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International Exchanges
International Exchanges
International Exchange Club
The International Exchange Club is comprised of students from a wide range of backgrounds who wish to make connections with visiting exchange students.
Members of the club not only provide hospitality for exchange students from all corners of the globe, but travel on exchange programs as well. During the course of the school year, club members host a series of Dialog Nights featuring adults and students who have traveled abroad, as well as information nights for students who want to take part in exchanges or hosting. Membership is open to all RUHS students.
For more information about the wide range of international opportunities offered at RUHS club, contact Club Advisor Deb Lary.
The Randolph-Shizukuishi Exchange Program
"Shiz Kids" – a 26-year tradition – Arrive for week of Learning & Fun
The Randolph-Shizukuishi Exchange Program -- one of the longest lasting and most successful of our international exchanges -- began in 1992 when a Randolph native then teaching English in Shizukuishi, Japan facilitated a cultural visit of Shizukuishi students and teachers to Randolph Union High School. Over the next nine years, delegations of junior high students from Shizukuishi and their teachers came to Randolph for a week-long home stay and school visit.
In 2000, the Town of Shizukuishi invited Randolph Union High School to send a comparable delegation to Japan and, by way of thanks for Randolph's years of hospitality, paid for the group's expenses while they were in Japan. Since 2000, Shizukuishi students have continued to come to Randolph every winter and Randolph Union High School has sent delegations to Japan every other year, each time raising funds from the community and by applying for foundation grants.
This past January, area families welcomed 10 Shizukuishi Junior High School students into their homes for a week to share family life and culture. And in June of 2018, Randolph Union Middle School students will have an opportunity to do the same. This year's trip includes two days in Tokyo for a quick exploration of the city followed by a three hour Shinkansen (bullet train) ride to Shizukuishi for a week of homestays ending with a couple days spend in Nikko, a World Heritage Site known for its shrines and temples.
International studies are an important component at Randolph Union High School, and there are numerous opportunities for students to travel throughout the world as they prepare for life and careers both in and outside Vermont.
How did that song go when we were kids?
"It's a Small World After All."
Written by the Disney organization* in the early 1960s, the song was about promoting peace and brotherhood among the people – especially the children – of the world. Today, more than 50 years after the song's message circled the globe in scores of languages, students at RUHS are finding out just how true those words are.
In April of 2018, a group of students from the "Service Learning" Project-Based Learning (PBL) class traveled to the city of San Ramon, Nicaragua to spend 10 days teaching elementary school students about North America; about the importance of learning to read; how to solve problems and puzzles; and even a little about American soccer.
"Our goal," said Senior Amanda Rosalbo, "is to help address the illiteracy problem facing Nicaraguan kids in some of the poorer parts of the country. We've all been writing, illustrating, and translating short stories to teach kids about our part of the planet, plus they have built in activities designed to help kids expand their thinking and learning."
The students will stay at the homes of various host families in the city during their stay, giving them an even closer look at life in a Latin American country.
"We worked with seven different elementary schools," said RU Spanish (and PBL) teacher Simona Talos, "as well as a night school, where a number of adults go, after work, to learn reading and literacy skills. The essential goal of the trip is to help students, both young and old, break out of the cycle of illiteracy that keeps then trapped in poverty."
According to Talos, a generous gift from the Dorothy Byrne Foundation helped students tremendously in their fundraising efforts!
German Exchange Program – BBS Cuxhaven
Ten students from the port city of Cuxhaven, located in the Lower Saxony region of Germany at the edge of the North Sea, spent ten days this September exploring Vermont, attending classes at RUHS and RTCC, and renewing ties with friends in the Randolph area.
The exchange, initiated by Vermont Technical College over a decae ago, has become an annual tradition with students from both countries taking turns visiting each other's schools and learning about the educational and career opportunities both provide. When VTC eliminated the program in 2012, RUHS saw it as a chance not only to continue a longstanding relationship, but also as an opportunity to broaden its students' knowledge of and interest in European cultures.
"This year," according to teachers Deb Lary and Dot Goulet who coordinated the trip, "the German students visited the Vermont State House, took a tour of Vermont Technical College, and visitd various tourist and cultural sites around Central Vermont, including Ben and Jerrys, Cold Hollow Cider Mill, the Green Mountain National Forest, as well as a number of local attractions, such as Eaton's Sugar House, Quechee Gorge, and VINS. When they were not on the road, the studentsspent time with their host families and shadowing RUHS and RTCC students."
According to their chaperones, the German students were also very excited to be able to spend time in Boston and New York City on either end of their trip. A closing pot luck dinner and ceremony was held on Tuesday evening, October 2 at the Brookfield Town Hall.
French Foreign Exchange to Guadeloupe
In the spring of 2017, fifteen French students traveled to the French overseas department of Guadeloupe in the Eastern Caribbean. The most advanced French students did a good deal of fundraising and grant writing in order to participate in this unique opportunity. They sold over 500 crêpes during lunch hour, made around 2000 French chocolate truffles, and baked 300 pies in order to help cover their expenses for a 10-day adventure. In addition to this, they also received gifts from foundations and support from the school.
For the first half of the trip, students stayed in the remote village of Sainte Rose, adjacent to the island's largest rainforest and volcano, where they visited a primary school, hiked along various trails, and learned to shop and cook dinner in French. For the second part of their stay, local students at Hyacinthe-Bastardaud High School hosted students in their homes for five days. Randolph students joined in everyday activities with their host families, and attended classes at the school for a day to experience the French school system first hand.
Upon their return, a Guadeloupean group of 26 students and three teachers came to Vermont to get a taste of mud season! The French-speaking students were eager to practice the English they've been learning in class, and to discover what maple sugaring is all about. They spent one day shadowing our students at school, and a few days visiting Burlington and other attractions.


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'Excited, hysterical, ridiculous, frivolous'
Throw everything on the wall—or, in this case, at the public—and see what sticks: That seems to be the playbook of the camp of defeated vice-presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which in the last couple of weeks has ramped up its by-now-regular fusillades against Vice President Leni Robredo, whom it alleges to have cheated in the last elections.
In a press conference on Jan. 29, the late dictator's son and namesake presented what he claimed were copies of documents from the Presidential Election Tribunal that would show election results in a number of towns in Negros Oriental and Camarines Sur that were "shocking and highly questionable." The papers were proof, he said in an appropriately outraged tone, that Robredo "had manipulated the voting and trampled upon the true will of the people on their choice for vice president."
Isn't this rich. But set aside for now the unmitigated irony of the scion of the conjugal dictatorship, which perfected the art of rigging elections in this country, sputtering about the true will of the people being trampled upon. Strictly on the basis of the documents, was he on to something?
Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, Robredo's lead counsel, was having none of it. He said that Marcos Jr.'s claim was "excited and hysterical," and that the "allegedly uncovered 'solid and incontrovertible evidence of massive fraud that transpired in the 2016 elections' based on their own copies of alleged ballot images of ballots used in the said election is highly ridiculous, if not outright frivolous."
Not only might the alleged discrepancies in the ballot images Marcos Jr. presented be "fabricated or manufactured," according to Macalintal, the idea that there was "massive fraud" based only on five ballot images at hand was also laughable. Besides, none of the supposedly affected precincts registered any kind of protest or complaint about the results from the myriad observers present during the polls—among them the candidates' watchers, media and foreign observers, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, and other citizen arms of the Commission on Elections.
Marcos Jr. tried to up the ante a few days later with what, in local show-biz parlance, would be called another "pasabog" (gimmick): He was shown in pictures shared on social media signing a document to withdraw all motions pending with the Supreme Court-PET and go straight to the recount, and daring Robredo to sign it as well. The intent, of course, was to cast Robredo as the stumbling block to the speedy resolution of the election protest.
Except that Macalintal was more than willing to call the bluff and sign on Robredo's behalf—just not the document Marcos Jr. brandished. Making mincemeat of the opposing camp, Macalintal pointed out that Marcos Jr. had in fact committed a "great blunder" by signing the wrong document. His camp had prepared a joint manifestation, not a joint motion, and per the Supreme Court, Macalintal said, manifestations are made "merely for the information of the Court."
In other words, what Marcos Jr. signed to great fanfare from his side of the fence was a worthless piece of paper, and not the kind of official document worth its time in court. Furthermore, revealed Macalintal, it was not even Robredo's camp that has outstanding motions with the PET, but Marcos Jr., "who has a pending motion for reconsideration on the resolution of the Supreme Court allowing us to have copies of the ballot images."
The "manifestation" was all for show, recalling the oversize cardboard bank "waiver" that then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano once dared other candidates to sign during the election campaign—a promise that has gone aggressively unmentioned these days.
His sham stunt revealed for what it was, Marcos Jr. has likewise gone mute for now. Someone in his camp ought to be fired.
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Denver Colorado Foreclosure Help, Defense, Laws and Process
In Denver, Colorado owning a home is made easy through the help of mortgage loans. It is now possible to own a home with as little as 3% down on the mortgage help. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees in home ownership. Due to financial trouble caused by various aspects in a person's life, you may find yourself behind in your mortgage payments. This can result to the loss of your property and the equity you've created through foreclosure.
Government assistance is there to help you out if you find yourself in such a dilemma. You need to contact a HUD- approved Housing Counselor as soon as possible. Time is of the essence in this situation. You will be given management tips on all the proper avenues available in tackling the situation and you will be assisted through the foreclosure proceedings. This way, you will be up to speed with what is going on and your mortgage rights will not be trampled on.
If you choose to ignore the problem, it will magnify exponentially. The lender will charge you a penalty for defaulting the payment and all the legal proceedings will be added to the balance you owe. It will not only be expensive for you to repay this loan but also harder if you have it reinstated. You are highly advised to act faster because anyone can loose their home.
Stop Foreclosure Denver Colorado
If you find yourself in a situation where your financial situation has changed, then you need to consider the following:
- Do not ignore the problem. Very few people think they will lose their home because they have more time. Act fast and accordingly.
- Contact your lender as soon as possible in order to re-negotiate the payment terms. Loan modification can be the solution to all your problems.
- Acknowledge the receipt of the first notices you receive. They are bound to contain vital information on foreclosure prevention tips.
- Be aware of your mortgage rights
- Contact your HUD-approved Housing Counselor. This could be the key to all your foreclosure woes. Government help is free.
- Liquidate your assets if they are valuable enough to repay the loan. These assets can help you reinstate your loan.
- File for bankruptcy. This may buy you time to find the money to re-pay the loan or give you time to liquidate some of your assets.
Denver, Colorado Foreclosure Process
In Denver, Colorado, law dictates that foreclosures to occur through in-court and out-of-court proceedings. But usually it is managed by a public trustee out of court and it takes 6 month. The most common process of foreclosure is managed by a public trustee out-of-court and takes about six months.
The non-judicial proceedings are as follows in the state of Denver, Colorado:
- The Public Trustees record the notice of election and demand with the county clerk as soon as the lenders attorney files the suit
- The Public Trustees then publish the notice of election and demand in a public newspaper for 5 consecutive weeks
- The borrower then receive this notice from the Public Trustees
- 21 days before the date of sale the borrower receives a notice containing redemption instructions
- This process may be barred when the borrower files a notice of ''intent to cure'' with the Public Trustees 15 days before the sale of the property
- The sale must take place 45 to 60 days after the notion has been filed
- The Public Trustees auction off the property at the entrance of the courthouse
After Foreclosure it is advisable to repair your credit in order for you to improve your credit scores.


