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(bumped up by SusanUnPC)
Barack Obama has a major Wall Street and Washington problem that the media so far is refusing to acknowledge or explore. He is in the pocket of the Wall Street firms and mortgage security companies that are at the center of the collapse of the real estate bubble. He is closely tied to at least two of the Fannie Mae principals. As Ricky Ricardo would say, "Barack, you got some splaining to do."
Let's start with the numbers. Why is a first term Senator pulling down almost $300,000 a year from Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Countrywide Financial, and Washington Mutual? He has not even completed his fourth year in the Senate and received a total of $1,093,329.00 from these eight companies and their employees. (all data from OpenSecrets.org). John McCain's numbers, according to OpenSecrets.org for the period 1990-2008 (i.e., 18 years worth of data) only collected $549,584.00. In other words, Barack is receiving $273,582.25 (and 2008 is not over) per year while McCain raised a paltry $30,532.44.
Want another shocker? Barack Obama has received more from one source–Goldman Sachs $542,252.00–than McCain has from all of the companies combined. Who the hell is more beholden to lobbyists? And why does a junior Senator from Illinois rate this kind of dough?
Why are these firms and their employees showering Barack with their cash? Although the conventional wisdom wants to pin the Wall Street debacle on Republican greed, the reality is that the real estate market and the big players on Wall Street have been a Democratic game. McCain's hands are clean when it comes to this mess. That is not spin, that is a fact. He proposed legislation back in 2006 to start addressing the abuses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but the Democrats would have none of it.
Why? Here's the explanation.
To understand you must first appreciate that the largest debt market in the United States is the mortgage market. One of the major players in the market, at least until this month, is Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae was initially established in 1938 in order to provide a secondary mortgage market. What does this mean? It would buy mortgages from one lender and sell mortgages to another. It played the role of a broker who helped make the market work.
Fannie Mae because a private company in 1968 and continued to fund mortgages by issuing mortgage backed securities (i.e., MBS). When Fannie Mae issues the MBS she is guaranteeing the investors a return on their investment and, at the same time, providing a source of funds to supply additional mortgages.
Fannie Mae was not standing on a corner selling mortgages out of a hot dog stand on the corner. She needed help on Wall Street. So, who helped her market the securities and raise the case? The "good" folks at Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and AIG, just to name the more prominent ones.
So who was in charge of Fannie Mae for 16 of the last 18 years? Let's start with James A. Johnson (no relation). Remember him? Barack initially tabbed him to head up the Vice Presidential search team. He was Walter Mondale's campaign manager in the 1984 fiasco and chaired the search committee for John Kerry. But he started as Vice Chairman of Fannie Mae in 1990, quickly moved up to be the CEO, and left Fannie in 1999 as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
And guess where he went? Fishing? Nope. He became one of the outside directors of the board of Goldman Sachs in 1999 and also served as the Managing Director of Corporate Finance for Lehman Brothers.
The roles of Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers are important to understand if you are to make sense of Fannie Mae's collapse. When Johnson moved to Goldman Sachs, the main man at Fannie was Franklin D. Raines. Late in 2005 Raines resigned from Fannie Mae, accused of being in charge when the books were cooked. The scheme is fairly simple. Raines and other top executives made bonuses if they hit specific earnings targets for the securities sold by Fannie Mae. They regularly hit those targets until it was discovered by the (SEC) Securities & Exchange Commission's top accountant Fannie misstated earnings for 3 1/2 years, leading to an estimated $9 billion restatement that will wipe out 40% of profits from 2001 to mid-2004.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) concluded:
During the period covered by this report—1998 to mid-2004—Fannie Mae reported extremely smooth profit growth and hit announced targets for earnings per share precisely each quarter. Those achievements were illusions deliberately and systematically created by the Enterprise's senior management with the aid of inappropriate accounting and improper earnings management.
By deliberately and intentionally manipulating accounting to hit earnings targets, senior management maximized the bonuses and other executive compensation they received, at the expense of shareholders. Earnings management made a significant contribution to the compensation of Fannie Mae Chairman and CEO Franklin Raines, which totaled over $90 million from 1998 through 2003. Of that total, over $52 million was directly tied to achieving earnings per share targets.
Fannie Mae's Board of Directors contributed to those problems by failing to be sufficiently informed and to act independently of its chairman, Franklin Raines, and other senior executives, failing to exercise the requisite oversight over the Enterprise's operations, and failing to discover or ensure the correction of a wide variety of unsafe and unsound practices, even after the Freddie Mac problems became apparent.
Senior management did not make investments in accounting systems, computer systems, other infrastructure, and staffing needed to support a sound internal control system, proper accounting, and GAAP-consistent financial reporting. Those failures came at a time when Fannie Mae faced many operational challenges related to its rapid growth and changing accounting and legal requirements.
Fannie Mae senior management sought to interfere with OFHEO's special examination by directing the Enterprise's lobbyists to use their ties to Congressional staff to improperly generate a Congressional request for the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to investigate OFHEO's conduct of that examination and to insert into an appropriations bill language that would punish the agency by reducing its appropriations until the Director of OFHEO was replaced.
Franklin Raines, along with Fannie's former chief financial officer and Fannie's former controller, settled out of court and agreed to pay fines totaling about $3 million. Raines also agreed to donate the proceeds from the sale of the $1.8 million of his Fannie stock and to give up stock options. Fannie Mae paid a fine of $400 million.
Goldman Sachs played a pivotal role in all of this. According to OFHEO, one of the major vehicles Fannie used to hide its loses (e.g., "shift earnings into future years") was a Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit aka REMIC:
In fact, Goldman Sachs described the proposed transaction (i.e. use of REMIC) in a November 19, 2001 presentation to Fannie Mae. David Rosenblum, a Goldman Sachs managing director, attached PowerPoint slides for the presentation to a December 3, 2001, e-mail to Mr. Niculescu. Mr. Rosenblum referred to the project as "Project Libra."
So we are asked to believe that the former CEO of Fannie Mae who is now sitting on the board of Goldman Sachs is completely unaware of using REMIC to hide Fannie Mae losses? Wouldn't you expect someone with so much knowledge about Fannie Mae to have the least bit of concern about the possibility of accounting mischief? These are questions that have not yet been fully explored or vetted.
Oh yes, if you are going to sell Fannie Mae market securities what bond index do you use? How about the Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate Index. Sure helps to have a tie with Lehman Brothers through James Johnson as well.
One more note about Franklin Raines. The Obama campaign can insist he is not an "official" advisor, but before the market blew up Raines was described in the Washington Post on 16 July 2008 as "taking calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters."
But Fannie Mae was not just "selling" mortgage securities. It was also using its financial power to advance the agenda of the Democratic Party. We have the video evidence here:
And you can read the details of how Fannie Mae also steered money to ACORN, one of the vehicles Barack has used to boost his career. Carl Horowitz did an excellent piece for the American Spectator (I know, but truth is truth).
Finally, I leave you with this. If you think West Virginia should be ridiculed as a place where incest thrives, think again. You obviously know nothing about Washington and New York. This piece from 2007 in investor village helps you understand the inbreeding that is the festering stew of Washington. This is not friendly territory for John McCain. It is a place that loves Barack Obama. And after you read the following you will understand better why the boy from Chicago is getting a heap of cash.
The analysis of Joe Stocks:
Goldman gave us Robert Rubin, former Chairman of Goldman. He is the gentleman President Clinton called on to be Secretary Treasurer of the United States in 1995. During his tenure he orchestrated the bailout of Mexico, Asia, Long Term Capital Management, and Y2K. He is no stranger to moral hazard. His actions show that he actually embraced it. I think he was also responsible for Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan to change his ways. After Greenspan uttered those famous words – "irrational exuberance" and knocked the equity markets for a loop in 1996, Greenspan became much more respectful of those that kept him in power. I thought that Greenspan meant what he said at the time with strong foundation, but his actions afterwards where of a different tune. Enough so that he bowed to the whims of both the Clinton and Bush administrations, taking irrational exuberance to bubble proportions.
Goldman also gave us John Thain. John is now CEO of the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Thain helped to complete the reverse takeover of the NYSE by Archipelago in 2005. As you may have guessed – Archipelago's largest owner – Goldman Sachs.
Well, who is the current Secretary Treasurer of the United States? It is Henry Paulson, former CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs. Mr. Paulson took the reins in early 2006. Yet another Goldman guy.
Everyday the Federal Reserve operates an open market operation to add and subtract liquidity from our financial system. This is where the big NYSE member banks go to get additional funds. I can't think of another person that may be more important to a financial firm like Goldman Sachs on a daily basis. I am sure the Federal Reserve looked far and wide for someone to run this very important unit as it oversees domestic open market and foreign exchange trading operations as well as the provisions of account services to foreign central banks.
They picked Goldman Sachs former Chief Economist, William Dudley. An 'economist' for a trading operation? I know, it doesn't sound right to me but maybe he takes direction well. William took this post in late 2006.
World Bank, you ask? Who runs the World Bank? The President of the World Bank is Robert Zoellick. Mr. Zoellick spent most of his career working for various governmental agencies. No Goldman connection here? Almost. He resigned in June 2006 to join Goldman. After a one year stint of indoctrination of how things work at Goldman, and who truly butters his bread, he was appointed World Bank President in June of 07'.
So, former Goldman people are in place as the United States Secretary Treasurer, the head of the NYSE, the head of the trading operations at the Federal Reserve (an economist at that), and President of the World Bank. Big deal? It gets better.
Just after the 1987 stock market crash the President of the US signed an executive order forming a committee of government and private individuals to monitor the financial markets. This group was named the 'Working Group'. We traders have nicknamed this group the Plunge Protection Team – the PPT. Their mandate was to make sure all steps were taken to make sure nothing like that crash would happen again.
