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Earlier in the year I had the opportunity to interview Yasuyuki Oda about his time working as a producer on Neo Geo games for SNK's Game Division Studio 1in the 90s/00s, as well as about the Neo collecting scene today.
Only a few quotations made it into the project I was working on, but there are some total gems here (particularly on location tests, production numbers and why some carts in particular are so scarce -- EURO Kizuna Encounter!).
I figured I'd post it here, as it will surely be of interest to some of you.
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Q: When did you join SNK and how did that come about? What were you doing prior to joining the company?
Yasuyuki Oda: Before joining the company, I worked a part time job at a super-market while attending a design school to study animation. After graduating I joined SNK as a pixel artist, and was promoted to game designer about 4 years later. In February of 2000, I actually left the company to join another company called SOKIAK (DIMPS). I joined SNK once again in February of 2014.
Q: What was it like working at SNK in those early years? Can you describe a typical day? Was it exciting, or stressful or something else?
YO: There was never an end to the workload in that period, so my daily routine looked like this:
Monday - Saturday
08:00 Wake-up
08:30 Clean up my desk
09:30 Work
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Work
18:00 Dinner
19:00 Work
22:00 Break (Taking a shower, etc.)
23:00 Work
04:00 Sleep
Return home briefly in the morning (only had time to go home like once a week…)
Work again from the afternoon.
As a young man I didn't think anything of this sort of schedule, but when I think back on it now it was like living the life of a "slave" from thousands of years ago. For location tests we actually helped set up the events and such, so I got even less sleep on those nights. (Modern SNK obviously doesn't have these issues! Please don't worry!)
Some of the most exciting times were leading up to and during location tests, but it was always stressful to have bugs pop up right in front of you. Sometimes the players would even get angry or make fun of us, which was tough. However, it was always a great experience seeing the players play our game with my own eyes.
By the time the game was ready for general release in the arcades, I was usually already moving onto a new project so I rarely thought about the previous games I worked on. It may seem weird to the fans, but by the time you were all enjoying the games, for most of the developers the games already felt like the far past.
Regarding the above location test anecdote, I wanted to give a bit more background information. One example I can remember happened here in Osaka at an arcade that was called NEOGEO LAND #1. In those days, there were actually three different NEOGEO LAND arcades in Osaka alone.
I don't remember what game it was exactly, but that doesn't really matter because it happened almost every time anyway! Basically, the fans would get a little angry anytime they found something like an infinite combo (an issue where players could be stuck in a simple combo with no way of escaping), a change in a character's design, or a change to a specific move or technique. Sometimes that would mean they would complain to us directly, but more often they would use the surveys and such that we left there to collect feedback as a way to write all of their complaints down. In the past we actually treated some of the super move command inputs as confidential secrets, and I actually had instances where fans would chase me down trying to pull that specific info from me.
Location tests in that period were almost like a festival, with tons of people lining up in advance of the arcade opening and staying there until midnight that night when the arcade closed. Seeing so many fans enjoy the game over an entire day was a great atmosphere and very fun for me. It was interesting seeing players so dedicated to the event that they would bring their own lunch, or seeing the neighborhood overflowing with cosplayers also attending the event.
Q: What made NEOGEO games different at that time?
YO: I believe SNK's NEOGEO games stood out because of the number of charming characters that were created and still live on in fans' minds to this day.
I feel SNK is on a different level in that respect when compared to other companies. As a result, SNK has a large number of popular characters and was able to appeal to a wide variety of tastes. This was the result of each creator paying an incredible level of attention to the designs.
One of the biggest selling points of the NEGEO was the high specs for the time, which allowed fans to enjoy arcade games at home without any hit in quality. At the time, for most home ports of arcade games there had to be significant sacrifices made before they would run on home consoles. Thanks to the large ROM cartridges the NEOGEO used, it was possible for a fan to enjoy their favorite arcade games at home only a few months after the initial arcade release.
I also think there is just the simple fact that a lot of people loved the huge and unwieldy cartridges that came with the system, especially the satisfying feeling and sound when inserting them in the system. Also, our systems did not come with what would be considered a normal controller and instead came with a controller similar to arcade sticks. I think that helped us stand out quite a bit. Thinking back, those controllers were definitely a distinguishing aspect and could easily be seen as embodying the soul of SNK.
Finally, I wanted to touch a little bit on exactly what I mean when I say the artists paid an incredible level of attention to each design.
During NEOGEO's prime, SEGA and other companies had started to roll out a ton of games using new high-spec 3D hardware. During that time SNK was still focusing on games featuring 2D sprite work, so we had to make up for being unable to use 3D camerawork to create impactful scenes by putting more work and detail into all of our characters and stages. Below, you can find some specific examples of this sort of effort:
Geese Howard:
For his super move, Raging Storm, we re-worked the animations on his fingers specifically in order to make it look as evil as possible. Also, we actually aimed for a Macho Man Randy Savage homage with some parts of his design. Specifically, we based his body type on Macho Man in his later years, trying to nail down a design where he actually looked a bit flabby on the sides.
Kim Kaphwan:
In order to get across how much of a serious, stoic character he is with a strong sense of justice, we made it so that in almost every pose or animation he had always featured a closed fist.
B. Jenet:
Although she can obviously be seen as a sexy design, she was also supposed to be a young character so we gave her some tomboyish poses and spoken lines in order to push her more as a cute character. We did our best to keep her from being simply a sexy blonde character, which is an all too common trope.