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Exquisite Corpses at the 2016 Buffalo Small Press Book Fair
Exquisite Corpse is a story-telling game in which you can only see the most recent sentence. Here's what attendees to the 2016 Buffalo Small Press Book Fair came up with. Saturday It's a dog's life, digging past the dirt, only to reveal the bones and the occasional frozen corpses of Read More


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Operating under the motto, Service above Self, Rotary members spend countless hours working towards improving the lives of the less fortunate, combating issues such as world hunger, poverty, illnesses, and education, to name a few. Rotary is an organization that gives back to the community at every step. The Affair of the Heart is one of the Maplewood Rotary Club's three major fundraisers and brings together about 150+ guests; Rotarians, local supporters, family and friends to celebrate the joys of being a part of such an amazing community and support our Gift of Life programs.
Each year the club chooses a recipient for its Citizenship Award. The award is given to an individual who lives by the Rotary International motto "Service Above Self"… a person who goes above and beyond in their personal efforts to make Maplewood and the surrounding communities a better place to live. This year we will be honoring Maplewood Fire Captain Joe Callaghan, a 20-year veteran of the force, for his "gift of life". In 2011, Joe unselfishly donated one of his kidneys to fellow firefighter Greg Snell who had been forced to retire from the force after suffering double kidney failure after 18 years the job.
Proceeds from the evening will go to support the club's involvement in the district's Gift of Life Program. Gift of Life NJ is a regional charity operated solely by volunteer Rotarians from District 7470. It organizes, sponsors and hosts children from under developed countries that are in dire need of life saving heart operations. The surgeries are done at hospitals in the United States and through medical missions abroad.
Over the past 22 years of our Club's involvement with Gift of Life, we have proudly saved the lives of nearly 100 children through surgeries in the U.S. and medical missions abroad. In the past three years alone, through the generous support of those that have attended the Affair of the Heart, our club has committed over $70,000 to helping these children. We sponsored missions to the Dominican Republic in 2009 and 2010 which successfully operated on over 40 children. The 2009 mission was headed-up by Dr. Joanne Starr, a remarkable surgeon dedicated to the cause, and a former Maplewoodian. This year our club has risen to the challenge again to help save more little hearts, this time with a June 2012 mission to Kemerovo, in Siberia, Russia, with the goal of operating on 18 – 20 children with congenital heart defects. We are so grateful this year to have Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage join us as the principal sponsor of the Affair of the Heart. Their pledge to help us fund the mission to Siberia will allow us to help even more children in the future.
There is always much work to be done. The waiting lists keep growing and the Maplewood Rotary Club wants to continue to be there to help. For many of these children, we are their last hope. Don't miss this opportunity to have a wonderful evening and help your local Rotarians work to save children around the world…one little heart at a time!
Tickets are limited. For more information on this event, please contact Rick Porter, Co-Chairperson, Gift of Life at email@example.com, Steve Gussen at email@example.com, or Caroline Gosselin at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Please "Like" the Rotary Club of Maplewood's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Maplewood-NJ/160490080636681 , check out the event section to see who else is attending!
Read more about Joe Callaghan and Greg Snell here:
Patch.com: http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/maplewood-firefighter-gives-kidney-to-fellow-firefighter#photo-8641331
Star Ledger: http://blog.nj.com/njv_mark_diionno/2011/12/di_ionno_many_lend_a_hand_only.html
Alternative Press: http://thealternativepress.com/articles/new-deputy-chief-and-captain-sworn-into-maplewood
Rotary is designated 501 (c) (3) organization.


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Hand select your plants at one of our six Wholesale Plant Nurseries - 6 days a week!
Plantmark Wholesale Plant Nurseries provide a convenient 'one-stop-shop' facility where Trade Customers can hand select wholesale plants and garden products.
With stock from 100+ growers on site, Plantmark offers the largest range of wholesale plants available at any one location.
You can either take your plants with you on the day or we can arrange delivery.
Our range includes natives, ornamentals, grasses, hedging, screening, climbers, drought tolerant, citrus and fruit, vegetables and herbs, succulents, indoor plants, water plants and more. Sizes vary from tube stock through to super advanced trees.
In addition to greenlife, we also stock a large range of wholesale garden products including Fertilisers, Potting Mix, Mulch, Pesticides/Pest Control, Herbicides/Weed Control, Fungicides/Disease Control, Water Saving Products, Soil Conditioners, Bamboo Stakes & Hardwood Stakes, Tree Ties & Tree Guards, Planting Tools, Gardening Tools & Gloves, Pots & Pebbles, Garden Ornaments and more.
Stock changes daily. To view current Stock Available at your nearest Plantmark, please use our online Plant Search & Availability facility.
Plantmark has six locations nationally. View full Location Details here.
Plantmark Melbourne - Wantirna, Langwarrin, Thomastown and Werribee
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The Musashi Shirakawa Ryu Katana is part of Musashis Silver Collection; The blade is crafted from 1060 high carbon steel that was clay tempered in the traditional process. The tsuba is iron and the fuchi and kashira hilt fittings are antiqued and darkened brass. The seppa and habaki are crafted from brass.
The wooden tsuka grip is inlaid with genuine rayskin panels and is overlaid in black cotton ito cord; a pair of brass menuki are placed beneath the tightly knotted folds. The sword is paired with a wooden saya scabbard with a glossy finish of burgundy lacquer - it is finished with a black cotton sageo cord.
A cloth sword bag and a manufacturers certificate are included.
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WINNING comes out tomorrow. Loving this review. WARNING: Contains mild spoilers.
Winning by Lara Deloza
Published by HarperTeen on June 28, 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Pages: 336 – paperback, 304 – ebook
Format Read: paperback ARC
Rating: 4 stars
Source: HarperCollins
Whoever said being nice would get you to the top?
Certainly not Alexandra Miles. She isn't nice, but she's more than skilled at playing the part. She floats through the halls of Spencer High, effortlessly orchestrating the actions of everyone around her, making people bend to her whim without even noticing they're doing it. She is the queen of Spencer High—and it's time to make it official.
Alexandra has a goal, you see—Homecoming Queen. Her ambitions are far grander than her small town will allow, but homecoming is just the first step to achieving total domination. So when peppy, popular Erin Hewett moves to town and seems to have a real shot at the crown, Alexandra has…
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Keyboard is the main component which is used for interacting with the computer. As keyboard is extensively used, it is prone to attract dust and to accident spillage of liquids. All these reduce the life of the keyboard and also produces unpleasant for typing.
It takes only a little effort to clean your Keyboard, which ensures life of keyboard. Sticky Keys, also caused by accident spillage of liquids onto keyboard, and over time without proper cleaning of the keys.
Traditional Keyboard Cleaning methods cleans the outer surface of the keyboard and the sides of the keys. But most of the dust, food particles, hairs will get collected inside the keys. Often it is not that hard to clean these dust particles inside the keys.
Materials Required
- A hand Held vacuum Cleaner or a Can of Compressed air
- Few cotton Swabs
- A Screwdriver
- Alcohol Cleaning Solution (preferably Isopropyl Alcohol)
Traditional method of Cleaning Keyboard
Hand Held Vacuum Cleaner or Can of Compressed Air
Traditional method of cleaning often uses a can of compressed air or Hand held Vacuum Cleaner to blow out the dust particles from the keyboard.
1. Unplug the Keyboard.
2. Hold the Keyboard in Horizontal Position and position the nozzle of Vacuum cleaner or compressed air inside the keys and blow.
3. This should blow away most of the loose particles in the Keyboard.
This method is effective to clean out the loose dust particles present in the surface of the keyboard. But this method cannot remove more stubborn dust clinging on to the Keys.
Cotton Swabs dipped in Isopropyl alcohol
Another method uses a cotton swab dipped in cleaning alcohol, for cleaning the keys along with its sides.
1. Unplug the keyboard.
2. After blown away most of the dust particles, take a cotton Swab and dip it in Isopropyl alcohol( or any cleaning alcohol).
3. Gently clean off the surface and the sides of the keyboard with the cotton swab.
4. Allow the keyboard to dry for sometime.
This method is effective method of cleaning keyboard and the sides of the keys. But still some of the dust particles may have penetrated inside the keys of the keyboard.
Cleaning the Keyboard by removing the Keys
This method is used to clean the sticky keys problem, which is caused by spilling of any liquids. It involves removing all the keys from the keyboard and cleaning them separately. Also the food particles, hair or any particles suspended inside the keys also be cleaned by use of this method.
1. Unplug the keyboard.
2. Using a Screwdriver or a Butter Knife, gently pull out the keys from its position. The keys will pop out from its position.
3. After the key has been popped out, you could see all the dust particles, food particles that has been accumulated these days.
Now clean your popped out keys thoroughly before inserting. Also take a cleaning alcohol or brush and clean the dust and food particles present inside those keys.
Also take care when removing the Space Bar. It is a long key in the keyboard and it is more likely to break when pulled off improperly with great force.
Note: You can remove all the keys from the Keyboard to clean it thoroughly and inserting them back. Take the keys and clean it thoroughly in Soap solution. Be careful as not to remove the key markings over it.
For inserting back, you need a reference which key goes where. to insert it. Use the below standard Keyboard layout to insert the keys back.
4. After cleaning the keys, let it dry for sometime before inserting it. For inserting the keys, just place the key in its position and gently press it. The keys should fit perfectly in its position.
Note: When placing the keys, just a gentle push will be enough. Since the locking mechanism is made of plastic in most of the keyboard, be more careful when pressing the keys.