In 1998 the financial world was shaken by the financial shenanigans of a hedge fund named Long Term Capital Management. ( 'Long Term' lol!) After which time the US President's Working Group approached the major NYSE member banks and said, "hey guys, listen, we ain't suppose to let things like this happen. You guys need to get your act together."
These banks formed the Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group (CRMPG) The members are the top NYSE member banks, General Motors, a couple of hedge funds, and some well connected law firms and accounting firms. The group met and produced a document but was asked again in 2004 by the Working Group to come with more defined policy procedure. This effort resulted in the publication titled 'Toward Greater Financial Stability: A Private Sector Perspective'.
Who was the leader of this group? Gerald Corrigan, Chairman of Goldman Sachs. Who was the transmittal letter addressed to at the opening of the report? Henry Paulson, then CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs, now US Secretary Treasurer. Who developed the policy? Well here is an excerpt from the transmittal letter; "I want to express to you my sincere gratitude for the time and effort devoted to this project by Craig Broderick who served as a Member of the Policy Group and the others from Goldman Sachs who participated in the project and are named in the Report."
Link to the report; www.crmpolicygroup.org/docs/CRMPG-II.pdf
Here is what the CRMPG stated as their primary purpose; "The primary purpose of CRMPG II — building on the 1999 report of CRMPG I — is to examine what additional steps should be taken by the private sector to promote the efficiency, effectiveness and stability of the global financial system. As practitioners, the members of CRMPG II recognize that periodic financial disruptions and shocks are inevitable. However, the Policy Group also believes that it is possible to take steps that would be capable of reducing the frequency of such shocks and, especially, to reduce the risk that such shocks would take on the contagion features that can produce systemic damage to the financial system and the real economy."
Again it appears the CRMPG mandate is to control the markets. How else are they to reduce the frequency of periodic financial disruptions.
CRMPG: "since we know that financial disturbances and even financial shocks will occur in the future, and we know that no approaches to risk management or official supervision are fail-safe, we also know that we must preserve and strengthen the institutional arrangements whereby, at the point of crisis, industry groups and industry leaders, as well as supervisors, are prepared to work together in order to serve the larger and shared goal of financial stability."
We need to work together for financial stability? What does that mean for the public or retail investor? Obviously every trade has a counterparty. If these firms get in trouble with sub-prime loans, is it their idea to transfer that risk to the public to insure their financial stability and therefore the stability of the US economy as what they represent, as we can not have failing banks and a strong economy. But it would be acceptable to have a block of retail investors (small counterparties) suffering financial disruptions as long as it did not affect the general public or the greater good of the large NYSE money center banks?
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan acknowledges the CRMPG and their collective "eye" on the market in a speech he gave in 2002; "In today's markets there is an increased reliance on private counterparty surveillance as the primary means of financial control. Governments supplement private surveillance when they judge that market imperfections could lead to sub-optimal economic performance." Link to speech; http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2002/200209252/default.htm
That leads me to Program Trading. Program trading ran about 16 to 19% of all shares traded on the NYSE from 1987 to 1998 when the Long Term Capital diabolical hit. Since that it has climbed to 65-75% of all shares traded on the NYSE.
The NYSE stock exchange issues a weekly report on Program Trading. For the week ending August 31st, program trading accounted for 73% of all shares traded on the NYSE. Now you will look at this report and see that it says 36.5%. What gives? Well, the NYSE formerly reported program trading as both sides of the trade. They did this for a couple of decades, or the inception of program trading. (Program trading is defined as a trade of 15 or more issues with a value over one million dollars.) Then in June of 2006, shortly after the Goldman guy took over, they changed the reporting to just one side of the trade. In addition, they deleted all past reports from their news archives. One day they were there, the next they were all gone. The old way of reporting worked for many years giving a more accurate summation of total program trading. I continue to use that number as it is more truthful. Link to recent report; http://www.nyse.com/pdfs/PT082707.pdf
Now you may suspect who the top program trader is. Well, sometimes it is Goldman but lately it has been Lehman Brothers. However, if you look at program trades made as the broker being the principal and not acting as an agent for others, Goldman does indeed take the top spot. For the referenced report they accounted for 25% of all program trades made as principal. Looking farther we see that the top six firms accounted for 69% of all program trades, or 50% of ALL shares traded on the NYSE. 50% of all shares traded in the hands of program traders of just six firms that are all members of the CRMPG, with the goal working together for the greater good? How would you like to be on the other side of those trades?
Again Greenspan in his speech of 2002 says it best." To require disclosure of the structure of the innovative product either before or after its introduction would immediately eliminate the quasi-monopoly return and discourage future endeavors to innovate in that area."
Quasi-monopoly returns! That, my friends, leads me to Goldman's third quarter earnings release today. Earnings were up an eye-popping 88% from last year. It was as though Goldman was on the right side of every trade.
But how could this be? We saw the headlines;
'Goldman's Exclusive Hedge Fund Drops By 10%'
'Goldman hedge fund falls 22.5 pct in Aug'
Well, you see, Goldman doesn't manage OTHER peoples money quite like it manages it's own.
From the report – Asset Management (money they manage for others), Goldman: "Asset Management net revenues were $1.20 billion, 31% higher than the third quarter of 2006, reflecting a 40% increase in management and other fees, partially offset by lower incentive fees."
Lower incentive fees? Fees were down 52% from last year. Incentive fees reflect doing a good job. Looks like their performance was lacking from last year.
Goldman: "During the quarter, assets under management increased $38 billion to $796 billion, reflecting money market net inflows of $31 billion, non-money market net inflows of $19 billion spread across all asset classes, and net market depreciation of $12 billion, reflecting depreciation in equity and alternative investment assets, partially offset by appreciation in fixed income assets."
Increase of $38 billion. That's a lot of money but still just 5% increase. But with $38 billion in net inflows after depreciation it appears that they had negative organic return on the assets that manage.
All on all, the money they manage for OTHERS had a bad quarter.
Now look at their proprietary trading unit – THEIR money. Trading and Principal Investments were $8.23 billion, 70% higher than the third quarter of 2006. Equity trading revenues were up a mind boggling 154%. This is in quarter were we saw a rough drop of about 3% in the S&P500.
Goldman: "Significant losses on non-prime loans and securities were more than offset by gains on short mortgage positions."
They shorted mortgage positions with THEIR money! Shorting mortgages – a bet that citizens will default on their loans and possibly lose their homes. Goldman made money when things were good by pushing these sub-prime loans, now they win again when they go sour.
OTHER peoples money (OTM); NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) – "Goldman Sachs Group's Global Alpha hedge fund fell 22.5 percent in August on losses from currency and stock trades, Bloomberg News reported, citing an update sent to investors."
Goldman has the largest collection of hedge funds in the world. How is it that they receive 75% of their revenues from trading, but the hedge funds they manage for other people's money under-perform the returns Goldman receives on its OWN money? When Goldman's hedge funds are long sub-prime, why did not the shorting of mortgages strategy that they used for THEIR money save some of the OTHER people's money? Trading is a zero sum gain. Did Goldman need someone to take the other side of the trade?
Greenspan said this in the same speech above; "Most financial innovations in over-the-counter derivatives involve new ways to disperse risk. Moreover, our constantly changing financial environment supplies a steady stream of new opportunities for innovation to address market imperfections. Innovative products temporarily earn a quasi-monopoly rent."
I think everyone would have to agree that Goldman has been very innovative in benefiting from market imperfections. They place their former executives in high positions of public power. They manage the CRMPG that allows them insight into the inside workings of their competitors. They have been aggressive in their managed hedge funds by establishing a counter-party to their trades. They certainly are getting their share on THEIR money with "quasi-monopoly rent".
And they are getting paid well to do it.
Goldman: "Compensation and benefits expenses were $5.92 billion, 68% higher than the third quarter of 2006" The number employees increased only 7%. Nice raise guys!
So how does Goldman get away with this? Obviously the influence peddling is there. Why is the financial community of the slightly less connected not out there screaming about the potential for collusion and manipulation by these large member banks with their CRMPG association? Trading is a zero sum game. Why are so many willing to take a bullet for Goldman on an un-level playing field?
I just read a commentary from Bill Bonner expressing some of what I mention here. He wrote this after a similar stunning Goldman report in June of 06';
"Well, how is it possible that a company like Goldman – with thousands of traders – can make 75% of its revenues from trading? You'd think their lucky trades would be balanced out by their unlucky trades. They can't all be lucky. And they can't all be geniuses. As Buffett says, there aren't that many geniuses around."
"Or to put it another way, here's a company making billions, mostly by trading. Who's on the other side of these trades? Who's losing? Where does the money come from? How is it possible for so many traders to have a result that is so far beyond equilibrium…it seems to defy gravity." Bill Bonner
So why do I care about all of this?
Greenspan (same speech) said this; "No one can deny that fully informed market participants will generate the most efficient pricing of resources and the most efficient allocation of capital. Moreover, it could be argued that, if all information held by individual buyers or sellers became available to all participants, the pricing structure would more closely reflect the underlying balance of supply and demand. Thus full information would appear to be the unambiguous objective. But should it be?"
"But should it be?" Hell yes it should be. Fully informed market participates is central to a free market. Allowing Goldman and the CRMPG, with the blessings of the Federal Reserve to sway the markets in the direction that benefits them most, in the name of financial stability is a bullet to the chest of capitalism. Who was Chairman Greenspan helping when he suggested adjustable rate mortgages at interest rate bottoms? Some kind of innovative sub-prime scheme perhaps? The time to save our free markets is now. The complacency bullshit needs to stop!