In order for our stage graphics to not just look like a world tour of famous locales we came up with the fictional city South Town, and put a lot of work into our character's backgrounds and settings in order to make them feel like living breathing people.
Q: Why were the home cartridges so expensive compared to those on rival consoles?
YO: As the home console cartridges were actually the same specs as the arcade versions, we were dealing with especially large cartridges and ROMs in order to achieve the quality we wanted. As a result, we really couldn't bring the costs down in an easy manner, and even at those costs I don't think there was a high profit margin. For a home system they were obviously priced very high, however I think the overall size and weight of them actually convinced buyers of their worth.
Q: At what point did you realise that the NEOGEO home console (AES) was becoming a collector's item?
YO: I actually only realized the extent of the market a few years ago. I just ran across it while surfing the web one day. Just for reference, an average production run for games on the AES ranged from 10,000 to 50,000 units. Some of the really big hit titles ranged from 100,000 to 150,000 units. Some of the lowest production runs were in the several hundred to 1,000-1,5000 copies. I can't really give any specific numbers for a particular game unfortunately.
Why were the production runs on some European versions of SNK games such as Ultimate 11 and Kizuna Encounter so incredibly small?
YO: For Ultimate 11, it is a pretty basic situation where the Arcade version did not sell well so they didn't produce many home cartridges.
Regarding Euro Kizuna, it's a much more interesting story. Basically, the previous game Savage Reign didn't sell well so they actually had a ton of cartridges left on hand. Kizuna Encounter was actually created by modifying those cartridges as they could share the same programming chip. So the number sent out was directly related to how many cartridges of Savage Reign were left over...
Q: When did you first start to notice that the prices on some cartridges were rising? How did you feel about this?
YO: This was also something that I only realized a few years ago. It is amazing to think that there are people collecting the systems and cartridges to this day. It is interesting to see how the titles with low production runs have continued to rise sharply in value.
Q: Why do you think prices of AES cartridges have risen so much this year in particular?
YO: Even though we have ported a lot of our legacy titles to various console archives in recent years, there is obviously something special about playing those games on MVS and AES NEOGEO systems and I think any modern release will probably cause some people to look back and become nostalgic for the games in their original form.
Thanks to the size and quality, they look great when they are lined up on a bookshelf. It's quite easy to see why they would be such a sought-after collector's item.
Q: Do you anticipate the bubble ever bursting?
YO: There really isn't a possibility to remanufacture the products, so I think it will continue on this way. I guess they are basically going to be treated similar to other antiques.
Q: How has the proliferation of bootleg / conversion carts affected the market? Can you personally tell a fake cart from a real one?
YO: I've never actually seen a pirate version, so I don't know if I could tell a fake cart from the real one. I do really hate the people making these pirate versions though.
Q: What is your attitude towards people hoarding cartridges in order to drive up demand?
YO: In some way, reselling is a core principle of capitalism, so I can't really fault them much.
However, I personally don't like this sort of thing at all. Just the other day I tried to pre-order a high quality GUNDAM figure, but it was already sold out mostly thanks to people buying multiples for the purpose of reselling. There wasn't anything I could do about it, which is the worst part.
If we are talking about the game content itself, we have always worked on releasing the titles on new hardware, however in this case it is the cartridge and case itself which is so highly valued, so there is no way for us to control it.
Q: What is your fondest moment of that time, working at SNK?
YO: The base salary was not very good, but I got a ton of bonuses...
However, at that time there weren't really strict rules on how bonuses were handed out, so it felt like we were at the mercy of our bosses' mood. Unfortunately, since I was basically living at the office for the entire year I rarely had a chance to even put that money to use! Also, I have always enjoyed the moment when I get to see the reactions from users around the world. It is also great meeting fans at game shows and other events. There is also the fact that a lot of NEOGEO fans went on to work in the game industry and I have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with them. At the same time, those sorts of conversations do remind me of my own age…
Q: Do you ever miss working in 2D?
YO: There is obviously a strong relation in most people's minds connecting SNK to 2D pixel art, however for us developers working on the games at the time we didn't really think about it much. It just felt natural to be making 2D games as we were working on the NEOGEO. Also, I personally feel like the possibility to make 2D games will always be there, so I wouldn't say I miss it yet. However, there is always a moment where we have to evaluate whether it makes business sense or not which makes me think a hobbyist or indie approach might be the best bet.
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Official SNK biog:
Fighting game producer (Game Division Studio 1) at SNK Corporation.
He was born in 1972 in Hyogo prefecture of Japan.
Oda joined SNK in 1993, and contributed as a director, game designer, and artist to numerous NEOGEO masterpieces including iconic game series such as FATAL FURY, ART OF FIGHTING, THE KING OF FIGHTERS, and more niche titles such as "KIZUNA ENCOUNTER" as well.
He joined Dimps Corporation in 2000, and participated in the development of numerous titles for BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT & CAPCOM.
He finally returned to SNK in 2014 in order to lead the development of SNK's flagship (PlayStation 4) title "THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV".