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Editor's Overview
Like the bulk-food isle at the grocery store, buying a Nissan Versa is a great way to get a lot of car for not much money. Roomy, comfortable and cheap, the new-for-2012 Versa sedan's charms taper off from there, leaving buyers who cherish style and fun to look elsewhere. The 2012 Versa hatchback carries over from 2011.
You'll Like The 2012 Nissan Versa If...
The 2012 Nissan Versa is about as roomy and comfortable as it gets in the subcompact, sub-$15,000 category.
You May Not Like The 2012 Nissan Versa If...
If you like your economy cars with a pinch of driving excitement, you'll have to go to another dealership.
What's New
More sophisticated sheet metal and improved fuel economy are the most important improvements on the all-new 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan. The Nissan Versa Hatchback continues mostly unchanged for 2012.
Interior Features
Nissan is quick to point out that the 2012 Nissan Versa has best-in-class rear legroom – more, even, than the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Lexus LS 460. The Versa also boasts the subcompact category's roomiest trunk – roomier, in fact, that it's Versa Hatchback sibling (14.8 cubic feet vs. 13.8). The front seats are acceptable – about as good as it gets in the category – and the interior is otherwise clean and simple. We prefer the look of the Sandstone interior, which feels richer than the Charcoal option.
Exterior Features
It's still among the category's most conservative designs, but the next-gen Nissan Versa Sedan looks much better than the awkwardly proportioned outgoing model. Making its debut on the 2012 Nissan Versa is a new signature grille for Nissan sedans. The base-model Versa S can be identified by its black trim, and if you want alloy wheels instead of covered steel wheels, you have to go all the way to the top-line SL trim. The same can be said for the Versa Hatchback, which offer 15-inch steel wheels with full covers on the base model and 16-inch alloys and a rear roof spoiler and side sills on the higher SL trim.
Driving Impressions
Subcompact cars are neither smooth nor quiet. But some are smoother and quieter than others, and the 2012 Nissan Versa is tuned to be just that. If the category has a cruiser, the new Versa is it. But it's also easy around town and in parking lots, with light steering, a tight turning radius and good visibility. The continuously variable transmission (CVT) remains a polarizing proposition in the automotive world, but Nissan has made great strides in recent years and, especially in when used in conjunction with a car like the Versa, we're fans. If you're looking for a lively dance partner, check out something like the pricier Ford Fiesta. If you're more intrigued by the idea of a condensed version of a comfortable mid-size sedan, you'll like the Versa.
Pricing Notes
With a sticker-price range of $11,570 to $17,020, the 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan has both the lowest starting and ending prices in the category. A competitor like the Ford Fiesta, for instance, ranges from $13,995 to more than $20,000. But a features-based comparison reveals mostly similar pricing across the category on an apples-to-apples basis. If a larger 5-door better suits your needs, the Versa Hatchback carries a starting price tag around $14,500 and goes up to around $18,500 for the top SL trim. Check our Fair Purchase Price for current real-world pricing. For someone seeking maximum room and comfort at a minimum price, the 2012 Nissan Versa definitely qualifies as a great value.
Notable Equipment
The 2012 Nissan Versa S starts at $11,750 (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price plus destination) with a 5-speed manual transmission, air conditioning, 2-speaker AM/FM/CD/Aux stereo system and not much more. Missing in action are power windows, power door locks and a folding rear seat back. For about $3,500 more, the mid-grade Versa SV remedies the manual windows and locks situation, and adds cruise control, nicer seat cloth and a variety of visual upgrades inside and out.
Notable Options
A 2012 Nissan Versa SL with Tech Package has an MSRP of $17,020. For that you get Bluetooth phone and USB/iPod audio connectivity, and the Tech Package adds navigation with a 5-inch screen plus traffic info and satellite radio.
Favorite Features
Rear Legroom
It isn't fast, it isn't flashy, but it sure is roomy. If you plan on taking long road trips with more than one passenger, the Nissan Versa is the most humane choice in the category.
Continuously variable transmissions take some getting used to, but you grow to appreciate the smoothness. Nissan committed to the CVT several years ago and is now doing them better than any other automaker.
Under the Hood
The all-new 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan pairs a brand new 1.6-liter engine with a brand-new, second-generation version of Nissan's small-car CVT. Fuel economy is up significantly compared to the outgoing Versa and now competitive with category leaders, but the 2012 Hyundai Accent manages similar fuel economy while delivering 26 percent more horsepower. The 2012 Versa Sedan is the first Nissan to wear a "PUREDRIVE" badge, which the automaker says will denote cars with unspecified fuel-saving technologies. So, when people ask you what "PUREDRIVE" means, "nothing, really" is an appropriate answer. The Versa Hatchback retains the 1.8-liter engine that it always had, which can be mated to a selection of three transmissions including a 6-speed manual, 4-speed automatic and a CVT.
Nissan Versa Sedan
1.6-liter inline-4
109 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
107 lb-ft of torque @ 4,400 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 27/36 mpg (manual), 30/38 mpg (automatic)
Nissan Versa Hatchback
1.8-liter inline-4
122 horsepower @ 5,200 rpm
127 lb-ft of torque @ 4,800 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 26/31 mpg (manual), 24/32 mpg (automatic), 28/34 (CVT)
Editors' Notes
The Nissan Versa is the Toyota Camry of the subcompact segment: Boring but a best seller. Of course, boring cars are only boring to those looking to make a fashion statement or generate an adrenalin rush with their transportation – a minority group. To its many happy buyers, the Versa is the roomiest, most comfortable new car available in the neighborhood of $15,000. And even though Nissan's designers have blessed the all-new 2012 Versa Sedan with considerably handsomer sheet metal, the basic recipe remains the same. The Versa Hatchback remains essentially unchanged for 2012.


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Best Players To Draft In Fantasy Basketball
If you could redo the draft all over again, would you have picked the same players or are you ready to move on? Well, just to put it out there, there is no such thing as a perfect draft but I am still doing well in my leagues so the answer would be kind of in the middle. That said, there are certain players who are can't miss, which means if they somehow fall in your lap, you better not take five seconds before you pull the damn trigger. What we are going to do is go through six rounds of drafting Read More