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subset: commoncrawl


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The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced it has issued penalties totaling $265,000 to C.W. Mining Co. and contractor Trimac Transportation Service Inc. for violations that contributed to a fatal accident at the Bear Canyon Mine in Emery County, in which a truck driver was crushed when a parking brake failed.
On Dec. 12, 2007, a contract truck driver suffered fatal crushing injuries between a front-end loader and a haul truck as he attempted to attach a tow chain to the haul truck.
The loader rolled downhill when the parking brake failed to set because frozen moisture in the air reservoirs prevented the brake from properly applying.
"Had the front-end loader been properly inspected prior to its operation, the truck driver might still be alive," said Richard E. Stickler, acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.
"It is imperative that equipment operators be trained on proper maintenance procedures, especially during inclement weather.
"This is one of the things we stress in our annual 'Winter Alert' program," concluded Stickler.
MSHA cited four contributory violations to the mine operator: a moderate negligence citation for failure to inspect the front-end loader before placing it in service, a high negligence citation for failure to maintain the loader in safe operating condition, a high negligence citation for failure to block the loader against motion while it was left unattended and an unwarrantable failure order with reckless disregard negligence for failure to provide site-specific hazard training to the victim.
A fifth contributory citation was issued to the contractor for failure to provide site-specific hazard training to the victim.


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Jami Malan and Jeremy Black were married on April 12. A reception was held in their honor in the Old Institute at 380 East 400 North, Price.
The parents of the bride are Garth and Marilyn Malan. The parents of the groom are LaMar and DeLynn Black.
The children of Beverly Marshall announce the marriage of their mother to Paul Nicolaides of Sunset April 19. Family and friends will share in their joy at an open house April 19 from 6-8 p.m. at the Gordon Creek Ward, 175 North 1280 West, Price.
No gifts please.


