allowing any human contact with a Google employee.
and then give you a virus.
Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do the work. -- John G. Pollard


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Technologies that can deliver self-improvement are becoming ever more accessible to those who seek it.
Statistics help us grasp the massively complex forces shaping the world. Economists, sociologists, journalists and even philanthropists use statistics as a kind of tuning fork to pick up signals of disruption. But underlying all such measures is a force larger and more powerful than anything that can be quantified. That most disruptive of forces is ambition.
In our interconnected, interdependent world, ambition is no longer local, limited to what people see or experience directly. Thanks to the ubiquity of the internet and mobile phones, just about anyone anywhere, including the 3+ billion of the global population living on $2.50 a day or less, now has access to information they could not have imagined even a decade ago.
Ask any of those living in poverty what's important and their answers will be much the same: Ways to provide for their families, enough to eat, healthcare, education, safety, and the dignity of self-determination. In other words, more than half the world's population aspires to what others take for granted.
Ambition translates aspiration into action. It's the secret sauce that accelerates problem solving, spurs entrepreneurship, and galvanizes leadership. Most important, ambition is what drives human beings to improve their lives.