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From Online Dictionary of Crystallography
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Section efficace (''Fr''). Wirkungsquerschnitt (''Ge''). Sezione d'urto (''It''). <font color="
Section efficace (''Fr''). Wirkungsquerschnitt (''Ge''). Sezione d'urto (''It'').  ('''').  (''''). Sección eficaz (''Sp'').
== Definition ==
== Definition ==
Revision as of 12:50, 29 November 2017
Section efficace (Fr). Wirkungsquerschnitt (Ge). Sezione d'urto (It). 反応断面積 (Ja). Эффективное поперечное сечение (Ru). Sección eficaz (Sp).
Cross-section is a measure of the probability of interaction between the incident photons with the material via photoabsorption or scattering processes. It is the effective area that will yield a transition process for a perpendicularly incident flux of one particle per unit area. The total interaction cross-section σtot is usually represented as a sum over the individual photon interaction cross-sections (per atom):
σtot = σcoh + σincoh + τPE + κn + κe + σp.n.
[following standard tabulations] or
σtot = σcoh + σincoh + σPE + σn + σe + σp.n.
[following IUCr International Tables nomenclature].
The components are, in order, the coherent scattering cross-section, the incoherent scattering cross-section, the photoelectric absorption cross-section, the nuclear (coherent) pair-production cross-section, the nuclear incoherent (or triplet) cross-section and the photonuclear cross-section. These cross-sections are conventionally given in barns/atom (1 barn = 1028 m2 = 100 fm2). For most crystallographic applications the energy range of interest is where the photoelectric, coherent and incoherent cross-sections are dominant. The three corresponding nuclear cross-sections are minor in this energy regime but become dominant from 1 MeV – 10 MeV, and it may be noted that some of the cross-sections can be in phase and hence amplitudes can add rather than cross-sections.
The atomic form factor can be represented as the sum of the angle-dependent component, and the anomalous real and imaginary energy-dependent components (the latter two are also referred to as the dispersive or resonant contributions):
The imaginary component of the atomic form factor (in electrons per atom) = f2 (used by Henke et al.) is directly related to the atomic photoabsorption cross-section given as σPE or μPE in different references:
where re is the Bohr electron radius and other symbols have their usual meanings (Chantler, 2000). The Kramers–Kronig relation expresses causality and determines the real component of the (atomic) form factor in terms of the imaginary component:
where is the photon energy, is the energy above the electron binding energy of the intermediate (bound or continuum) state, and P represents the Cauchy principal value. Fundamental constants and conversion factors are given (for example) by Chantler (1995).
In measurements as in XAFS, the flux is often measured before I(0) and after I(t) the sample of thickness t (in cm). The Beer–Lambert law suggests
In practice fluxes must be corrected for background signal, normalization and scattering, following
where the subscript s refers to the intensity measured with a sample in the path of the beam and the subscript b refers to the intensity measured without a sample in the path of the beam (correcting, for example, for air attenuation and window effects). The subscript u refers to the upstream detector or monitor, while the subscript d refers to the downstream detector. D refers to the dark current or the electronic noise for either the upstream or downstream detectors. This formula does not explicitly correct for the scattering components, and is valid for the absorption cross-section [e.g. Chantler et al. (2001), de Jonge et al. (2005)].
To derive the mass absorption coefficient (or equivalent linear coefficients) including back-scattering and correcting for harmonics, further corrections are sometimes important. For central X-ray energies, the photoelectric absorption is often dominant and hence this can be a useful approximation. However, many measurements of XAFS use fluorescence, and the normalization is further complicated by self-absorption, and in particular there is no clean I(t) measurement.
- Chantler, C. T. (1995). J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 24, 71–643
- Chantler, C. T. (2000). J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 29(4), 597–1056
- Chantler, C. T., Tran, C. Q., Barnea, Z., Paterson, D., Cookson, D. J. and Balaic, D. X. (2001). Phys. Rev. A, 64, 062506
- de Jonge, M. D., Tran, C. Q., Chantler, C. T., Barnea, Z., Dhal, B. B., Cookson, D. J., Lee, W.-K. and Mashayekhi, A. (2005). Phys. Rev. A, 71, 032702


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Resources We 💜
Ready for more inspiration? Check this short list for some of our favorite resources that keep us feeling strong.
Psychosis Support
- Think you might have psychosis? Check out this screening tool
- Back To Life, Back To Normality – a helpful guidebook on psychosis recovery for individuals and families
- Unhelpful thinking habits (check yourself)
Mind + Body Wellness
- Super Better: app that helps build resilience
- Mood Mission: app for dealing with stress, low mood/depression and anxiety using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- What's Up?: app for dealing with a range of mental health challenges, including panic, using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Mind Body Green: healthy recipes, fitness & mindfulness
- Yoga: check our YouTube channel for some of our favorite (free!) yoga, meditation and breath exercises, or check out YogaGlo for quality teachers for a monthly subscription (cheaper than paying for a studio class)
- AllTrails: we use this hiking app to get our nature on and ditch to stress
- Headpace meditation app
Community + Advocacy
- Strong 365 Blog, our Tumblr, Instagram & Facebook communities
- Strong 365's peer support community on 7 Cups of Tea


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Take Stock in Children: Durant High SchoolMay 24, 2017Jorge Salmeron goes the "Extra Yard" as a Take Stock in Children mentor in Hillsborough County. Check out how he's making an impact as a mentor at Durant High School!
Take Stock in Children: Impacting Lives One Student at a Time!February 01, 2017We're excited to close-out #NationalMentoringMonth with an exclusive look at how one Pinellas Pinellas County Schools teacher goes the "Extra Yard" for her students... in particular, St. Pete HS sophomore Brianna Dunn. Check out the video below and see how Take Stock in Children is impacting lives one student at a time!
Championship Beach Bash Announces Celebrity Flag Football LineupJanuary 03, 2017Festivities are part of College Football Playoff fan event lineup in Tampa Bay
Derrick Brooks Headlines Brooks DeBartolo High School Extra Yard for Teachers CeremonyNovember 28, 2016Derrick Brooks joined the students at Brooks DeBartolo High School to hang banners provided by the College Football Playoff Foundation's philanthropic initiative, Extra Yard for Teachers. Little did he know that the College Football Playoff and the Tampa Bay Local Host Committee had another surprise in store...
Brooks DeBartolo Students Gather to Thank Their Teachers!November 21, 2016In honor of #ThankATeacherMonth, students at Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School wanted to thank their teachers for the impact on their lives.
College Football Playoff Announced Events Surrounding National Championship GameNovember 16, 2016Championship Campus in downtown Tampa to Feature Variety of Fan-Friendly Activities
College Football Playoff Announces AT&T Playoff Playlist LIVE!! LineupNovember 16, 2016Global Superstar Usher Headlines Championship Weekend Music Festival at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park
Registration Now Open for the Extra Yard 5KOctober 18, 2016Proceeds Benefit the College Football Playoff Foundation's Extra Yard for Teachers Initiative
USF Honors Tampa Bay-Area EducatorsOctober 06, 2016The University fo South Florida, In conjunction with the College Football Playoff and Extra Yard for Teachers, honored local educators on field during the USF vs. Florida State showdown at Raymond James Stadium.
Countdown to the Championship Luncheon presented by Northwestern Mutual a Hit with the Tampa Bay CommunitySeptember 24, 2016Event celebrated nearly $300,000 in grants to Tampa Bay educational community
College Football Playoff Foundation, Tampa Bay Team Up with HeliosSeptember 23, 2016The College Football Playoff Foundation and Extra Yard For Teachers are proud to partner with the Helios Education Foundation; further enhancing the cause of celebrating and empowering teachers.
Touchdown Tampa Bay: The September Edition of College Football Playoff's #TampaBay2017 E-NewsletterSeptember 22, 2016Get a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Going the Extra Yard for Tampa Bay Teachers!September 22, 2016The Tampa Bay Sports Commission and College Football Playoff Foundation made Extra Yard for Teachers Week extra special for four Bay area teachers and their classes. A special flash funding provided these teachers with 20 iPads to enrich their students' classroom learning experience.
College Football Playoff National Championship Attracts Top Chefs to Taste of the Championship on January 8September 22, 2016Event to benefit Extra Yard for Teachers
Extra Yard for Teachers Week to be Celebrated in Tampa BaySeptember 20, 2016
Countdown to the Championship Luncheon presented by Northwestern Mutual to Spotlight College Football Playoff UpdatesSeptember 19, 2016Sold Out Luncheon Offers Inside Access into College Football Playoff National Championship
Championship Beach Bash Coming to Clearwater BeachSeptember 06, 2016The Tampa Bay Sports Commission and the College Football Playoff National Championship invites football fans to the Championship Beach Bash at Pier 60 Park on Clearwater Beach, Sunday, January 8 from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Championship Yacht Village Adds New Element to College Football PlayoffAugust 08, 2016The Tampa Bay Sports Commission, in conjunction with the College Football Playoff, are proud to unveil a new concept at this year's College Football Playoff National Championship, Championship Yacht Village.
Touchdown Tampa Bay: The Inaugural Edition of College Football Playoff's #TampaBay2017 E-NewsletterAugust 01, 2016Stay up-to-date with the latest Tampa Bay news as it pertains to the College Football Playoff National Championship at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017.
Countdown to the Championship Luncheon Presented By Northwestern Mutual to be hosted on September 22July 08, 2016Special Event will Spotlight College Football Playoff Updates
2017 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME TICKETS AVAILABLEMay 25, 2016Ticket applications for the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship are currently being accepted for fans wishing to enter the College Football Playoff random ticket drawing.
College Football Playoff Press Conference: #TampaBay2017April 29, 2016As the Tampa Bay area prepares to host the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship game, relive moments from April's kickoff press conference.
Tampa Bay Area to host College Football Playoff National Championship Weekend of Events at Championship CampusApril 26, 2016Kickoff Press Conference Announces Week-Long Championship Activities


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Jason Killianwrote a review of Arc'teryx Sabre Pant - Men's on March 1, 2013
Super Baggy Snowboarder Stereotype Pants
So, you took the old baggy-cut Arcteryx Stingray pants and removed the insulation? And you're calling them the Sabre pants? Ok, that's fine...
Seriously, maybe it's the fact that I spend so much time in my Theta mountaineering bibs that all the other Arcteryx bottoms feel like they're cut for 14yo snowboarders - which was me, 20 years ago. But these are cut so baggy through the legs that I feel like they're going to flap in the wind behind me! They're the right waist and length, but other than that they feel like they're 3 sizes too big.
And the ankle openings are so big they cover my entire snowboard boot - and all but the toe of my AT ski boots. I'm going to give them another try, but they got so much powder up the leg last time that I swapped out at lunch for some other pants!
Beyond that, the side zips, pockets, belt, and fabric weight are dead on. The lack of insulation is perfect for me, I run hot and like to pick my own level of insulation anyway. I just want to take these in to a tailor and get about 4 inches out of the leg diameter.
Disclosure: I occasionally receive and test GoreTex products through the Gore-sponsored MountainTechs and HuntingTechs programs. This was one of those items, but that didn't affect my review.