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MMORPG.com columnist Isabelle Parsley writes this week about endgame, its place in the MMO world and whether or not our current systems are enough.
Before I started playing WoW in 2004, I'd never actually heard the term "endgame" in an MMO context; but then, suddenly, it and its associated expressions were everywhere. "The game begins at 60!" people said, as if that were a great thing in itself and as if that explained everything.
The MMOs I'd played for any length of time before then didn't have that concept. Asheron's Call had relatively slow leveling in most cases, and as far as I could tell hitting max level didn't really make all that much difference to how people played and what they did when they played. I don't even think that, back then, there was content that was specifically designed for people who had hit the level cap.
Read Player Perspectives.
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
Agreed. What happened to the journey?. I logged into SWG again and found myself enjoying running around doing nothing . Just roaming about the desert sands of Tatooine...finding giant dragons and the odd traveller npc or player.
This article pretty much sums up my view. I get to level cap and almost immediately turn round and role and alt. I like questing,exploring, gathering crafting mats, crafting... I hate the gear grind by doing the same dungeons or battleground until my eye's bleed. I raided in Vanilla WoW and it burnt me out, it became a second job... I will never do that again.
This is one of the resons I'm looking forward to The Secret World. A leveless game that will hopefull not have the 'usual end-game' where I can continue to develop my character without the gear grind. I want to get get new equipment because it looks cool, not because it has +3 DEX on my existing item.
More developers need to look for other options in MMOs and move away from the tired formulas and inovate something new. Just because Blizzard did it that way doesn't mean you should do it the same way. Think outside of the bun.
Totally Agree. Endgame is boring to me after the first time raiding a boss. The journey is what counts. I think SWTOR will get it right.
Great read - summed up my feelings as well. Maybe it's because I was honed on the original MMO's and their mechanics, but it's the adventure and journey that I enjoy. The level / gear treadmill is too monotonous for me. Not to say these types of themepark linnear games aren't good ... they are great for people who enjoy them. To me they are akin to multiplayer adventure games on a larger scope. For me an ideal mmoRPG gives me the tools and flexability to create adventures not just follow the set path. Likewise it encourages the adventure by not having set paths.
I agree with the article aswell. Its one of the reasons I actually picked up and started playing Final Fantasy 11 again. The game is aged to all hell but everything isnt all about end game. its about the journey and just having fun. The huge over arching story of the game that is drawn through all the quests and most things you do, helps as well :P.
Cheers to when games were about the grand adventure and having fun instead of the lvl cap being the promised land.
me neither, reasons im looking forward to tsw, archeage although I dont know much about it, and salem, I am sick and tired of getting to max level and running dungeons over and over and over and over and over and over. im sick of it, even city of heroes is like that now. somebody needs to come up with a different way of developing and having fun that just dungeons or raids. or maybe just make a game that doesnt have a level cap or a skill cap, you just keep earning experience and placing it where you want.
The concept of endgame is a symptom of a greater problem. The game shouldn't feel like it really starts at level cap, the game should be enjoyable from start to cap, and players who are not at cap should not feel useless until they are. This in part caused by the exponential progression fo power that seems to occur in pretty much MMO these days.
OP you are actually very wrong. SWG had Endgame, DAoC had endgame and so did EQ. You better go read up and we used that term then as well. I remember we would raid the Corvette or Death Watch Bunker... I can go on all day but I think you are just too much a rookie to the MMO genre so you made this assumption on your own without asking true old school vets from all of these games. I have played em all and don't know of any without some form of endgame. I have used that term since DAoC...
Originally posted by Drakiis
And now you finally understand the truth about pure pve game play, and to a lesser extent themeparks as a whole. This is how pvpers are born, from the ashes of boredom, to counter end game repitition, because nothing in pvp is scripted, nothing is repetitive, it's not about shinies, merit badges, or high score. It's about respect and recognition of skill, for your guild pride, for your own virtual immortality.
Welcome to the real game.
Yeah, whatever.
I think what's happened is that the Endgame as it's defined in WoW (and increasingly in other games, LOTRO for example) is something that was particularly interesting to the developers, many of whom originally came over from EQ1. They created something they would enjoy, and I don't fault them for it, but it essentially imposed one particular vision on everyone else who plays the game.
This here is a viewpoint I definitely share (along with the rest of the article). Based on the games releasing it does seem the developers are either heavy raiders or pvp'ers and the whole concept of enjoying the journey to level has been lost and forgotten.
Thank you for that article and expressing exactly why I don't enjoy the latest round of mmo's.
Ugh...the "endgame" mindset is ruining MMOs, in my opinion. I don't get this whole mentality of rushing through the majority of the game's content just to then focus on a small number of dungeons or raids and repeat them ad nauseum. It's why I don't play WoW anymore, and why I'm not playing any MMO at the moment. I agree with you, the developers seems to be forgetting about the rest of us, those who like the journey, development, and the exploration, and are focusing on the raiders and loot-addicts.
Older MMOs focused on the journey, recent MMOs have swung heavily in the opposite direction...with all the money and talent involved in MMO development, can't someone come up with a happy medium?
One reason I like Eve is that end-game happens pretty much as soon as the tutorial is over.
"Chemistry: 'We do stuff in lab that would be a felony in your garage.'"
The most awesomest after school special T-shirt:
Front: UNO Chemistry Club
Back: /\OH --> Bad Decisions
Lets face it VWP (vanilla WoW Players) have been there and done that so many times now its not even funny. They killed there 1000's sleeping peon or dug in 488 piles of dung for film and sat in the stall in northrend for the 12th time to pass a sead wich is still my favoriote quest. But enough is enough why have that seed not been grown into a full grown tree by now and why are those peons still sleeping and dang all to heck why is "Tailspin" still kneeling down by his plane in a oil field he has legs walk back. Its old its tired its way past been there done that. Don't brag bout how many 85's you have. Relay what man you have no life? As for me I am happy that the bandwagon for WoW broke lets happy trail our way out for something better.
I agree with you in many ways, Isabelle. I'm definitely a journey player. While Everquest was the first MMO I played, Asheron's Call was the game that grabbed me, that helped me further define my likes and dislikes. Now, when I log into new games, not a day goes by that I'm not reminded which of those two games won the battle for hearts and minds.
When I logged into Asheron's Call and looked around, I saw person after person that reminded me of myself. I made easy friends and felt my interests reflected in the people around me, even when I was doing my own thing. These days, I log into whichever MMO I happen to be playing and see almost no one that reminds me of myself; I feel increasingly alone in a massively multiplayer crowd. The very things that drew me to the genre now seem to set me apart.
I'm Firefly, I'm Mal Reynolds (or, more specifically, Zoe). I'm canceled, and now I just drift from border moon to border moon. On the slightly brighter side, I'm also Doctor Who. Fezzes are cool.
As long as MMORPGs focus on levelling as your game play, you will always hit the "end game".
They need to switch game play from the focus on building your character to a focus on your character in an active world. That doesn't mean removing building your character, it means reducing that as game play and adding the World into it.
Once upon a time....
some one hit the nail on the head ... the concept of "end game" is the issue.
It's great for people who want that kind of experience I guess.
But some of us want what mmorpg's initially set out to be which was a much more dynamic, evolving, it is what you make of it experience. It is not get from A to B. It is .. log in ... and say ... hmm, what will I do today? And that is a much more difficult game to create because of the tools necessary for the people in the game to do it and do it well. (unlike some recent attempts at "sandbox" which were very poor)
Originally posted by sinjin
OP you are actually very wrong. SWG had Endgame, DAoC had endgame and so did EQ. You better go read up and we used that term then as well. I remember we would raid the Corvette or Death Watch Bunker... I can go on all day but I think you are just too much a rookie to the MMO genre so you made this assumption on your own without asking true old school vets from all of these games. I have played em all and don't know of any without some form of endgame. I have used that term since DAoC...
Ultima Online ... 7x GM ... no end game
BINGO! You hit the nail on the head. You also explained, unintentionally why Wow IS so popular and it has nothing to do with it's endgame, which is just so one sided it leaves you wanting more. The journey IS what made WoW fun and still does. Now, that being said, we do have a few other games out there with endgame mechanics that should have become the norm but haven't due to, like you said, WoW's popularity.
Namely FFXI's job and mission system and EQ2's alternate advancement system and both games housing aspects. All of these mechanics put those MMOs into "deep" territory and offer tons of endgame playtime that isn't hingent on running dungeons over and over for a shiny to get you into the next dungeon.
Don't get me wrong, the dungeon and raid mechanic should stay, as it can be fun for what it is BUT, there needs to be just as much development and emphasis put onto other more nebulous endgame persuits.
IF the game can do it right, ArcheAge is one to watch as it seems to be leaning in the right direction, with game design. Hopefully enough, that developers on other games will take note and learn from it and be inspired by it. Only time will tell.
I'd put some of the blame on DAOC, it was one of the first to truely have an end game where a players activities drastically changed at level 50. You went from grinding NPC mobs in groups all day to suddently almost an exclusively PVP end game, and you only PVP'd to earn gold to buy better gear from crafters (or housing)
They tried to fix this by adding the TOA expansion, which would have actually been a welcome addition if they hadn't interwoven it with PVP so that a player "had" to complete the TOA content in order to be competitive in PVP.
So that was the first game I found myself leveling up alts to re-enjoy the PVE portion of the game, and experience a bit differently (certainly much better geared than my first pass through)
Difference was, I did enjoy the PVP end game in DAOC, just not all the time. Eventually though, I moved over the FFA PVP server Mordred and that was my perfect home, had PVP and PVE going on all the time together, and I finished my tenure on that server.
Back to the OP, I too am very weary of the current end game model. I played Rift, enjoyed it to level 50, looked into the face of the dugeons/raiding/gear grind and turned around and walked away, because with the new flexible talent system, and the boring linear leveling path presented, there was no reason to re-roll.
I'm now back in EVE, enjoying the same "end game" that I was part of in my 4th month of joining, fighting in 0.0 space and making a living.
I'm really not sure any of the new titles coming up soon offer anything of interest to me since the all seem to be leading towards an "endgame"
On hiatus from EVE Online since Dec 2016 - Screw off-grid PVE boosting changes
Pouring on extra "Salt" for 2017
In my day MMORPG's were so hard we fought our way through dungeons in the snow, uphill both ways.
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Originally posted by stayghost
Originally posted by sinjin
OP you are actually very wrong. SWG had Endgame, DAoC had endgame and so did EQ. You better go read up and we used that term then as well. I remember we would raid the Corvette or Death Watch Bunker... I can go on all day but I think you are just too much a rookie to the MMO genre so you made this assumption on your own without asking true old school vets from all of these games. I have played em all and don't know of any without some form of endgame. I have used that term since DAoC...
Ultima Online ... 7x GM ... no end game
I think that reinforces the idea that themeparks are more endgame oriented.
In my understanding, WoW didn't invent endgame. It simply placed more emphasis on it. Level to cap then run endgame activities until the next expansion. With expansions every two years, there's not much else to do except endgame or rolling alts.
Ken Fisher - Semi retired old fart Network Administrator, now working in Network Security. I don't Forum PVP. If you feel I've attacked you, it was probably by accident. When I don't understand, I ask. Such is not intended as criticism.
I have to disagree with the article's assumption that because his/her personal experience is that few players raid, that must mean that's the case everywhere.
In my experience, finding players who don't raid is actually difficult. Even the RP guilds on my server are raiders. It's a PvE server, perhaps that's why. Do you play on an RP server? Because saying "Less than half of WoW's population raids" seems like a very wrong assertion.
SWG had the Corvette, I know for a fact that EQ had giant raid bosses, DAOC had endgame... this seems like an uninformed journalist, honestly. WoW did not invent endgame. WoW made it accessible to those who weren't hardcore enough for it (IE: Everyone) in previous titles.
If the end game is raiding, I just won't waste my time with it. A horrible concept introduced by EQ and expanded upon by Wow.
I had far more fun in UO and AC1 than subsequent games. Now the rvr in DAoC was far different, you never knew what you were going to run into.
If you base your end game on raiding, you are wasting your and your customers time because they can play Wow or the EQ's and raid if that is something they like to do.
Originally posted by BarCrow
Agreed. What happened to the journey?. I logged into SWG again and found myself enjoying running around doing nothing . Just roaming about the desert sands of Tatooine...finding giant dragons and the odd traveller npc or player.
It's because MMOs aren't virtual social worlds anymore, they're a collection of minigames with rewards being dumped on you to convince you to keep going. And most MMOs are feature lite nowadays, lacking things that were standard in MMOs from the 90s.
Now its all instancing and quest hub grinding. Meh.
End game in DAoC WAS something to work towards, but a lot of people had so much fun in the normal game they'd just roll new characters. There were mini raids for lower level characters. There were battlegrounds (real ones, now WoW's psuedo FPS weird..thing) kill tasks, quests, dungeons, crafting, housing, all that stuff. The only thing that really changed at end game was you could enter RvR without fear of dying immediately. (you could always go into the RvR zones at any level). And joined in the sieges and battles that determined who was winning on the server. Taking towers, bombarding castles, raiding teleport/supply lines, sneaking into enemy dungeons, an ever evolving player driven end game, on TOP of the raiding end game, that gives endless fun for everyone.