text: Admin 481 Posted June 17, 2004 (from http://www.bandai.com/news/news.cfm?wn_id=71 ) Posted: 06.15.2004 Bandai America Announces the Next Generation Tamagotchi: Tamagotchi Connection America's Favorite Digital Pets Return, Boasting Advanced Infrared Technology CYPRESS, Calif., June 15, 2004 – After much consumer and retailer anticipation, Bandai America Incorporated today confirmed that the company is launching the next generation of Tamagotchi, called "Tamagotchi Connection." The digital pet phenomenon that swept the nation more than six years ago makes its highly awaited return to the United States in August 2004, following recent successful launches in Japan and Europe. The egg-shaped toy simulates the life cycle of a pet, letting kids experience the fun and responsibility of feeding, tending to and caring for their digital pet. The advanced Tamagotchi Connection features new infrared communication functions allowing the virtual pet to become friends with other Tamagotchi, visit its friends to give gifts or play games together, and eventually have a possible second, third and fourth generation virtual pet. Tamagotchi first exploded in popularity when Bandai launched the product in 1996, selling more than 40 million units worldwide and 12 million units in the United States and Canada. Not only did Tamagotchi spur a pop culture phenomenon, but the product itself created a new toy category and prompted countless virtual pet imitators. During its peak, 15 Tamagotchi units were sold every minute in the U.S and Canada. The new Tamagotchi Connection is on track to replicate that success starting in Japan where the first product on the shelf sold out in two days. Based on market research and high consumer demand, Bandai decided to launch the advanced Tamagotchi Connection incorporating the elements of the original product with new advanced technology. According to recent Internet research conducted by Bandai, 100 percent of consumers were aware of Tamagotchi and 85 percent of respondents had played with Tamagotchi – even seven years after its original launch in Japan. "Over the past five years, we have heard Tamagotchi fans ask for the return of this brand, and we couldn't be more excited to bring back America's favorite digital pet with more interactive features and options," said Bill Beebe, senior vice president, sales and marketing at Bandai America. "We believe Tamagotchi Connection is just the product to boost toy industry sales and top holiday wish lists this fall." Infrared technology allows Tamagotchi Connection owners to become friends with other Tamagotchi owners and store a "friend list" of up to 50 friends. Once an adult, the Tamagotchi can connect with a compatible Tamagotchi friend and have a second-generation Tamagotchi that the owner can care for and nurture into an adult to create a possible third and fourth generation. With a larger display and better graphics than the original version, Tamagotchi Connection owners can care for their pet by selecting various controls to feed it food or a snack, play games with it, clean up after its messes and give it medicine when it becomes sick. The new Tamagotchi Connection will debut at retail on August 15, 2004 at a suggested retail price of $14.99. "Tamagotchi created a whole new category in toys as the originator of the virtual pet concept," said Jim Silver, publisher of Toy Book and Toy Wishes magazines. "The launch of Tamagotchi Connection will bring excitement to the toy industry as the digital pet craze resurfaces with new innovative twists and improved technology as consumers begin looking for the hottest toy for the holiday shopping season." To celebrate the return of Tamagotchi, Bandai America will release special unopened packages of Tamagotchi Connection and Tamagotchi Connection T-shirts for bid on eBay. The Tamagotchi Connection packaging and T-shirts will be specially autographed by celebrities from film, television, sports and fashion. The series of 10-day auctions will begin on Monday, June 21 with new items being added on June 22 and June 23. All proceeds will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The Foundation creates a future of hope for children and families worldwide by eradicating pediatric AIDS, providing care and treatment to people with HIV/AIDS, and accelerating the discovery of new treatments for other serious and life-threatening pediatric illnesses. For more information and to bid on the auction, please visit www.ebay.com/tamagotchi. About Bandai America Incorporated Bandai America Incorporated is a subsidiary of Bandai Co. Ltd., the third largest toy company in the world, with more than 30 group companies in 9 countries. Global interests include toys and children's entertainment, video game software, multimedia, music, full-length feature films, vending machines, trading cards, candies and licensed apparel. Bandai America Incorporated is celebrating its 26th year as the master toy licensee for some of the most popular properties and brands in children's toys and entertainment, including the Power Rangers, Teen Titans, Gundam, Astro Boy, Superior Defender, Strawberry Shortcake and Hello Kitty product lines. Bandai America is headquartered in Cypress, California, and company information is available at www.Bandai.com. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites

subset: commoncrawl


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How would Scottish Eurosceptics vote in referendum?