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What a sensible step to take:
Published on Oct 10, 2012 by Thomas Peterffy
Thomas Peterffy grew up in socialist Hungary. Despite the fact that he could not speak English when he immigrated to the United States in 1956, Thomas fulfilled the American dream. With hard work and dedication, he started a business that today employs thousands of people. In the 1970s, Thomas bought a seat on the American Stock Exchange. He played a key role in developing the electronic trading of securities and is the founder of Interactive Brokers, an online discount brokerage firm with offices all over the world.
Flap of the Cap to Mr. Peterffy
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This page will provide you with information on body lift recovery. Lower or upper body contouring procedures may be performed as an outpatient procedure or in a hospital, depending on the planned extent of the procedures. Dr. Agha operates at the Newport Center for Surgery or Hoag Hospital. For more extensive or multiple procedures, you are recommended to stay overnight and in a nearby after care facility for 2-3 days. For out-of-state patients, you should plan to stay locally for two to three weeks after a lower body lift, and one to two weeks for an upper body lift.
Day of Surgery– When you wake up from your body lift procedure, you will be in the recovery room and will be wearing a binder or garment. You should plan to wear the compression garment for four to six weeks following surgery.
Caregiver– Both lower and upper body lift surgeries involve multiple surgical procedures performed in one setting. Thus, it is very important to have someone who can assist you with getting around and taking your medications for at least the first week.
Nausea– Most people are nauseated during the first 24-48 hours. To reduce this, we suggest that you take your nausea pill one hour before taking your pain medication or antibiotics. Also, do not take your pain medications on an empty stomach.
Sleep– During the first week after your lower body lift, attempt to sleep on your sides. Also, keep your legs slightly bent at the hips. This ensures that the tension on your buttock incision is minimized, reducing pain and resulting in a thinner scar.
Sequential Compression Device– As the major risk of body lift surgery is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), you will be provided with sequential compression stockings and a portable pump. You are recommended to use the device all times for the first five days unless ambulating. The SCD has been scientifically shown to reduce the risk of DVT in many clinical studies.
Painkillers– You're likely to feel sore for a few days, but you should be up and around in 24 hours. Most of your body lift pain can be controlled by the prescribed painkillers.
ProCare MD Nutritional Supplement– This product should be started three weeks before the body lift surgery and continued until all incisions are well-healed at about five to six weeks. The product can be taken in whatever dosage you prefer as long as three to four scoops are ingested per day. This provides nutritional elements needed for rapid and optimal healing, especially after a bigger surgery such as a lower body lift.
Shower– Remove your dressing, sponges, and gauze pads on the third or fourth days after your body lift. You may now take a shower with help only. After showering, simply pat your incisions dry and replace your abdominal binder.
First Post-operative Visit– Dr. Agha will see you for the first three days after your body lift if you are in a local aftercare facility.
Swelling– Any swelling may take three to five weeks to subside.
Driving– It is not safe to drive a car within 24 hours of taking pain medication as your reflexes and alertness may be altered. It is important that the surgical incisions are not subjected to excessive force, abrasion, or motion during the time of healing.
Walking– You will probably be unable to stand fully upright for 7 to 10 days after a lower body lift. Even if you can't stand straight, it is still important to start walking as soon as possible, usually the evening of surgery. This is the best way to reduce the chance of getting a blood clot in the legs.
Light Exercise– Dr. Agha recommends light exercise after either upper or lower body lift procedures in order to reduce swelling and prevent clotting. Light exercise includes walking, stretching, and moving arms and legs while sitting. If you should feel pain or pulling from the scar area, cease the movement.
Activities– During the first week after body lift surgery, you want to avoid activities that raise your blood pressure. This could cause bleeding at the operative site, which could result in a hematoma (collection of blood). Walking is the safest exercise. Avoid exercises which directly stress the area of your body lift incision for six weeks. After this period, cardiovascular activities, such as riding a stationary bicycle or brisk walking can be initiated. Also avoid heavy lifting, contact sports, and jogging for up to six weeks. Six weeks after your body lift surgery, you will be nearing your pre-operative level. During the early phase of healing, one must avoid irritation around the operative site as this could cause development of a seroma (fluid collection) or cause wound separation.
Healing– You will need several weeks to recover and heal from your body lift procedures. The typical healing time is at least one to two weeks before returning to work.
Scarring– Every person's body is different, and many factors contribute to scar healing. Your body lift scars will be firm and pink for about six weeks. Non-smokers and those who follow the Enhanced Recovery Nutritional Supplements routine have a better chance of rapid healing and thinner scarring. Expect to wait at least nine months before your scars lighten in color and become as flat as the rest of your skin.
Follow-ups– Regular check-ups protect against complications.
Emergencies– Some discomfort is expected following your body lift surgery. Be sure to tell us if: There is an increase in swelling, pain, redness, drainage, or bleeding in the surgical area. You develop fever, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, or a general ill feeling. If you experience shortness of breath, chest pains, or unusual heartbeats, seek medical attention immediately. Should any of these complications occur, you may require hospitalization and additional treatment.


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I never felt much like an "athlete" growing up. I wasn't involved in many sports. In high school I preferred things like show choir (jazz hands!) and the Latin club (nerd alert!).
I never identified myself as an "athlete."
But when I got into functional fitness, other people began to identify me that way. I still remember the shock that I felt the first time someone called me "muscular." I remember feeling embarrassed and confused when a friend referred to the "Ken doll" in the room…and he was referring to me!
What in the world was going on?!
Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw the same skinny choir boy I had always been. But others saw something different in me. I had changed.
And I had to adjust to my new identity as an athlete.
In faith, it's a lot like it is in fitness.
We've just celebrated Easter — the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Resurrection proves to us that Jesus has the power to transform you and give you a new life.
When you start following Jesus, God puts the old you to death. The way you used to see yourself — the old you — is dead and buried. And God raises you to a new life and a new identity. When you start following Jesus, you may not even recognize yourself any more!
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT), "anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
Easter is the time to claim your new identity in Christ.
Questions for Reflection:
Since you committed your life to Christ, do others see a change in you?
What changes do you see in yourself?
What changes will you continue to work toward as you pursue your relationship with Christ?
I never felt much like an "athlete" growing up. I wasn't involved in many sports. In high school I preferred things like show choir (jazz hands!) and the Latin club (nerd alert!).


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Large Living room with a picture window and bulit-in shelving. Eat-in Kitchen with white cabinets. All 4 appliances are included: Fridge, Stove, Washer & Dryer.
3 Bedrooms, appears to be hardwood floors under carpeting.
Master Bedroom with 2 closets. Good storage.
Full unfinished basement, ready to develop to your liking. Updated Lennox Furnace.
Lot 5- x 120 with a garage and lots of extra parking.
Data was last updated December 12, 2019 at 06:35 PM (UTC)


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rough sketch of us back in high school.
hands and feet are for the birds.
rough sketch of us back in high school.
hands and feet are for the birds.
Getting old is only in our mind.
Age never prevented people from doing things:
well, anonymous commenter, excellent point! i guess i've always been that way then. interesting little site there...until you get to 96 and up. See also: who died at 96. haha
Vics. You make me smile. And I totally relate. It's even worse when all of our girls have babies and then you have to try and be super auntie and remember to send cards to the babes on THEIR birthdays. But. let's get real. I'm not super auntie. I have been reminded of this over and over again. Maybe next year?ReplyDelete
seriously, meg. we should just start giving out random presents throughout the year and hope we land on the right day! ;)ReplyDelete


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Randy Hunter JAZZ Complete Jazz Styles Etudes: Book I
Review by Saxguy (aka: John Temmerman)
I've been teaching for several years now. This book, in both the Eb (alto and bari sax) and Bb (tenor and soprano sax; clarinet) does an outstanding job of teaching jazz feel to developing students who have not encountered it before.
The etudes in Book I are very accessible to students who have been playing for 3 years and up. Typically, I will start interested 7th and 8th grade students in this book, although I have also started with high school students and adults.
The toughest part of getting students stared playing jazz is to get them comfortable with the different rhythmic feels involved: swing, modal, rock, latin and more. Both of Randy's etude books (there is an advanced book II) do an outstanding job of this. Randy performs each etude with a swinging rhythm section and then there is a second version of each tune without the background.
This accomplishes several things: First, the students can watch the music and listen to Randy perform it, not unlike the listening and transcribing done by developing players a generation ago. Then, the students can perform along with the melody track as part of learning it. Once the student can do that fairly well, the student can then practice by playing over the background only track.
While Randy does have a small amount of written instructions and stylistic comments, the focus on this book is listening and playing. Randy's a great player and there is much value for students in listening to him perform the etudes. That is very appropriate for the developing student.
This book was a Godsend. Until I found it several years ago, I was making play-alongs on Band In A Box software to help my students learn feel, but they weren't remotely as good as this.
Modern students need more and earlier validation that the last generation. When I first started out teaching, I learned early on that "go practice for hours and days and let me know when you have mastered something" which worked great for me wasn't going to work for this generation. These etudes are not too long and not too tough, while still challenging the student to play them correctly. Book II is tougher, but once a student has completed Book I, the student is ready.
Another bonus is that many of the etudes are written over the chord changes to familiar jazz standards. This means the students can use the etudes to help learn the tunes and even practice improvising over them, although that is not the primary focus here. I have successfully had students play the applicable standard over Randy's background and that has worked very well.
This book is available in the following versions:
Tenor sax Alto/Baritone Sax Clarinet
Trumpet Trombone Flute
Every single one of my students who wants to learn jazz ends up in this book, once they are capable. Like I said, this book was a Godsend. 5 stars is not enough! Recommended for any student who has 2 - 3 years experience and is ready to play it.
Complete Jazz Styles Book Review
Review by Cindy McLeod JazzElements.com
Wednesday, November 30th, 2005
Randy Hunter, jazz saxophonist/instructor, has released a superb series of instructional books for students of jazz with varying experience levels. The series provides a solid foundation in the skills of interpretation and improvisation. As with many jazz masters, Hunter has a desire to keep the muse alive and well, and is handing down information to the upcoming stars of the genre in an accessible and cohesive fashion.
With a solid background of performance credits and teaching experience numbering over 35,000 private music lessons, itís no surprise Hunter discovered a void left by traditional music education, that of the expression of jazz. He has filled that void with a creative, accessible and fun way to pass on the elemental skills of the idiom; style, rhythm, and phrasing, concepts that are essential to improvisation and the key to developing one's own voiceí as a musician.
All versions of the books are compatible, offering Alto, Baritone, and Tenor Saxes, Flute, Trumpet, and Trombone students to perform as an ensemble or individually, and come with play-along CD ís created in stereo, allowing students to isolate a part or listen to the composition in itís entirety. The written text is thoughtful and insightful, a clear picture into improvisation and interpretation. These books are an excellent tool for both private lesson and individual study settings, and supply the grounding for prepared audition and performance opportunities. The series comes in a format that is comprehensible to beginners through intermediate players, inspiring students to learn the skills of thinking independently while phrasing together.
Jazz music is an interpretive and improvisational art, itís not enough to be able to read and play notes and rhythm, feel is integral to this music. Hunter has created a required vehicle for students to learn this most vital of skills. His endorsements come from several jazz masters such as Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Bobby Shew, and Mark Colby, and the consensus is unanimous, this is a highly recommended series.