text:
Study in the USA - Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Displaying 1-2 of 2 results.
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Public University
Approximate Cost: $40,770.00
International Students: 723
Search Match:Info
Tennessee Technology Center at Murfreesboro
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Public University
International Students: 0
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Note: Some of the schools in the InternationalStudent.com School Search database have not reported all of the data we make available. When this is the case, it is indicated by 'N/A' (not applicable).


text:
She sure does love her singers
. This married female celebrity chef hooked up with this A list singer after his show the other night. She was in town and he was in town for the night and that was them going into his suite about 3am.
Giada and ThickeReplyCancel
Giada opened a new restaurant in Vegas. Who performed there?ReplyCancel
Giada DReplyCancel
Who is the singer?ReplyCancel
Probably not Cat Cora, she's gay. Not that makes it impossible, but Enty tends to note it when a celeb cheats with a person that's the opposite sex of celeb's s/o.ReplyCancel
Giada and anybody who's available. She's a skank.ReplyCancel
Giada is a chicken head.ReplyCancel
Only perps I could find in Vegas are GnR, Taylor Hicks, and Rod Stewart.
Take your pick.ReplyCancel
*peeps not perpsReplyCancel
Giada's a spinner with quite the oral fixation.ReplyCancel
Riven – Ahhhh. Pretty neat you talked to Rosie O'Donnell!ReplyCancel
This is Giada 100 percent. She's a well know playa, the husband either is willingly ignorant or just doesn't care. I am going with the formerReplyCancel
No Wigs you had it right at PERPS…or maybe it should be HERPSReplyCancel
Throw in Buble and you got a DERP to round out the trilogyReplyCancel
I have to say, umop, that I laugh every time I see your name and think of your photo submission from last year.ReplyCancel
The Blowjob Queen!ReplyCancel
Or doesn't understand how Google works.ReplyCancel
I do want to try the food there though. Lemon pasta and lemon flatbread. I am waiting for them to post the menu online.ReplyCancel
Rachel Ray (she is a New Yorker and married to a musician) and Robin Thicke (just played in NY according to the daily mail)….ReplyCancel
Paula Dean and Trey Songz…ironically she's a chocoholic lolReplyCancel
Rob Thomas was in Vegas last week for a private show and he has a song called 3am.ReplyCancel


text:
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Mudslide shuts down highway in Avery County, NC
Avery County, NC - Heavy rains in North Carolina have caused a major mudslide in Avery County.
Authorities tell us the mudslide is about 250 feet long and around 75 to 80 feet deep.
Our news crews were on scene as more pieces of the road began to break off and fall down the cliff.
The hole in the highway consumes three lanes of traffic on the Elk Park Highway, and authorities say pieces of the road continue to fall.
All tractor trailers are being detoured down 19-E to Elk Park.
Authorities are asking everyone to please stay away from the area because the site is still active and dangerous.
39 inches of rain have fallen in Avery County since April.


text:
Just one look tells you the CB1000R recreates the classic Honda formula for high performance in an unfaired four-cylinder bike—a design that has been well tested and validated over the years. The clean, essentials-only format perfectly frames the fuel-injected four-cylinder 998cc powerplant that delivers loads of right-now power. The unique chassis incorporates a single-sided swingarm with a high-performance single-shock rear suspension that helps make the CB1000R an exclusive choice in today's market. Whether you call it a naked bike, a street fighter or a race bike in civilian clothes, the CB1000R serves as an all-around high-performance motorcycle that's ready to take you where you want to go.
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text:
Honored at UCLA Awards Ceremony!
posted on June 23rd, 2012
This May, UCLA gave me an amazing honor - the Recent Graduate Achievement award.
They give out a handful of awards to alumni every year, and I stood along side some amazing co-honorees like General John Daily, the Director of the NASA Museum, and Paul Terasaki, a scientist who made organ transplants available to millions of people with his tissue compatibility testing technology. The event was held outside Chancellor's (enormous) house on the UCLA campus, and theawards they gaveus were all hand-blown glass works of art.
(left to right: Prof. David Carlisle, Keenan Behrle, Prof. Paul Terasaki, Me, Dr. Timothy Miller, General John Dailey)
Paul is the one standing to the left of me, holding the glass bowl. I had to comment on his bowl... such an "unusual" shape for an award. He said he thought it must be for peanuts.
At the event, we each spoke to the crowd about how UCLA had shaped our careers and lives. I talked about how UCLA helped me take my love of entertainment and apply it to my second love, mathematics, and how I ended up writing math books as a result. I also talked about how UCLA helped me find a renewed sense of self, playing a pivotal role in my transition from being a child actor.
We each taped an intro video that was later shown at the awards ceremony, and they posted them! My segment is first - keep watching for the other nominees). Click here to learn more about the other nominees. It was a fun night!
Oh, so why did I wait this long to write this blog? Because I finally got the pictures from the event!
Please Login or Register to post a comment
posted by DougieCFresh on June 24th, 2012
WOOT! First in with a comment!
Congratulations Danica, you should be very, very proud.
I caught your Tweet regarding female role models in the STEM fields and as a father of two daughters I have to say; you rise well above the tag 'role model' and set the bar for all who would farm their god given talents to 'achieve' in this world.
If my girls get within a arm's reach of your standard? Well, I'll just bust!
ps The shallow side of me just has to comment; Wow. Nice dress!
posted by Jade on June 25th, 2012
Congratulations! What an honor that is. I just wanted to say I have been a fan since TWY, and I am glad you are doing so well. I would also like to say thank you for the great books you write. My 16 year old daughter has always struggled in math (much like myself) and right now she is taking an online summer session because she failed the second semester of Algebra 1. She started the class a little over a week ago and was struggling with it terribly.
I had heard good things about your books, so I decided to go and pick up a copy of 'Hot X, Algebra Exposed'. I gave the book to my daughter and so far it has been like a miracle! She was able to retake the 3 practice tests she had failed, and this time she passed all of them with 80% and 90%. She also has taken two more, plus the unit exam and passed all of those as well with a 90% on the first try! And it is all thanks to your book. She was so surprised at how much it helped her understand. I am very grateful, and will recommend this to anyone else with a child struggling in math. Thank you so much, you really know how to reach and teach young girls!
posted by Mark on November 27th, 2015
I was forwarding some of your math exploits to my niece, for inspiration. I stumbled upon your commencement address for the UCLA mathematics department. You lamented that mentioning your degree sounded scatological. Why not refer to your undergraduate degree as a "B.Sc." instead? Well, that was trivial but I could not resist the self-agrandizement of counseling such an accomplished person.
Danica's Diary
Health & Fitness
Math & More
Events & Appearances