Opening Sequence
Smollett charged with faking racist attack
USCG officer planned mass attack: prosecutors
Supreme Court backs limits on 'excessive fines'
North Korea diplomats sidelined ahead of talks
Russia warns U.S.: keep missiles out of Europe
Samsung unveils folding phone for nearly $2,000
Google fails to disclose microphone in Nest device
Meet the sea squirt, sucking up ocean plastic
World in Pictures
Closing Sequence


text:
Max B - Ready To Ride [In Studio Performance]
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text: Control Transformer Class 2 TCT40-08E07K Description: Triad control transformers come with tamper resistant shrouds for safety and a steel bracket welded to the bottom of the transformer for ease of mounting. These transformers are design and have the safety agency recognition for application where a Class 2 transformer is necessary. Some of the applications would include, but not limited to HVAC, Control boards, Lighting, etc. Picture for illustration only!! Electrical Specifications (@25C): 1. Maximum Power: 40VA 2. *Input (BLK-WHT): 120V, 50/60 Hz, (Fuse: 0.600A Max) (BLK-RED): 240V, 50/60Hz, (Fuse: 0.200A Max) 3. Output (BLU-BLU): 12V @ 3.34Amps, (Fuse: 4.0A Max) 4. Voltage Regulation: 15% TYP @ full load to no load 5. Temperature Rise: <40°C TYP 6. Hipot: 1500VAC – Input to Output, Input & Output to Core 7. Recommended Fusing: UL Listed, 3AG time-delay type. Fuse can be use on primary or secondary. 1.80±.0.04 0.19+0.01,-0 * Only one input voltage to be applied to primary at any time. Construction: 3.13±0.02 Three flange bobbin construction with primaries and secondaries wound side by side for low capacitive coupling. Unit weight is 1.5lbs. 3.64±0.02 Agency File: UL: File E65390, UL 5085-3 (1585), Class 2 Transformer cUL: File E65390, UL 5085-3 (1585) For Canadian Use (CSA 22.2, No.66.3-06) 2.22±0.04 Schematic: BLK 2.6±0.02 BLU WHT BLU RED RoHS Compliance: As of manufacturing date February 2005, all standard products meet the requirements of 2011/65/EU, known as the RoHS initiative. As of April 7, 2008, UL standards 506 and 1585 will be migrated to UL 5085-2 and 5085-3, respectively. 0.87±0.04 * Upon printing, this document is considered "uncontrolled". Please contact Triad Magnetics' website for the most current version. Web: www.TriadMagnetics.com Phone 951-277-0757 Fax 951-277-2757 460 Harley Knox Blvd. Perris, California 92571 2.34±0.04 Publish Date: December 4, 2013 2.17±0.04 Input: 12±1" insulated leads, stripped and tinned 0.20±0.08", 18AWG stranded Output: 12±1" insulated leads, stripped and tinned 0.20±0.08", 18AWG stranded 1.55±0.02 Connections:


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A new Jaguar F-Type Coupe is coming out soon, and Jaguar wanted to advertise it to New Yorkers. How'd they do it? They bombed the F-Train. With vinyl, I mean. Not bombs.
I only noticed this while waiting (forever) for an uptown train last night as a snowstorm descended on the city, delaying some traffic. Across the station, an F-Train pulled in, covered from end-to-end by the Jaguar F-Type.
Here's a better view of what the train looked like from YouTube user Kingsbridgeviewer382:
Does that make it an F-Type wagon? Can we have one of those, please?


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This item is noncancelable and nonreturnable.
This item is not available for purchase online. Please call us at 800.606.6969.
The 25" Yorkshire Floor Lectern from Da-Lite provides a digital clock/timer, LED light, and two power outlets in a full-sized form. The lectern features a cherry veneer finish with bronze trim on the front. This lectern is for use with 220-240 VAC electrical systems only.
Rectilinear design with bronze trim
|Electrical Components
High-intensity reading light
LED clock/timer with countdown function
Two 220-240 VAC power outlets
|Power Requirements
|220 VAC, 50/60 Hz
|Reading Surface
|22.5 x 15.5" (57.1 x 39.4 cm)
|Dimensions (W x H x D)
|25.0 x 48.0 x 22.0" (63.5 x 121.9 x 55.8 cm)
|Approximately 95 lb (43 kg)


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hello friends, i'm a 4.0-4.5 looking for the same this weekend for some hitting. and possible regular hitting partners
i live in culver city, but able to travel in the area to get some playing time.
i play for fun and for the great workout, but i take it seriously at the same time =)
hope to hear from you!!
Views: 144
Replies to This Discussion
Hi Thomas,
i am close to a 4.0 and just want to hit regularly till i get back in shape.
I live in mar vista. I can play sat or sunday.
contact me at email@example.com
hey thomas. I live in westwood. I can meet you at any tennis court on the westside. What time do you wanna hit this weekend? Would today work? There's the tennis center in westwood, marine drive near penmar in venice and a couple of other places in culvery city like cheviot hills. Let me know
I am a solid 4.0 player that hits with good pace and topspin. I live near you and am available. You can text me if available at 213-247-9795
please hit me up to hit ....
Hey, I also live in Culver City.
I'm looking to hit weekday evenings. I usually play at Mar Vista courts. Email me if you're interested: email@example.com
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Winter 2009‐2010 is the year of something entirely new. For the first time ever, privately held
global footwear company New Balance and rider owned and operated 686 come together to
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Please visit www.686.com for more information and stay tuned for the announcement of an
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Sorry, terlman. I have to say that I don't like the idea of the lightning strike. It's too ... "cheesy", too dramatic. It doesn't need it.terlmann wrote:yea, need original font.
AND can we get lightning striking the top of the orb
as if it was some kinda telsa antenna?
Please note: no offence was intended in the production of this post.


text: During the 42ND Annual NHRA Gatornationals past weekend, history was made as it marked the debut of our new Challenger V10 Drag Pak in competition. Long time Mopar racer Frank Teuton of Houma Louisiana was the first racer to receive the new Package Car and he wheeled it to an astounding 9.78 elapsed time in the AA/SA class. Even though Frank only made it to the third round of competition in the Stock Eliminator category, it did not…Read More


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Root for your favorite Pittsburgh Penguins player by wearing this Sidney Crosby #87 Name and Number tee shirt. This short sleeve cotton tee shirt features a Penguins logo on the front with Crosby #87 on the back. There is will be no doubting your Penguins pride while wear this shirt!