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- Fragrance description
- Articles
- About the brand
- Review
Fragrance description Armani Sì PassioneIngredients
Giorgio Armani Sì Passione Eau de Parfum will win you over with its seductive character.
- fruity and floral fragrance
- suitable for passionate and independent women
- for everyday wear, for the office as well as evening occasions
The composition of the fragrance
The fragrance opens with the aroma of blackcurrant nectar combined with sparkling pear. A sophisticated combination of warm vanilla, delicate rose blossoms, jasmine and the unconventional addition of heliotrope creates a sensual fruity and floral fragrance that represents a contrast between feminine strength and sensitivity. The heart of the fragrance shines with warm cedar wood and the woody Orcanox™, which gives the fragrance a mature character.
The story of the fragrance
Sì Passione Eau de Parfum is inspired by confident women who are not afraid to make decisions about their own life. The red colour of the bottle symbolises the love and passion that such women experience in their lives.
- Top notes
- Pink Pepper, Pear, Black Currant
- Middle notes
- Jasmine, Heliotrope, Rose
- Base notes
- Vanilla, Cedar
- Fragrance category
- fruity, floral
Posts about Armani Sì PassioneArticles
Best Women's Fragrances: Top 10 Perfumes for Women
Most popular fragrance notes
Best Fragrances for Winter 2018/19!
About the brand Armani
Armani represents an elegance that combines timelessness with current trends.
Giorgio Armani is considered one of the most successful Italian fashion designers of all time. With his unmistakable style that combines the casual with a drop of eccentricity, he has captured the hearts of millions of women worldwide. Like his models, Armani cosmetics and perfumes are synonymous with quality, timelessness and success.
Before founding his own brand, Armani worked as an independent designer for a range of fashion houses. He put together his first collection in the 1970s and shortly afterwards introduced a range of cosmetics, makeup and perfumes with the Armani name.
Armani Acqua di Giò aftershave and Armani Si perfume for women are timeless classics which have been indelibly written into history and still feature at the top of the charts because of their popularity.
Whether you opt for a tried and tested classic or a modern interpretation, you can't go wrong with an Armani fragrance.


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Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Cert: 15 / 112 mins / Dir. Ridley Scott / Trailer
Well, when you're in the capital anyway, and it turns out that your new favourite cinema is showing one of the greatest films ever made, why wouldn't you?
And so, a glorious Saturday evening in June was dedicated to the dark, the dirt and the relentless rainfall of Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Sure, it's a little grainy in some shots, and it's a little framey in some of its slo-mo, but the film still looks utterly gorgeous 33 years from its incep-date. Whether the Final Cut is the definitive edition of the movie is still up for debate, of course, but since the core of the story holds in all seven versions, I'd happily watch any of them on a massive screen with thundering sound. The only real problem I had was removing myself from the familiarity of the film and trying to watch it afresh to maximise its cinematic impact (I've never seen Blade Runner at the cinema before, film fans, only at home).
It occurred to me that November 2019 looks to be a largely horrendous time to be alive, and I'm quite miffed that we'll all have gone back to using 10" CRT monitors by then. Although on the plus side, any voice-operation glitches have been ironed out and booze seems easy to come by at any hour of the day or night, so I'm sure I'll manage.
Watching Blade Runner has renewed my worries about the sequel, not least because Ridley Scott now has a track-record of derailing continuity he didn't bloody well write in the first place. It's one thing to complain about George Lucas' revisionism, but at least he doesn't go changing Steven Spielberg's stories. None of this can spoil what the original Blade Runner (in its many variations) means to so many, of course, but I know plenty of folks who can't watch Raiders Of The Lost Ark without re-tasting Kingdom of The Crystal Skull. I'm not one of them, by the way. I'm one of the twelve people in the world who enjoyed KotCS, but I'm sure you get my drift.
Anyway, yes of course he's a replicant...
If you can, do.
Well, you should own it already, so…
In Ford's case, that title would belong to Doctor Jones.
It does.
I will.
I'm fairly certain I can hear the front-end of one, but the internet doesn't seem to corroborate this, so I'll side with no.
What, apart from starring everyone's favourite Corellian smuggler, you mean? Honestly…
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.


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- 8 whole chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks attached) (about 3 1/2 pounds)
- 6 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Remove skin and all visible fat from chicken. Place chicken in 13×9-inch glass baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl; blend well. Pour over chicken; turn to coat. Cover; refrigerate 3 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
To prevent sticking, spray grid with nonstick cooking spray. Prepare coals for grilling.
Place chicken on grill 4 inches from medium-hot coals. Grill 20 to 30 minutes or until cooked through (165°F), turning occasionally. Garnish as desired.
Yield: 8 servings.
Serving size: 1 leg piece.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving:
Calories: 169 calories, Carbohydrates: 3 g, Protein: 22 g, Fat: 7 g, Saturated Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 77 mg, Sodium: 75 mg, Fiber: 1 g
Exchanges per serving: 3 Meat.
Copyright Diabetic Cooking.