text:
Skip to comments.Michelle Obama charms queen away from protocol
Posted on 04/02/2009 11:09:51 AM PDT by Indian_Fighter_Kite
LONDON Michelle Obama's meeting with Queen Elizabeth II began with a handshake and ended in a hug.
The first lady arrived Wednesday with President Barack Obama. After separate meetings on the eve of the G-20 summit, the couple attended an evening reception for world leaders hosted by the queen.
Mrs. Obama clearly made an impression with the 82-year-old monarch so much that the smiling queen strayed slightly from protocol and briefly wrapped her arm around the first lady in a rare public show of affection.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Where's the double bagger barf alert?
I think Mrs. BO should have fist bumped the Queen. Now THAT would have been a story.
REALLY??? After Michele let her go, she said something to the Queen and the Queen wasn't amused. Watch the whole YOUTUBE that Gatewaypundit has.
they can report what they like but the fact remains that many British media outlets have said that michelle obama and her husband did not show decorum at all and that they seemed to have not done their homework on meeting heads of state.
They have showed themselves again as having no class .
Hey AP if any of you are reading this then remember some of us have family in the UK and some of us are form there so spin this visit however you want and fool the sheep but you are not fooling me at all
I am vomiting uncontrollably right now...
And Obama BOWING DEEPLY to King Abdullah was DISGUSTING!@!!!!
Michelle Obama looks like Donkey Kong.
"Yo Q! Where's Charlie at?"
(hangs head in shame) If I saw this on the news, I'd not be surprised.
she seemed not very amused nor did the prince who had to get out of the way from michelle obama
Did you hear obama making small talk to the Queen saying well I met so and so and so and so and I never fell asleep
ah poor soul the man is tired
what a complete media whore and idiot
The sad thing is that millions of sheeple will eat this right up.
Not to be too gross, but if Michelle had dry-humped the Queen, the Drive-bys would've also said Michelle "charmed her" to allow it.
Notable journalist and political oracle Mark Shields sez 'there's absolutely, positively NO bias in favor of Obama in the media. No sir.'
Okay, now I wish I hadn't written that...
These people are never going to stop licking Obama ass, are they?
So I think the chances Her Majesty was "charmed" by Michelle are, er, exaggerated.
I agree a barf alert is needed. We have "rules and protocol" here, although I could tell by the title it was warranted even without the formal barf alert...
Is there anything that Michelle can't do? She is just sooo wonderful and amazing and wonderful and classy and amazing and charming....*pukes uncontrollably*
I've got a lot more important concerns than this non-issue. Frankly, if her husband conducted himself as well, we'd be better off.
It's stunning that the media was able to force the queen to break protocol and put her arm around Michelle. I wonder how they did it.
Talk about spin! Michelle blows the protocol and it turns into "charming" the Queen away from protocol. Pathetic.
Personally, I believe there are two reasons why this happened.
1) The Queen was recognizing a fellow "family pants wearer", since she is one.
2) The Queen was giving a signal that she approves what O is doing to this country.
Typical AP spin.
I'm certain he charmed them silly with his perpetual "it's all about me!" shtick. No respect or sense of honor or protocol in anything he or Shelly does. Just the embarrassing show of low brow narcissism, obama style.
The London media has a very different report on this story.
Omarosa put her arm around the queen first and the queen being the lady she is, simply responded.
Somehow I prefer the London papers to the AP
is anyone watching this idiot give a press conference to the world journalists.
he is so full of himself and think this is all one big joke.
Never have I seen a man who is more of a media whore
*Someone* needs to tell the Obamas what to expect and how to act when they meet VIPs.
Sheesh. This is getting so old. How can our own president and her husband ;-) be so clueless?
From what I saw of the video, I thought Mrs. Obama looked pushy, and I'm a touchy-feely person myself.
came to the same conclusion, she was aggressive, showed no class and seemed like a school girl getting out of school early
And I'd add that if anyone has paid any attention to the dysfunctional Windsor family, they'd know that the Obambis are right up their alley. They LOVE the libs. Only Prince Philip, that zero IQ guy, at least isn't afraid to say what he thinks. Wish I was fly on wall after the dissing he took from M'chelle.
She said to the queen "You aint no queen biatch! The real queen is my huzband!"
"These people are never going to stop licking Obama ass, are they?"
Never, the sonsofb#tches.
All Obama had to say about that was, "I won".
Glad you did write that. It's true.
If Laura Bush had done this they press would have been in FULL ATTACK MODE...but of course, Laura Bush would hever have done this.
Give us a link to youtube. I gotta see it.
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text:
Type: Bug
Status: Closed
Priority: Major
Resolution: Fixed
Affects Version/s: 2.2
Component/s: Grading methods, Themes
Testing Instructions:
1. Create a rubric-graded assignment (see MDLQA-1185 for reference)
2. Edit the rubric and add 10+ levels
3. Make sure rubric displays scrollbar
4. Save rubric and make sure it is previewed correctly
5. Grade a student using a rubric
6. Login as a student and make sure the grade can be seen
The output needs to be tested in all supported browsers and several themes (at the very least standard, afterburner, and a theme that extends canvas)1. Create a rubric-graded assignment (see MDLQA-1185 for reference) 2. Edit the rubric and add 10+ levels 3. Make sure rubric displays scrollbar 4. Save rubric and make sure it is previewed correctly 5. Grade a student using a rubric 6. Login as a student and make sure the grade can be seen The output needs to be tested in all supported browsers and several themes (at the very least standard, afterburner, and a theme that extends canvas)
Affected Branches:MOODLE_22_STABLE
Fixed Branches:MOODLE_21_STABLE, MOODLE_22_STABLE
Pull from Repository:
Pull Master Branch:wip-
Pull Master Diff URL:
Rubrics criterion with many levels (individual points) controls get truncated on right side when editing and unable to select truncated levels when grading. User must zoom browser window out as horizontal scroll bars not displayed
using Moodle 2.2 (build 20111209). with the standard theme
To Reproduce the issue
Using the rubrics feature of m2.2, create a new advanced assessment rubric definition and for any criterion keep adding levels (points) eventually the "add level" button will be pushed out the right and out of view, you have to zoom out to see it but if you keep adding levels you have to zoom out so far as to be unable to read the text. I can fit about 13 or 14 levels with no detailed description in each level just a basic text.
Attached screen show shows 4 criteria with differing points but user unable to view right side controls to add/remove levels as they have been pushed off the view and horizontal scroll bar not displayed
Is there a way to have the content wrap around or force the browser horizontal scroll bar to show instead of having to zoom out for what is really an issue of width?
Gliffy Diagrams
Issue Links
- All
- Comments
- Work Log
- History
- Activity
- Links Hierarchy
I've added you as a watcher for
MDL-30780 becasue I know how much you love these pagelayout problems!
However, I think we could have done without this at Christmas!
Thanks Michael for reporting this issue. It's what is known as a pagelayout problem, but in this case made worse by the fact you have to be in editing mode to use this function, which brings with it a further problem of the Add Block taking up the much needed space in the right column.
The fix I posted in the forum about changing the "defaultregion" in a themes config.php, from side-post to side-pre gives you back that space on the right, but then blocks the left side. This means that the full page width, which would perhaps be enough area to work in, is still restricted, even if you dock all the side blocks, the Add Block stays put.
We can fix this in Themes easily enough, but the Add Block issue still remains.
Do you think we could try to force this Rubric format page to use report layout in much the same way we did the admin/report pages? If so then that would kill two birds with one stone, give the user horizontal scroll, and make this page side-pre only.
Hi Mary,
thank you sooo much for adding me as a watcher to this tracker isssue!
I think I should code a good sort algorithm for all those issues.
I will have a look at this rubric format. Never worked with it until now!
Are you sure .pagelayout-report automatically brings out a horizontal scrollbar?
Hi Dietmar,
Here is a good video of how Rubrics works: It is by Mary Cooch.
I've just added you as a watcher as I think this will become a big problem if we don't fix this soon.
I've tested the problem in base and found it to be a real blocker of a BUG.
I need to know how to make the Rubric editing page either
1) .editing .side-pre-only
2) .editing .content-only
so that in 1) the ADD BLOCK is on the left or better yet 2) where there is 100% width and NO Add Block.
I am assuming these sort of display layouts are defined before the page is rendered, styling the page after that is easy. But at the moment there is little we can do to fix this other than make "regiondefault" side-pre in course and in-course layout in ALL CORE THEMES' config.php - then style base theme accordingly as all themes are related to base theme.
Hi, I have just added you as a watcher on this issue, which relates to a BUG in the Rubric editing page.
Is there any way this editing page can be defined with the body class "editing side-pre-only" or "editing content-only"? We are finding the ADD BLOCK block restricts movement on the right-hand side of the page, therefore limiting the space needed for the various criterion and points boxes being created.
Thanks for reporting this, Michael, and thanks for looking at this, Mary.
I've assigned this to Marina to work on. This is not a blocker.
Ideally all levels should be accessible.
I wouldn't advise using a large number of levels. This means the rubric is approaching a series of scales, which is not intended for.
There is a lot of potential in the new advanced grading methods, and one that includes a series of scales would be possible, although I'm not a fan of assessment that cannot be reduced to objective measurements.
An advanced grading method that supported multiple scales would be a great benefit down the line. Is there a possible workaround I could implement that would get me over this bump?
Hi Michael.
Rubrics use renderer, so you can override rubric renderer in your theme as a workaround.
Actually I initially designed rubrics table-less with levels as divs that wrapped to the next line. But it was very difficult to align them properly so I changed it to tables.
So when I start working on this issue (and sorry, it will only be in mid-January, because of my long Christmas break), I will just add a horizontal scrollbar like in gradebook if table does not fit on the page.
But what you describe is not an ordinary rubric. Ideally there should be another advanced grading method, with dropdowns for each criterion.
Forgive my ignorance but I'm not a theme developer. Is it the rubric renderer located in grade/grading/form/rubric/renderer.php ?how would I override it
Is it a CSS modification I would have to make or do I have to change the table structure?
I've added a post to http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=192660 to split it away from the actual discussion of the bug
Don't worry about this Michael.
We can deal with this via themes.
I'll set up a new issue and fix the problem using renderers if I can..
Hi Mary, hi Michael,
could you please test the following small workaround:
1) Change line 260 in grade/grading/form/rubric/renderer.php (protected function rubric_template) from
$rubrictemplate = html_writer::start_tag('div', array('id' => 'rubric-
$rubrictemplate = html_writer::start_tag('div', array('id' => 'rubric-{NAME}
', 'class' => 'clearfix no-overflow gradingform_rubric'.$classsuffix));
2) Add something like
.gradingform_rubric .criteria
to grade/grading/form/rubric/styles.css (or theme css).
I tried it out and I get horizontal scroll bar on the criteria edit screen but its not showing all the right hand side until I zoom out again. Would setting the font size value in css to something smaller be advised?
@Michael OBrian
Hi Michael,
I've set up a new tracker issue
MDL-30827 to deal with the theme aspect of this ongoing problem, but as Marina say she wont be able to fix the rubric editing page until after Christmas, and as she is taking extended leave it probably wont be looked at for a good while yet, probably February or later.
We can however try and fix the theme side of things, so rather than adding comments here, you would be better moving to
MDL-30827. Thanks
Hi guys,
as Mary noticed, just setting overflow:auto does not help because of the whole page layout.
I tried my best, will appreciate very much if you can review this issue.
My change fixes the bug in case of very wide rubric that can not become narrower (has many levels or very long words in the levels).
But the opposite side is that for a rubric with a lot of text but few levels it limits the width of the rubric and it looks not so nice on the very wide screens where it could look better before my change
Thanks fixing this Marina.
This is now working in IE7 and 8. I don't have IE9 installed on my machine.
Note for tester: please test this in IE9.
+1 for integration review.
The main moodle.git repository has just been updated with latest weekly modifications. You may wish to rebase your PULL branches to simplify history and avoid any possible merge conflicts. This would also make integrator's life easier next week.
TIA and ciao
Thanks Marina - this has been integrated now.
I will after this add a note to the testing instructions that this must be tested under several themes and in all supported browsers.
I am look for the css or php file that contains the rubric width. I would like to make the width 100% and have a larger area for comments on the side. Specifically, I would like to delete the word "Grade:" from the top of the Grade Submission page or moved over to allow the rubric to be 100%.
Any help / code would be appreciative. This seems to be for every theme.
Zander, you are welcome to add any custom css to your theme. For example
#page-mod-assignment-submissions #fitem_id_advancedgrading .fitemtitle {
display: none;
#page-mod-assignment-submissions #fitem_id_advancedgrading .felement {
width: 100%;
margin-left: 0%;
page-mod-assignment-submissions #fitem_id_advancedgrading .felement .gradingform_rubric {
// max-width: 900px; // or whatever you like
// overflow: visible;
Some changes to Moodle should be milestones in the project by themselves.
This is not the case and your fix is not so important, but your collaboration is highly appreciated, thanks!
Closing as fixed, ciao