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The CAMC Women and Children's Hospital Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Group (FDTG) involves a multidisciplinary team of specialists who offer highly-specialized care to mothers carrying babies with known birth defects that require fetal surgery and/or treatment before or after birth. The team coordinates all treatment, offering caring counseling and comprehensive support services. It works closely with a patient's physician to coordinate care and also educates other physicians about fetal conditions, fetal diagnosis and fetal surgeries and treatments.
Our services include fetal ultrasound, fetal cardiac ultrasound and our hospital is the only place in West Virginia that offers fetal MRI. The FDTG coordinates same-day subspecialist consults for patients to minimize inconvenience. Women and Children's offers private rooms, the highest-level neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with an in-house neonatologist available around the clock and pediatric surgical coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


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EMC cloud weds big data in temporary temple in Vegas
Who invited the contortionists?
EMC World EMC is seeing the cloud IT trend meet big data and be a marriage made in heaven for a storage supplier with a server virtualisation business. Let the good times roll.
The cloud is, from a storage array supplier point of view, just an extension of business as usual. It's networked storage with multi-tenancy and WAN optimisation thrown in along with potentially large scale-out possibilities – meaning shedloads more disk drives; music to a storage supplier's ears.
By pushing the private cloud concept and hybrid public/private cloud concept to businesses with traditional data centres then new server and storage array software features can be made desirable.
Cloud also depends upon virtualised servers and virtualised data centres – music to a hypervisor supplier's ears. The greatly increased I/O burden of successful cloud data centres justifies adding performance improvement developments to the arrays.
As a marketing concept cloud is everywhere and no supplier dares to deny the thing, or tries to prick the cloud hype bubble.
Big data
Big data is nothing to do with clouds, not intrinsically. The concept comes from the high-performance computing (HPC) and data warehousing areas, which needed a term to describe huge data sets normal IT processing couldn't handle. HPC developed parallel computing techniques to chunter through the billions of files or records as fast as possible. Data Warehousing developed analytic engines and specialised servers to read and analyse billions of records quickly.
In the EMC end of the storage and IT world, the company knew that unstructured data storage requirements were growing much faster than structured needs and that application areas like movie special effects, genomics, seismic data and other ones were needing massive storage capacity and I/O. Specialised niche suppliers sprang up, Isilon is one of the prominent ones.
Acquired Isilon has become EMC's big data toyboy, and is in the same business unit as Atmos, the company's cloud storage box. Big data requires big storage arrays and thousands more storage shelves are going to be sold by EMC inside Isilon systems.
Low-key stunts
We attendees hear enthusiastic pitches about VMAX this and VNX that, and there are the odd stunts, like a couple of female contortionists trying to add terabytes of capacity to a competitor's array while the EMC presenter does it oh so easily with the EMC array. It sure livens up death-by-Powerpoint.
Apart from that the stunt stuff is low-key compared to January when contortionists were squeezed into a mini, a motorcycle soared over a a row of arrays, and a great ball of tape was created. Perhaps Jeremy Burton has been told to tone it down.
EMC is an extraordinary company, there's such a broad range of products and technology now. Yet EMC has pulled off the trick of having all the products present themselves through cloud and/or big data lenses. The marketing co-ordination is uncanny, and it runs throughout the company; it's not just cosmetic. This whole EMC World affair has the air of an evangelical meeting with true believers - thousands of pilgrims - journeying to EMC's temporary temple in Las Vegas and re-affirming their faith.
Soon we'll all be leaving Las Vegas, this glitzy, glittering gulch, and EMC will be hoping that what happened in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas – that the attendees will spread out across the globe and chant Hopkinton mantras wherever they go: "We're on a journey to the cloud. The era of big data has arrived. Follow the EMC brick road."
EMC is no longer a storage company: it is a systems company. It ships embedded servers in its arrays and it ships servers packaged into appliances. The company is building up its application portfolio and, if the whispers of VMAX engines running applications become real – even Gelsinger mentioned this – then EMC is going to compete more and more with the server vendors.
What's the next step? Buying a networking supplier? Don't think so. Just think of the possibilities of storage array engines running apps. The array becomes direct-attached storage for files and blocks, meaning both NAS and SAN go away. VMware is an app, right? I've clearly been drinking too much EMC Kool-Aid. ®


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As much as I am thrilled Tim Tebow has been signed by the New England Patriots (I like the kid; sue me), I'm slightly disappointed he's employed.
Since his departure from the New York Jets, I have been compiling a list of careers he could pursue that have nothing to do with his abilities on the football field—or lack thereof, depending on which side of the white picket fence you're on. At the rate he's going, though (playing for three different teams in four years), he may want to keep these suggestions in close proximity to his vision board.
Aside from Tebow's obvious options as motivational speaker and ESPN mascot, he has so many talents and interests that the job market is as broad as his sweat-glistening chest.
Check the photo gallery above for my top 10 picks.


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Polarized Light Digital Image Gallery
Diamond Thin Films
Chemical engineers create diamond thin films by sowing carbon atoms on a surface of silicon carbide. The miniature diamonds grow into interlocking molecular tetrahedrons, basically pyramids with triangles at their base.
View a second image of the diamond thin film.
Unlike their precious status as expensive ornamental jewels, thin films of diamonds and sapphires have industrial applications. Diamonds are known as an ultra-hard material for abrasive applications and for cutting. Unbreakable coatings and computer chips that can operate at very high temperatures are some of the promised applications of diamond thin films. In an idealized perfect diamond coating, the carbon atom tetrahedrons would be the same size and would line up with one another, forming a smooth layer. Crystals that grow at different rates create an imperfect thin layer with more limited abilities.