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Volume: 31 Issue: 1 (Jan. 2008)
A Crusade
Issue: Volume: 31 Issue: 1 (Jan. 2008)
A Crusade
In the November issue, we kicked off a three-part series on next-gen game titles, starting with a detailed piece on Midway's Stranglehold, followed last month with a feature on Bungie's Halo 3. This month, we fi nish with a look at Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed.
Ubisoft Montreal, founded as a subsidiary of Ubisoft in 1997, started out developing low-profile projects. A decade later, the company has evolved into one of the largest game developers worldwide, having produced the popular Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia series—both known for their stunning visuals and exciting action. So, it comes as little surprise that this Ubisoft group has once again capitalized on cutting-edge CG technology to take gameplay and game graphics to a new level with its recently released Assassin's Creed.
By December 13, 2007, the game obliterated Ubisoft's initial sales expectations by selling more than 2.5 million units in less than four weeks, making it the fastest selling new video game intellectual property and one of the top three best-selling video games in history. On the heels of this record success, Ubisoft raised its sales target for 2007—2008 from 825 million euros to a whopping 975 million euros ($1.4 billion US).
The game, set in the year 1191 as the Third Crusade tears the Holy Land apart, the player assumes the role of Altair, a master assassin who embarks on a quest through three meticulously re-created cities—Jerusalem, Damascus, and Acre—to slay the nine historical figures who are promulgating the Crusades and exploiting the ensuing chaos for their own monetary interests. Along the way, Altair discovers that his targets may be bound by more than a shared interest in personal gain: by membership in a secret society whose true goal leads to a shocking modern-day conspiracy involving genetic memory.
Four years in the making, Assassin's Creed is set in three fully rendered and historically accurate cities populated by thousands of inhabitants. From the Dome of the Rock, to the Tower of David, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the game presents a meticulous re-creation of the architecture and culture of the period, where everything and everyone is completely interactive. Altair's actions always affect how the bystanders respond to him. When passing through a crowd, lightly nudging someone out of the way will not have a significant effect. However, if Altair's knocks someone to the ground or kills the character, the crowd may mass against him and chase him through the city and across rooftops, attracting the attention of the guards. The player can grab onto and climb a building façade or practically any aspect of the environment; Ubisoft notes that any object that protrudes more than two inches is interactive. To give Altair this level of unlimited interactivity with his world, Ubisoft Montreal created well over 12,000 animations for his character model and modified his control scheme so that buttons correspond to various body parts instead of whole-body actions. For instance, running toward a wall and pressing the "legs" button will make Altair jump the wall, while pressing the "arms without weapons" button will make him vault it like a gymnast.
Motion capture was used extensively for the hero Altair as well as for the 20 main characters and hundreds of secondary characters in the game. However, Altair's spectacular acrobatics, for the most part, were keyframed.
To create the thousands of animations for the 20 main characters and hundreds of secondary and crowd characters, Ubisoft conducted extensive motion-capture sessions, processing the motion data in Autodesk's MotionBuilder before importing the cycles into Autodesk's 3ds Max. Altair's acrobatic movements depend heavily on extreme accuracy in his interaction with the environment—clasping onto ledges or gaining a precise foothold on a slightly protruding brick, for example. Therefore, using baked, or pre-canned, character animations would have led to constant spatial errors. To create motion on the fly that would be perfectly synchronized with Altair's environment, Ubisoft used Autodesk's HumanIK middleware to precisely place a foot or a hand in any frame during gameplay.
During the game, Altair can switch between fighting mode and free running mode, in which he can walk, run, climb, and swing from pole to pole while still retaining the ability to push people aside to move faster and avoid tripping. He can also engage in "social stealth" behaviors, blending in with the crowd by disguising himself among a crowd of monks, for example.
"Since Altair needs to be a 'blade in the crowd,' not drawing attention to himself, we needed to create an animation system that would allow total control for the player," says animation project manager Elspeth Tory. The controls are incredibly responsive to the player's inputs, from very slow, gentle walking to all-out sprinting. Altair also will automatically turn his upper torso when passing an approaching non-player character (NPC), and the player can use Altair's hands to gently push the NPC out of his way."
Bird of Prey
At the outset of the design phase, Ubisoft tailored both Altair's model and all of his movements to bear a metaphorical resemblance to a well-known bird of prey: the eagle. In fact, this overarching aquiline aesthetic even extended to the gameplay design, whereby Altair executes each assassination by stalking from above, alighting on his prey, and going in for the kill. "Our hero, like an eagle, will hunt down his target, observe his every move, and then strike with a single killing blow. He is always in control, analyzing his environment so he can choose the best possible course of action, all the while keeping an incredibly low profile," says technical director of animation Francois Levesque.
Altair's aesthetic and movements resemble those of an eagle, an analogy that is carried throughout the game.
Moreover, Altair's clothing is designed to give him the form of an eagle: the tip of his hood is shaped like a beak, while during flight and swift acrobatic maneuvers, his cape spreads like eagle's wings to give him a sense of weightlessness.
For modeling and texturing all the characters, the artists used 3ds Max, Pixologic's ZBrush, and Adobe's Photoshop. Because he is always close to the camera, Altair exists in one level of detail that ranges from 7000 to 9000 triangles, depending on his rank in the assassin's order and the equipment he acquires throughout the game (such as better boots and climbing gloves). Crowd characters come in three levels of detail, peaking at 3500 triangles at the high end.
Cloth & Crowd
With their complex folds, wrinkles and texturing, the long, flowing robes, hooded garments, chain mail, and armor of the period costumes was critical to the title's realism. Artists sculpted the folds in ZBrush and baked them into Altair's normal map. To accentuate some of the details, they blended a displacement map based on the sculpted folds into Altair's diffuse map. Finally, Ubisoft developed an in-game cloth simulation for Altair's skirt that can create larger folds dynamically.
Tory describes the in-game cloth simulation system: "We used dynamic bones whose movement is calculated in real time, with physics constraints based on such properties as leg rotations, gravity, inertia, and wind. (There are also approximately 20 other optional rigs available to dynamically animate all the in-game accessories, such as hair, long sleeves, hoods, arrow casing, and bags.) For Altair, we added a second layer that deforms the cloth by vertex and then uses his ragdoll for collision. And since the physics setup isn't always perfect, we also have the option of hand-animating the dynamic bones to correct areas in which the real-time simulation lacks precision."
The artists used 3ds Max to model the characters, and Zbrush and Photoshop to texture them.
To individualize the thousands of citizens roaming the cities, Ubisoft's artists hand-modeled 150 characters, each built to stringent specifications with 120 bones apiece, so their heads and bodies could be combined and differentiated using a randomization system. "Our focus was on creating citizens with a lot of personality, not merely with slightly altered body shapes or facial structures," says Levesque. "Each of the 140 high-res characters (ranging from 3000 to 750 polygons) were modeled in a week and baked to low res in a day. Our randomization system then changes accessories, head, colors, dirt, height, voice, hair, beard, and skin tone. Our artists can quite literally randomize anything they want without involving programmers; it's very efficient."
Each character sports between 3mb and 1.5mb of textures, which include a diffuse, normal, and specular map. In addition, artists added some rim light to give the heavy cloth an Oren-Nayar-Blinn shader feel. They also use a diffuse curve, similar to ZBrush's, to describe how the light interacts with a material depending on the angle of contact. The most complex shaders are used by crowd characters for randomizing cloth color, dirt patterns, and skin tone. The shader editor, says Levesque, is similar to that of Unreal 3 and Maya: "basically, a schematic view with a lot of texture operators."
While texturing hard surfaces, such as the whitewashed limestone facades of the buildings, was easier compared to the cloth, the metallic chain mail was a constant challenge. "Even a small amount of distortion makes [the chain mail] look terrible, so it's hard to rig. Moreover, their rings are so tiny that texture compressions tend to destroy them. Chain mail also tends to look like goo when viewed from a distance, unless you edit the texture's mip maps manually," explains Levesque. "Interestingly, medieval knights didn't wear shiny plate armor until the late 13th century, so there aren't many reflecting surfaces in Assassin's Creed; hence, we used simple environment maps for our swords and helmets."
Character Rigging
Driving the 12,000 mocapped animation cycles that create the incredible realism and fluidity of Altair's movement is a base skeleton comprising 77 bones in his body and 27 in his face. While this skeleton is also shared by a large percentage of the game's NPCs, Altair has an additional six bones for his robe and its flaps, one for the hidden blade, four to five bones for his accessories, a few additional roll bones for his shoulders, and four bones for his hood, resulting in a total of 136 bones.
"With such a realistic setting and historical context, one of our biggest challenges was creating a character who looked and felt real, but whose movements were still spectacular," says Tory. By creating contextual animations for each possible situation, Altair's movements are smooth and realistic. Although the engine occasionally does some of the blending, most of it is done with these transition animations, resulting in smooth, fluid movement. While it resulted in a large number of animations, Tory believes the end result was worth the effort.
How bystanders react to Altair depends on his actions; for instance, if he knocks a character to the ground, the crowd is likely to rise against him.
Animators created all the cycles in 3ds Max using Autodesk's Character Studio. "Whenever motion-capture files were involved, we would do initial touch-ups of the animations in MotionBuilder before transferring the files to Max, to finalize the movements," explains Tory. Motion capture was a key part of the animation pipeline, though a great deal of keyframe animation was done, as well. For some of Altair's more spectacular moves, keyframing with reference footage proved to be the best option, while at times motion capture provided the ideal solution, Tory notes. However, even with motion capture, the animators always reworked the posing and timing to ensure Altair maintained a consistent look and feel.
"You can never replace the work of a talented animator on a production, even if you're dealing uniquely with motion capture," Tory says.
Sword Fighting
Rather than glamorize the sword fighting or follow predefined styles of combat such as martial arts, Alex Drouin, artistic director for animation, sought to capture the raw violence and chaos of medieval warfare. "He wanted to convey the sheer weight of sword fighting: the heavy weapons, the armor, the brutal impact of a hit, and the desperation in the movement. I think this is why we'd often get some of our best mocap shots near the end of a day, when exhaustion and adrenaline were starting to kick in," Tory says. In an unusual twist, the animators themselves, including fight animators Kristjan Zadziuk and Hugues Richer, wore the mocap suits to capture the combat animations, which helped produce a more rugged, untrained style. "[Drouin] wanted to make the player feel like he's fighting a group of guys while desperately trying to survive," Tory adds.
The bird-of-prey motif is also reflected in Altair's movements, especially in his silhouettes and posing, which Tory says are essential in animation. "If you look closely at Altair when he's perched on a beam or when he's doing a 'leap of faith' dive, you'll often see the outline of an eagle," says Tory. "The symbolism is deeply woven in the character and his behavior. He circles slowly, gathering information about his target before making his move. He has one goal—taking out his target—and he swoops in for the kill with raw beauty and spectacular grace."
The environments in Assassin's Creed areawash in a hazy white atmosphere, a lookthat was produced by hand and by using anumber of procedural tools.
Using IK, Altair can plant his hands or gain a foothold on any surface protruding more than 10 cm, an ability that demanded close coordination among the animators, level designers, and programmers. "We needed to create a climbing and jumping system that looked smooth but was also fun to play. HumanIK allowed us to get results quickly. We then needed to coordinate very closely with the level design and level art teams to ensure that all the buildings allowed for efficient and smooth climbing," says Tory. This enabled the artist to develop a totally different type of level design because they could create a path over anything in the scene using this system.
Essentially, anytime Altair needed to keep his feet on the ground or to climb or to push through the crowd, the group used the HumanIK setup, which was directly integrated by the programmers into the engine. The IK was essential for hands, feet, the horse's feet, and more. After the artists set up their animations, they flagged them as needing IK, and the IK automatically would be interpreted in the engine.
"It allowed us to see spectacular animation right off the bat. We didn't have to develop our own animation systems for many of these complex actions," says Tory. "HumanIK helped us make the game look real, and enabled us to accomplish our goal of allowing our main character to have total freedom to move anywhere within the game's environments."
For both the cut-scene and in-game facial animation, the characters use a bone-based system comprising 44 poses for phonemes and facial expressions. The facial animation track contains the percentage of these poses rather than their specific bone positions, which saves animation time and enables the team to individually modify facial animations for any character. Ubisoft captured all the performances for the cut-scenes using professional actors, and then used OC3 Entertainment's FaceFX for the facial animation and for processing in-game dialog.
Pallid Light
With the omnipresent dust and the white stone buildings, the cities are suffused in grey, pallid, ashen lighting. According to graphic technical director Danny Oros, the haze and diffusion demanded a sophisticated real-time lighting system that could sustain the rendering of large numbers of varied characters and crowd elements, and yet still remain flexible from an artistic point of view. "The system is simple and clean, and is as visually enticing as it is performance-friendly on our target console platforms," he says. The lighting is fully dynamic, from the omnipresent sunlight to the directionals, omnidirectionals, and projectors. Scenes are lit using these simple direct-lighting types and, consequently, cast shadows and perform bump and specular calculations on a per-pixel level.
Artists produced the hazy white atmosphere through hand tinkering and a host of procedural tools for adjusting fog, 3D ambient properties, ambient occlusion scalability, light blooming, and particle effects. "Much of what you see in Assassin's Creed has been done by hand to obtain the desired look, around which the development tools were then designed. Unfortunately, there was no time to implement more advanced features such as light scattering for a richer atmospheric perspective," says Oros.
Indirect lighting on all surfaces is calculated per pixel from the bumped surface using a three-dimensional lookup. "This technique allowed us to fine-tune the amount of simulated indirect lighting from the sky, bounce light from the lit street pavements, and so forth, from an artist's perspective," Oros says. The artists also calculated an ambient occlusion term from the visual meshes using their own algorithms. Because each instance's ambient occlusion data is unique, based on neighboring occluders, the artists were able to encode this data (per vertex, for memory consumption and performance considerations) into the instanced mesh data.
Both the direct and indirect lighting systems can be tweaked independently for both the environment elements and characters. "This gave us greater artistic control over the delicate balance in lighting between our subjects and their backdrops—in both cinematic scenes and gameplay environments—thus increasing gameplay readability," Oros adds. Meanwhile, shadows are rendered in real time for every frame at 30 frames per second using a Cascading Shadow Map system, which casts multiple concentric, cascading shadow maps from near to far, meaning the maps cover a larger area the farther the point of interest is from the camera.
The action unfolds in three historically accurate cities. Artists began constructing the locales using a Lego block approach,eventually adding painstaking details.
The team wanted the whitest stone surfaces to reflect the blinding, arid sunlight as much as possible. To that end, the artists made sure their sun intensity/brightness was above the range of local light sources (such as torches), in order to simulate what the human eye might perceive in real life in contrast to the darker, shaded areas.
At dawn, Jerusalem is known as the City of Gold, because of the local limestone buildings that cast a golden light. Ubisoft experimented successfully with capturing this lighting effect using complex rendering methods such as BSSRDFs (Bidirectional Surface Scattering Reflection Distribution Function); however, the performance cost of such a technique precluded it from being included in the final game.
Holy Set Creation
To construct the three, fully traversable cities, Ubisoft's level artists began with small, instanceable template modules. Level designers and level artists placed these template modules into the environments, progressively refining each module using Ubisoft's content editing tools as they built up the cities like Lego blocks. "A city that initially looked like a grey mass of angular blocks with no detail eventually turned into an immense interactive piece of art," says Oros.
Each module contains embedded surfaces for climbing, grasping, and anchoring, such as short protruding beams, window ledges, and cracks. Using these "graspable" surfaces, the game engine automatically generates navigational information for Altair's climbing, free running, pole balancing, and other maneuvers.
Residing within these core architectural modules are many smaller modules that can be instanced to refine the coarse layout of the larger buildings. "These included poles, signs, arches, ladders, additional detail windows, bails of hay, mountable crates and barrel—all of which helped in breaking up the grossly large elements, [infusing them] with immersive detail while creating that flexible gameplay-rich sandbox experience," says Oros.
The environments and the all-encompassing staccato stone surfaces make liberal use of diffuse maps, normal maps, and specular maps. Most buildings and ground surfaces comprise as many as three sets of these textures (three diffuse maps, three normal maps, and three specular maps), which are vertex weighted and blended by the artists to create complex textured surfaces.
The common texture resolution for the diffuse and normal maps is 512x512, while specular maps appear at a slightly lower resolution. "We rendered the maps with non-anisotropic filtering [which reduces aliasing and blurring of texture maps] instead of non-anisotropic filtering to increase detail levels," adds Oros.
A New Level
Assassin's Creed is setting a new standard in gaming, delivering a compelling interactive story, complete with stunning visuals and exciting gameplay. Yet, this end result was four years in the making. Thus, creating Assassin's Creed—whose story is set in the Third Crusade—required the artists to embark on a long, exhausting crusade of their own.
Unquestionably, this journey has ended in victory, catapulting Ubisoft's profitability to record highs as the game becomes a harbinger for the dominance the company is likely to achieve with such future releases as Tom Clancy's End War, Brothers in Arms, Far Cry 2, and the video game adaptation of James Cameron's Avatar.
Martin McEachern
is an award-winning writer and contributing editor for Computer Graphics World. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Welcome to the NESCRO website
North of England & Scottish Classic Rally Organisers
NESCRO is an MSA recognised group comprising numerous MSA registered motor clubs in Scotland, North of England and Northern Ireland. The focus remains the same as always, the promotion of "affordable classic rallying" for the novice and expert alike.
Classic and Historic rallying remains popular and we work hard to provide a variety of events that will attract the novice and provide a fun and safe introduction to motor sport, yet provide a challenge for the expert. The events vary in nature but all are friendly and suitable for most classic and historic cars.
All our events feature a strong social aspect amid the competition. The entry fees often include the crew's food for the day and there is always plenty of time to socialise with other competitors during the events.
Low cost is the key to the success of our events and the entry fee for a typical one day event will be less than £120. You may have to top up your insurance for the road sections (about £25) but other than petrol that will be your only extra cost for a day's fun.
No !……………… it's not just about ageing folk with old cars. NESCRO has an enviable reputation for bringing forward some very fine young Drivers and Co-drivers. They have learnt their trade on NESCRO events, some Co Drivers from the age of 14 and they now compete at National & International level, but still return to NESCRO events for their club motor sport.
Many events now include a rally for what is known as "Targa" cars, modern cars running in near standard specification. The route and the tests are the same as for the Historic rally but the Targa cars have completely separate results. This allows newcomers with more modest cars like Corsa, Pumas and Fiestas to have a very enjoyable rally.
Don't be shy...give it a try!