text:
Bulimba Judo ClubSports Judo Classes & Lessons
Bulimba Street, Bulimba, QLD 4171
Best match results for: CATEGORY = Judo Classes & Lessons for Kids + LOCATION = Moreton Bay
Results include related kids activities and neighbouring locations.
Judo classes & lessons for kids around Moreton Bay
Bulimba Street, Bulimba, QLD 4171
39 Hayward St, Unit 2a, Stafford, QLD 4053
Martial arts activities for kids in Moreton Bay
North Lakes Community Centre, 8 The Corso, North Lakes, QLD 4509
Servicing North Lakes, Mango Hill, Deception Bay and 13 other suburb(s)
This is a great activity for kids and adults. Nice family atmosphere.
From 22-04-2017 To 23-04-2017
The Bai Rui Junior and Senior Tournament is held twice every year and is attended by various schools from around Australia. It is typically one of the largest ITF Taekwon-Do tournaments in the country. The ...
229 Mackie Rd, Narangba, QLD 4504
St. Eugenes College, Station Road,, Burpengary, QLD 4505
Pine Rivers Special School Hall, cnr Old Gympie and Lawnton Pocket Roads,, Lawnton, QLD 4501
Deception Bay Community Hall, Deception Bay, QLD 4508
This business can travel to you.
Pine Rivers Special School, Lawnton, QLD 4501
Scarborough State School, Scarborough, QLD 4020
14 Redcliffe Gardens Drv, Unit 4, Redcliffe, QLD 4020
Unit 5/1191 Anzac Ave, Kallangur, QLD 4503
Mango Hill State School, Bonnet Parade, Mango Hill, QLD 4509
100 Maine Tce, Deception Bay, QLD 4508
4 Gomersall St, Redcliffe, QLD 4020
Klingner Rd West, Redcliffe, QLD 4020
156A First Ave, Bribie Island, QLD 4507
Dakabin State School Sheaves Rd, Dakabin, QLD 4503
Todds Rd, Lawnton State School, Lawnton, QLD 4501
383 Anzac Ave, Redcliffe, QLD 4020
Unit 3 83 Anzac Ave, Redcliffe, QLD 4020
Sportsground St, Redcliffe, QLD 4020
Unit 3 2-8 Kabi Cct, Deception Bay, QLD 4508
19 Redcliffe Gardens Dr, Clontarf, QLD 4019
Progress Rd, Burpengary, QLD 4505
Martial arts activities for kids around Moreton Bay
28 Greenore St., Bracken Ridge, QLD 4017
Isobel St, Clontarf, QLD 4019
108 Kempster St, Sandgate, QLD 4017
1/20 Redcliffe Gardens Drv, Clontarf, QLD 4019
17 Sutton Ave, Sandgate, QLD 4017
228 Bald Hills Rd, Bald Hills, QLD 4036


text:
Mootsies Tootsies Setter Wedge Sandal
Sorry, this item is sold out!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Looks like you've got more shoe shopping to do - have fun!
Item # 277781
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- View more Women's Mootsies Tootsies Shoes
By: Lexsica
Location: Glen Oaks, NY
June 30, 2015
Pretty Wedge
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wedge sandal
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Location: TOPEKA
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"Sandal is very stylish but hurts your feet after a short time due to the pressure on the ball of your foot. The heel doesn't appear that high but your foot will say different."
Click anywhere to close this.