Diamond films are expected to be the most promising of the semiconducting materials. Using chemical vapor deposition, semiconductor manufacturers can create synthesized diamond films with desired textures and surface morphologies. To improve the electronic characteristics of a diamond thin film, the engineer wishes to employ highly oriented epitaxial diamond films, instead of randomly oriented polycrystalline films. Diamond films excel in active switching devices and high-power transistors, as well as in passive sensors including thermistors, pressure sensors, and radiation detectors. Applications demanding chemical electrodes (as in chemical and biological sensors) successfully employ diamond thin film semiconductors. The heat resistance of diamond films makes them well adapted for use in high-temperature chips found in automobile and aircraft engines, and household appliances such as microwave and conventional ovens and stoves and clothes dryers. In the power and communications fields, diamond thin films feature high breakdown fields and high carrier mobility, with large saturation velocities. The future is shining on synthesized diamond thin films and they will certainly be valuable to the economy and everyday lives of millions, even if they are not as in such short supply as their natural and brilliant gemstone siblings.
Contributing Authors
Omar Alvarado, Thomas J. Fellers and Michael W. Davidson - National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, 1800 East Paul Dirac Dr., The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32310.
Questions or comments? Send us an email.
© 1995-2019 by Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, software, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.
This website is maintained by our


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leefromperth needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 202 designs submitted by 53 freelance designers.
Simply put, we're an Australian based website that reviews new cars!
The target Audience is reasonably broad:
- Australian Market
- New Car Buyers – 25 years plus
- Could assume the larger % are male
Firstly, please ignore the current website we have online (http://www.carplanet.com.au) we're simply placing a few blogs live in order to start indexing our website.
Saying this, there is no predefined brand or colour scheme. All designers have complete artistic freedom.
The main requirement is:
- The full domain name needs to be displayed: carplanet.com.au
- All original source files required
We're basically open to ideas however a couple that have floated around the office so far:
1. Integrating the motif with the domain name
2. Having a car fly around a planet, similar to the rings on Saturn
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Ancient Tundra Discovered Under Greenland Ice Sheet
A team of scientists have found organic soil that has been frozen to the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet for 2.7 million years, providing strong evidence that the ice sheet has survived many periods of global warming. WSJ's Niki Blasina reports. Photo: Joshua Brown, University of Vermont.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... eighteen scientists have found organic soil that is the frozen to the bottom of the Greenland ice sheet for two point seven million years ... the discovery led by Paul BMN a professor of geology at the University of Vermont provide strong evidence that he or she is older than previously thought ... and that it's lasted through many periods of global warming ... Greenland is a place of articulate interest to scientists and policymakers ... Insights contains more than six hundred thousand square miles and I it's ... making it the second-largest body of lights on ... at two miles deep in roughly the size of the last of the day she could have a significant influence on how fast and how high global sea levels may rise as a result of climate change ... a fitfully melts ... that's enough water juries global sea levels twenty three feet by many estimates ... knowing the history of the Greenland ice sheet help scientists better protect kids and the world's future ... the new study published in the journal Science entrenched real and actually was great millions of years ago ... looking much like the Alaskan tundra ... but if the trend she has survived other pieces of global warming and hasn't changed much in the entire time the humans that they missed the seas ... does that mean we shouldn't worry about climate change ... the scientists warned that the ad in Korean on site she actually is melting quickly ... and professor BMN says global temperatures and a half to be far more mine than during the entire period the state has since then ... if we keep on our current trajectory he she will not sit back and said in a statement ... and what's a paradox ... it's really hard to cut back on ...


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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
My First Daring Baker's Challenge...and one of my new toys
Today is officially my "coming out" day. Not in the sense of a blushing debutante (although all of you who think, or would like to think that way, are by all means welcome to do so), but in terms of being a member of the Daring Bakers.
Considering that I have waited a full month (and then some) to participate in the July challenge, I am surprised at how easily I put this task off until the very last minute. Life, and my innate knack for procrastination got into the way. However, this month at least, I have another very valid excuse for not wanting to complete my challenge sooner.
On July 26 2008, I finally received my much-coveted Canon EOS 450d!! YAY!!! I am now a proud owner of a DSLR!! However I feel compelled to warn you that I have not yet mastered the functions of this camera, nor yet feel comfortable using it, in case you expect mind blowing photos. I have lots to learn and a long way to go.
But I digress. This month's challenge is hosted by Chris of Mele Cotte, and the task is to attempt Carol Walter's Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream. I could not be more excited!! Layered gateaux are by far my favourite thing to both eat and make. I know this makes me sound a tad masochistic, but I always like a challenge. So thank you Chris, for choosing this cake!!
Oh, and although this cake looks a little on the heavy side (texture, mouthfeel, flavour etc.), it is as light as a goose down pillow!! The swiss meringue buttercream and the whipped cream really made a difference!! One thing that I am not satisfied with though, is that my layers are not perfectly and evenly straight. This, I admit, is my own fault. Due to greed I have decided to lather an excessive amount of buttercream and whipped cream filling onto the cake layers. And due to laziness I had not bothered to pipe and spread them out evenly. This resulted in the afore-mentioned effect on the cake, and in my anguish for being so careless. Oh, and on being careless, I also dunked a whole recipe's worth of praline powder into my buttercream instead of the 1/3 cup stated on the recipe. Sigh.