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Ohio State African Violet Society Show and Sale
September 27 - September 28
The Ohio State African Violet Society (www.osavs.org) Annual Show and Sale will be held Friday-Saturday, September 27-28, 2019 at Kingwood Center Gardens, 50 Trimble Rd., Mansfield, Ohio 44906.
Commercial Vendor Sales area will be open 9 am to 5 pm on Friday (in the Carriage House) and 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday. This is a fantastic opportunity to purchase hard to find and rare varieties of African Violets, Streptocarpus and related growing supplies from renowned vendors. (Previous Commercial Vendors have included: Violet Gallery, Fancy Bloomers, Lyndon Lyons Greenhouses, Violet Barn and Buckeye Violets.)
The Show will feature plants of cultural excellence from the Society's members. Show may be viewed from 1-5 pm on Friday and 9 am to 4 pm on Saturday.
The show is free though there is a $5 p/p charge by Kingwood Center Gardens. Find more at www.osavs.org


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Hello, I'm Su, the founder of Wayward Rose near Fakenham, Norfolk.
In A Nutshell
I design and make all the Wayward Rose authentic quality products. In addition my Blog offers inspirational articles and other snippets I think you might find interesting; be it favourite places, inspiring products, projects or other websites.
In The Beginning
Having made the obligatory apron, skirt and shirt during those seemingly boring needlework classes at school, my sewing machine disappeared into a cupboard, but having beautiful dresses made by my mother when I was little, it must have been in the genes. When we bought our first house the sewing machine came out again, and I started to make my own homewares. This stayed a personal hobby while my family grew to adulthood, and then with my husband moved to rural Norfolk.
I knew I could use the beautiful fabrics I found to make and sell a small range of items. Starting with shoppers and cushions, I gradually grew my range, which now includes pouches, purses, baskets, lavender/rose bags, sectioned rolls, and decorative gifts.
The Fabrics
I have sourced the fabrics I use from other small companies. The beautiful soft patterned ones from England, plain linens from France and Lithuania. The vintage fabrics are mainly French, which I have great fun finding.
Thank You
It is wonderful to have a following of loyal customers as well as making new friends, and also to enjoy working with other like-minded businesses such as the designers of the fabrics, organisers of fairs, and my web developers in Norfolk and the designers of this beautiful site working from their stunning office near the North Coast.


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Welcome home. I love that feeling pulling up to my home and seeing the fruits of our labor. Today I am sharing pictures of our great pansy planting. As I mentioned it got hot, I mean almost 90 degrees hot, with a nice dose of southern humidity. But as we Southern girls like to say, "We don't sweat, we glisten." And glisten we did! I'm not usually a fan of glistening, but something about decorating my home, inside and out, makes it all worth it. There is something especially gratifying about digging in the dirt. Not much in life can bring instant gratification. Well, not healthy, pure, good instant gratification. But working in the soil can do just that. Maybe that's why those who live and work on ranches and farms seem to find a measure of satisfaction and peace that eludes us "city folk".
It was a full day's work. We were tired and even a little sore when all was said and done. We talked, and the moods seemed to lighten. We laughed and the work became less tedious. We encouraged one another and in the true meaning of teamwork, collaborated to come up with our little vignettes. As dusk drew near, we stood back in appreciation of our work. We are quite proud of our fall yard. Not a haughty pride, but a pride in knowing as a family we worked hard to make our home a welcome spot for family, friends and neighbors.
I am a Second Season Mom. I am closer to fifty, than to forty. I have teenage twin daughters. I need days like our fall pansy frenzy day. I need to put aside all worries and doubts, to focus on one task. I need to put aside the never ending murmur of voices in my head reminding me of all yet to be done and enjoy the quiet. I need to think less of what I don't have, and see what I do have. I need to remember I am blessed. I am thankful my girls have learned the value of hard work, physical labor. I am thankful my girls value home and desire to be a part of making it a "safe place to land". Parenting in this season can be difficult, but it is rewarding-just like our day of gardening.