text:
Admissions · Advising · Catalog · Financial Aid · Registrar · Scholarships
Master of Science - Management & Leadership
The deadline to submit applications for COBA Graduate Programs for Fall 2014 is Friday, July 25, 2014.
The primary mission of the Management and Leadership MS degree program is to develop the graduate student's critical thinking, problem solving, and life-long learning skills necessary to manage and lead organizations.
Tarleton State University's Master of Science degree in Management and Leadership is designed for busy adults who want to improve their knowledge, abilities, and skills in management. The program focuses on one of the most challenging responsibilities for management today - leading change. It provides students opportunities to develop critical skills in areas such as research and job analysis, recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and benefits, labor relations and organizational effectiveness. Students gain knowledge and skills that are applicable in business and not for profit entities including state and local governments and military organizations.
This program is suited for you if you are wanting:
- To deepen your understanding of how organizations should function
- To increase your academic credentials needed for promotion
- To increase your understanding of how to design and implement change within your organization
- To acquire the requisite 18 hours of graduate course work needed to teach at the undergraduate level
- To acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to help organizations through internal or external consulting
Our dedicated faculty focus on teaching and scholarly activities. At the same time, we pride ourselves in giving students personal attention and easy access. Students are the reason we exist.
The M&L program is offered in a traditional face-to-face format in Stephenville, Waco, and the Southwest Metroplex (Fort Worth). It is also available totally online through the Stephenville campus. To pursue this degree, you need a baccalaureate degree, acceptance to the College of Graduate Studies at Tarleton, internet access, basic computer skills, time that you can dedicate to completing the required course content, and the desire to complete an advanced degree that can provide opportunities for career advancement.


text:
DETROIT – From making kimchee in South Korea to collecting toys in Texas, General Motors' Global Manufacturing, Warehousing & Distribution teams and union partners are helping meet critical needs and brighten holidays in the communities where they live and work.
Whether it is Toys for Tots, Angel or Solidarity Trees, manufacturing teams in Mexico, Hungary, Spain, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Canada and the U.S. are working with local charities to provide gifts to children of all ages. Nearly $400,000 raised in 80 activities is being used to provide a gift to more than 40,000 of GM's global neighbors.
At GM's Arlington Assembly plant in Texas a yearlong collection of toys, games and books by UAW Local 276 and the GM Arlington team filled the plant's hallways by early December. The $108,000 bounty was loaded in three 18-wheeler trucks for delivery to Mission Arlington and the 8,000 families it supports.
"The partnership and care GM Arlington Assembly employees provide to Mission Arlington and the children we help is invaluable," said Tilly Burgin, executive director, Mission Arlington. "We couldn't meet the needs of our local families without them."
The Vauxhall teams at GM's Ellesmere Port and Luton facilities in England gathered food, clothing and hygiene products in baskets and donated to the elderly on limited incomes. GM de Mexico teams collected clothing, coats and blankets to help keep hundreds of people warm during the winter months.
In other communities, GM's manufacturing teams are meeting the basic needs of their friends and neighbors:
"GM employees put their hearts into their work and their communities around the world," said Tim Lee, executive vice president of Global Manufacturing and chairman of GM China. "Their personal donations of time and talent are driving a better tomorrow in all of our plant cities."
While most of the activities taking place in December are intended to help brighten the holidays, GM's manufacturing teams and unions daily address the most pressing issues facing their communities.
In the last year, GM's Global Manufacturing teams have led more than 700 activities and donated millions to support their neighbors. Their efforts make GM plant communities safer, smarter and healthier through initiatives that support public, product and workplace safety, education and economic, environmental and community health issues.
About General Motors Co.
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 31 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.
# # #


text:
Alien Ant Farm Reveals New Song 'Homage' (A Top Story)
The song pays tribute to some of Alien Ant Farm's musical heroes, such as Pixies, The Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson. Frontman Dryden Mitchell says:
"Homage is plain and simply just what the title says - a homage to various artists that have influenced us or at least provided the background to some good times in our lives." More - here.
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text:
im still supriced elfman only got two thorns in him and no other big wounds
im still supriced elfman only got two thorns in him and no other big wounds
Guess psycho power wins over intelligence in GH.
Kind of meant that she's intelligent but it seems that sometimes she lets her psycho rule over her intelligence. And while she she may be intelligent, she doesn't really so far seem "leadership intelligent". With Azuma and his somewhat similar Kenpatchi Zaraki mentality, I would say the same although he seems like a better choice than Ultear to me personally ATM.
That's the funny thing. She starts feeling on Lucy, and expects Gray to be uneasy. I would think those actions would elicit the opposite response.
Only way this works plausibly IMHO, is if she has already joined GH,she's being controlled by a member of GH, or she really is doing something incredibly stupid, and or kind of self-sacrificing to save FT or defeat GH. Don't think she could be stupid enough to think GH would accept her unless there were some sort of plans already in play. + Wonder when she had the opportunity to already be influenced
Whats up with FT these days? It came out on Fridays a while ago.
the earth quake is holding it up this week and it was move to Saturday some time ago i think because it worked better for the staff or something like that. so we have no idea when the next FT chapter will be up or when any of the regulars will be up next.
Oh yeaah that damn earthquake. Its even hurting the people outside of Japan.
Aww, never though about that, was starting to wonder where the chapters went off, but sounds logical, imagine if the author got killed during the quake or something O_o
no need to be some grim bro. mangastream said most of there stuff that they did not get up B4 the quake will be delayed for some time. so that means probably some of the stuff this week may not be up this week. no reason to panic yet.


text:
With Grammy nominations in the 'big four' categories, the band faces high future expectations.
Grammy voters can't seem to get enough fun. Going into the Feb. 10 awards show, the pop trio has a field-leading six nominations, including the "big four": best new artist, song, album and record of the year.
By any standard, Nate Ruess, Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost have set the bar high for their future. Second album Some Nights should reach a million sales soon, possibly in the week following the Grammys telecast on CBS. The group has sold more than 10 million downloads of singles We Are Young, Some Nights and the new Carry On.
Building such career momentum is one thing. Maintaining it is another matter entirely.
"There are a lot of ways for people to go off the rails if they make an impact fairly early," says Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis. "When you deal in the pop realm, it's a fickle place. There's no way around it."
STORY: Who else is in Grammy's 'big four' club?
But fun. has factors working in its favor. Before the group formed in 2008, each member developed grassroots followings in other bands (Ruess, 30, signed his first major-label record deal at 19). Their Some Nights album combined different genres to form a distinctively exuberant sound. Breakthrough hit We Are Young developed a broad audience base at alternative and adult-alternative radio formats before crossing over to mainstream top 40 airplay.
Dalton Sim, the band's manager, says they want to continue developing that audience as their career grows.
"If they can become an arena band, they want to be an arena band," Sim says. However, "we don't want to skip any steps on the touring side. We've seen other bands in similar situations that went for the big thing and got it for a minute, but it disappeared. Then they didn't really know what they were worth."
While recording the Some Nights album, fun. "tried to buck trends more than anything and make their own path," says producer Jeff Bhasker. "Artists who do that have a long career, because you're not chasing anything and falling into the trap of being hip."
The band is in the writing stage of a follow-up album that will go a long way toward proving how much staying power fun. has. "Everyone feels the next album shouldn't try to re-create Some Nights," Bhasker says. "It should create a new, surprising, pertinent statement."
How fun.'s members deal with their newfound fame may be as key as any musical direction, says Scott Lindy, program director for WSTR-FM in Atlanta.
"It's a pretty steep climb to success in a short amount of time," he says. "That's a lot for young guys to handle. If they can keep their emotions in check and remain friends, these guys could be around in 10 years. They've got the kind of talent to do it."