But at least it was delicious, right?
(J: I think it tasted really good with the full amount anyway. I don't know why you want to make it with only 1/3 cup.)
Bless his soul.
The complete recipe is available on Chris' website. It contains quite a bit of information, thus I will not post it here. But for those of you who have not attempted it, please give it a go; it's really not that difficult if you read all the instruction carefully.
PS. I will update you on my other new toy in the next post.
56 comments:
- Aparna said...
Welcome to the community.
That is quite an impressive looking cake. Your pictures are pretty good too.
- July 30, 2008 at 7:51 PM
- lachandra said...
Wow! Good job, it looks so elegant... This is just my second challenge and I'm impressed.
I'm Morgana, from Madrid.
- July 30, 2008 at 8:21 PM
- Passionate About Baking said...
Very very nice first challenge Christy...it is stunning. can see you are enjoying your new toy! I wanted to get the Canon 450D too, but then settled for the G9 which is my rcent new toy! Good for you; those pitcures are as stunning as the cake! Welcome to Db's!!
- July 30, 2008 at 8:24 PM
- Christine said...
Welcome to DB your cake is elegant and beautiful. I am trying to master my canon too!
- July 30, 2008 at 8:57 PM
Welcome to the Db's..You cake has minimal decoration and that is the beauty of your cake..good job!
- July 30, 2008 at 9:52 PM
- BC said...
Gorgeous pictures. You are right about reading carefully - it makes the recipe much easier.
- July 30, 2008 at 10:03 PM
- giz said...
What a way to come through the gates. Your cake is wonderful - the ganache is like ice and your decorating is simple yet sophisticated. Great job.
- July 30, 2008 at 10:44 PM
- Marye said...
Great job! This was a a tough challenge...but yours looks awesome.
- July 30, 2008 at 11:00 PM
- Dharm said...
Welcome to the DBs!! Your cake looks superb! Congrats too on the 450D. I have the 400D myself and I think Canon's are just great cameras.
- July 30, 2008 at 11:18 PM
- Y said...
Nice one! Looking forward to seeing what else you new camera can do! :D
- July 30, 2008 at 11:59 PM
- Speedbump Kitchen said...
Congratulations on a very successful first challenge! The cake is beautiful!
- July 31, 2008 at 12:26 AM
- Oakley Rhodes said...
Congrats! This is GORGEOUS!!!
I use flickr to upload my photos - though I've used so many that I had to pay to upgrade to a pro account. But I like the features and the upload quality.
Oh, and congrats again on the DSLR. Mine changed my life. Literally. You'll get the hang of it. promise :)
I'm going to be buying a new lens for my food photos soon - hooray for diving into our hobby with gusto and technology!
- July 31, 2008 at 12:41 AM
- Nangil Girl said...
Welcome to Daring Bakers!! You first challenge def looks like a success :)
- July 31, 2008 at 1:16 AM
- Laurie said...
Congratulations!! This is a masterpiece! :) I can't wait to see your next challenges.. :)
- July 31, 2008 at 2:25 AM
I got a Canon Rebel recently too! (But I got the 300D, because it's all I could afford.) It didn't take me long at all to figure out how to use it. Have fun with it!
- July 31, 2008 at 2:41 AM
- genkitummy said...
such pretty decorations! your cake top looks so smooth and i like the side piping!
- July 31, 2008 at 3:52 AM
- TERESA said...
wow¡¡¡¡ yOUR FIRST CHALLENGE LOOKS SO ELLEGANT¡¡¡
- July 31, 2008 at 4:06 AM
- Julie B said...
Beauty and good tasting! Fabulous. I am excited for my first Daring Bakers Challeng in August. I have been waiting a full month as well! Great job. It looks so pretty.
- July 31, 2008 at 6:19 AM
- Tartelette said...
Welcome to the Daring bakers! Your cake turned out wonderful...especially with all the praline!
- July 31, 2008 at 7:13 AM
- CoutureCarrie said...
That is an incredibly gorgeous cake - looks almost too pretty to eat (but I'll bet it was yummy!).
- July 31, 2008 at 7:30 AM
- Sara said...
Oooooh, I LOVE your decorations...so elegant! Awesome job. :-D
- July 31, 2008 at 7:31 AM
- Mrs.French said...
yum, yum, yum and congrats on the new camer. I cannot tell you haven't used it much from the photos here, they are wonderful!
- July 31, 2008 at 8:34 AM
- MaryMary said...
Your first is quite spectacular!! Welcome!
- July 31, 2008 at 9:52 AM
- Elra said...
Your first challenge is absolutely looking good and the layers look prefect to me.
- July 31, 2008 at 10:45 AM
- Lorrie said...
Welcome to the Daring Bakers! Your cake looks so pretty and classy :) a classy cake haha. You did an amazing job!
- July 31, 2008 at 12:18 PM
- Oakley Rhodes said...
I take photos in large or medium format - then use iPhoto to import/edit - then I upload to Flickr, then use the flickr photos in an imbedded html tag in my post.
Let me know if I can help any more...
The rain definitely gets hard to handle around here, but it makes summer that much more magical. I love it here because I get to really FEEL the seasons, without having too many extremes - we hardly ever get over 100 degrees in the summer, and it only ever snows for a few days a year. Winter lasted so long this year - it was in the 40's all the way up until June! We called it Junuary, but then all of a sudden the summer hit - hard. It's been a hard year for Oregon crops, but everything seems to be growing pretty well now.
As for suggestions for the dreariness - I'd say embrace it and do the staying-in-bed thing! Also, it must be nice to bake in a kitchen when it isn't freaking hot outside. Oh, and, soups!!!
- July 31, 2008 at 1:23 PM
- Vera said...
Christy, congratulations on your first challenge! And welcome to DB! The cake is lovely, very elegant! I'm sure it tasted fantastic with all this praline :)Beautiful photos as well!
- July 31, 2008 at 3:53 PM
- Tara said...
Beautiful! It looks so delicate and the ganache on top is just perfect! You've got talent!
- August 1, 2008 at 12:30 AM
- Ruth said...
Your cake is stunning and your pictures I love!!
- August 1, 2008 at 1:53 AM
- silverrock said...
Ooo I love the way you chose to decorate your cake. It looks so professional. Great job on your first DB challenge, hope to see more from you in the future!
- August 1, 2008 at 6:07 AM
- Leslie said...
welcome to the DSLR life! I too have yet to learn all of the bells on my Canon! Love your cake!
- August 1, 2008 at 6:28 AM
- pea & pear said...
Christy, looks so good!!!
I wish I had time to make it I love the way you dressed it.
Well done!!!
- August 1, 2008 at 10:56 AM
- Lunch Buckets said...
Very nicely done! Welcome to the group :)
- August 1, 2008 at 1:18 PM
- silverrock said...
Pinenuts are quite expensive over here too. A bag containing about 2 cups of the nuts will run you about $5-6. Crazy, eh?
And thanks for commenting on my perfectly even layers... the trick to it is that I divided my batter into 3 parts and baked the three layers separately in individual 9-inch pans! It takes the hassle out of trying to slice the cake after it's been baked... and removes the risk of me messing up the gateau :P
- August 1, 2008 at 1:25 PM
Welcome the the DB's. What a lovely first challenge, that cake is stunning :)
- August 1, 2008 at 9:03 PM
- Ann said...
Wow... I can't believe I missed this post! Absolutely stunning and a fabulous first DB result!Ann at Redacted Recipes
- August 2, 2008 at 6:44 AM
- MsC said...
Oooh your ganache came out SO beautiful! Well done!!
- August 2, 2008 at 9:27 AM
- Oh my! Apple pie! said...
Wow! your cake looks beautiful!
- August 2, 2008 at 10:30 PM
- Leslie said...
Welcome to Daring Bakers!!!
YOur cake is just STUNNING!!!!!
Thanks for your comment on mine!!!
- August 2, 2008 at 10:50 PM
- Eat4Fun said...
I, too, am a first time Daring Baker.
Great job on your cake! The piping along the side of the cake looks very elegant.
- August 2, 2008 at 11:47 PM
This was my first DB challenge too! but I guess yours turned out a little prettier than mine! It looks awesome! And great pictures!
- August 3, 2008 at 1:14 AM
- *fanny* said...
ok so this is drop dead gorgeous. and you must be sooo excited baout your new camera!
xx fanny
- August 3, 2008 at 2:59 AM
- Lauren said...
Welcome, and that cake looks gorgeous! Almost to good to eat!
- August 3, 2008 at 2:00 PM
- Lisa said...
Congrats on your first challenge! It looks beautiful.
- August 3, 2008 at 2:33 PM
- linda said...
Congratulations on your first challenge! Love the look of your cake, very different from the other ones.
- August 3, 2008 at 10:37 PM
- Olga said...
love how "clean" and elegant your cake looks! gosh, I wish I would have saved some to eat for later :)
- August 3, 2008 at 11:40 PM
- Jeanine said...
Welcome to the DBers! Your cake is absolutely beautiful! And your pictures are awesome now already, can't wait to see what you will be able to do once you learn how to use all the bells & whistles it has. :)
- August 4, 2008 at 12:30 AM
- Rosa's Yummy Yums said...
That cake looks very pretty! I love the neat piping job! Very well done!
- August 4, 2008 at 2:51 AM
- ~Angela~ said...
Nice usage of the DDS header! Loved the way you worked the fonts. :)
- August 4, 2008 at 3:11 AM
- Oakley Rhodes said...
Oh! Please please please come visit, move here, live here, eat here! We can totally be foodie nerds together, enjoying the rain while we heat up a kitchen!
- August 4, 2008 at 3:26 AM
- Oakley Rhodes said...
Ok, I'm tired of waiting... what's your other new toy!?
- August 4, 2008 at 12:49 PM
- Aran said...
congrats on your first challenge christy. absolutely stunning photos! welcome to the DB!
- August 5, 2008 at 2:59 PM
- Lori said...
It was a delicious cake! Your pics and cake are fabulous.
I so need a DSLR (see my crying to my husband...)
- August 5, 2008 at 9:16 PM
- Sophie said...
That's beautiful, especially for your first daring bakers challenge :). Great job! I love the little flowers on the edge of the cake, definitely adds a sweet, soft touch to it
- August 10, 2008 at 10:38 AM
congrats on the DSLR and the "cake"
- August 23, 2008 at 4:50 PM
- Paula said...
Oh I am so jealous of your camera - the photos (both they in themselves and the cake of course) are beautiful.
- February 24, 2009 at 6:15 AM