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Some call them the iGeneration. Others prefer Generation Z, Pluralists or post-Millennials.
Sociologists and marketing experts have yet to reach a consensus on what to call the children of Generation X — today's teens, tweens and tots. But they have picked a start date for the newest emerging generation: 1997.
They've also identified a few defining characteristics: They are perpetually plugged into technology, they pride themselves on being socially conscious, and they're the least religious generation in American history.
For the Catholic Church in particular, that last bit of news is cause for concern.
As a 2010 study by the Barna Group found, the religious practices of the average American teenager have rapidly declined over the past decade, with the religious practices of Catholic teenagers declining significantly more than that of their Protestant peers.
More specifically, Catholic teens today are less likely than Catholic teens in 1997 to attend church, Sunday school or small-group meetings. They're also less inclined to pray, donate money to their parish or read about their faith and far more reluctant to talk about their faith with those who don't share it.
What explains the continued decline in religious belief and practice among today's Catholic youth? Who is this rising generation? And what can both parents and parishes do to arrest the free fall in belief that increasingly defines the iGeneration?
Our Sunday Visitor put those questions to some of the most experienced and effective youth ministers serving the Church today.
In his 2005 book "Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers" (Oxford University Press, $17.95), Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith coined the term "moral therapeutic deism" to define the religious beliefs of today's typical teen.
Nine years later, the Augustine Institute's director of youth ministry and evangelization, Jim Beckman, says the term still holds true for teens in general and many Catholic teens in particular. As Beckman explained it, moral therapeutic deism combines the vision of God held by deists of old (a far-off God, removed from his creation) with the moral relativism of the post-modern world.
"The idea is that we need to be good people who live good lives, but the definition of 'good' is vague," Beckman said. "It's more oriented around feeling good than being good."
Likewise, with staggeringly high numbers of teens rejecting the idea of absolute truth — one recent study by Protestant apologist Josh McDowell put it as high as 93 percent — most believe it is up to individuals to determine what defines "feeling good."
"You could almost say they're moral individualists, rather than moral relativists," said Brian Kissinger, who has spent 10 years serving as a youth minister in Pittsburgh and northern Virginia. "They're completely comfortable holding conflicting ideas in tension with one another."
That applies to their friends' ideas, with the members of America's most diverse generation accustomed to spending time with those who hold different religious, political or cultural beliefs.
And it applies to their own ideas.
"You see teens who proclaim traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs at church, then act in a completely contrary way when they're at school or out on Friday night," Kissinger said.
"Teens did that 10 and 20 years ago too, but we saw it as being two-faced. Now, there's not even an awareness of the disconnect."
For the middle- and upper-class members of the iGeneration, life has always been a competition. Soccer, ballet, chess, drama, swimming, fencing, running — almost none of it is just for fun or enrichment anymore. Today, parents shell out big bucks for lessons and programs, which almost always come with high-pressure recitals, games and meets.
"It's all oriented toward the college application," Kissinger said. "Everything has become a competition, and if they're not excelling at one thing, they've got to find something else."
That's why those as young as 10 or 12 learn to fear failure like they fear little else.
"Some very well-intentioned people put an inordinate amount of pressure on kids," says Angela Gaughan, longtime youth minister at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Pittsburgh. "So many young people today are expected to be good at everything. You'll see these young men and women sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament with their head in their hands because they're so confused. They don't know what to do."
Along with that, across the socioeconomic spectrum, today's teens also demonstrate fear of commitment.
"I think that's where this desire to separate Jesus from the Church or be spiritual without being religious comes from," Kissinger said. "The relationship between husband and wife is supposed to reflect Christ's faithful commitment to the Church. But the institution of marriage is in shambles. How can kids want to commit to the Faith, let alone another person, when poor examples of commitment surround them?"
On the upside, the iGeneration is as socially conscious, if not more, than its generational predecessors.
"Teens want to be part of something bigger than themselves, and they think of themselves as being advocates for change," said Christopher Bartlett, who has worked in youth ministry on both the diocesan and parish levels in Texas for 12 years.
On the downside, however, their social activism isn't all that active.
"This generation is more satisfied with being advocates on social media than in the streets," Bartlett explained, noting that many view "likes" on Facebook or re-tweets on Twitter as the equivalent of visits to soup kitchens.
Similarly, just as social media gives teens the feeling of having advocated for change without working for change, it also gives them a sense of knowing more than they do.
"The Internet gives them access to information that's a mile wide and an inch deep," Beckman said. "Only they don't know it's an inch deep. They're very confident in the knowledge they have and just assume they can do another Google search if they need more."
That confidence goes hand in hand with what many perceive as a sense of entitlement.
"We saw this with the Millennials and we're seeing it even more with their successors," Beckman explained. "They believe themselves deserving of things they don't really deserve."
Most, including Beckman, lay the blame for that in large part on "helicopter" parents, who shower material gifts on their children, are increasingly prone to interfering in both school and sports (in the process shielding their children from the consequences of their actions) and who shy away from assigning chores at home or requiring teens to work at after-school jobs.
At least some blame, however, also goes to coaches, who stopped awarding trophies for excellence and started awarding them for participation, and schools, who now build self-esteem lessons into the curriculum, as well as a media culture that tailors itself to teens' every preference.
Explained Kissinger, "They don't have to listen to top 40 radio anymore; they can listen to Pandora. They don't have to watch network TV; they can stream Netflix. These things teach teens that they're the center of the universe — that life will tailor itself to their tastes and schedules."
The iGeneration may have hundreds of Facebook friends and Twitter followers, but for all their connections in virtual worlds, many struggle to form meaningful connections in the real world.
"They can post the most intimate details online, but can't have a heart-to-heart conversation with someone face to face," said Kissinger.
In part, he continued, that's social media's fault, which has made it easier for teens to protect themselves from messy, real world interactions, where rejection is more immediate and conflict has greater consequences.
A larger chunk of responsibility, however, lies with the adults in the children's lives, adults who have allowed teens to be plugged in almost since birth, put smart devices in their hands during elementary school and who don't engage with them regularly in the home.
"Parents by and large aren't talking to their kids," Beckman said. "The average 13- to 18-year-old spends nine minutes a week in meaningful conversation with their parents."
It's not just meaningful relationships, however, that teens lack. It is meaning in general.
"For years, life has been presented to them as a Choose Your Own Adventure story," said Kissinger. "They're not taught that there's a purpose to their existence, that there's a reason they're alive. Teens are pretty creative, but none of us are creative enough to make up a meaning for our life that's going to last. That leads to a real struggle to hope."
It also, said Gaughan, leads to "a hunger for truth."
"They want something deeper and more real than society is giving them," she explained. "They're not interested in fluff, and they tune you out immediately if you're not being honest. They don't want you to sugarcoat things."
On one hand, the defining characteristics of the iGeneration make it harder for parents and parishes to evangelize and catechize teens.
After all, it's difficult to call teens to a relationship with Christ when they don't know what a relationship is.
It's difficult to teach them the Faith when they think they know all there is to know.
It's difficult to help them integrate the Gospel into their everyday life when they don't see the conflict between what the Church teaches and how their peers behave.
Lastly, it's difficult for them to appreciate God's love and mercy when they see both as their birthright, not as gracious gifts no one deserves.
Yet, as Beckman pointed out, "All those poverties aren't just characteristics; they're human needs. You can't survive without intimacy. You're going to struggle without a foundation of truth. If everything is relative, how do you navigate the world?"
Accordingly, he continued, what reaches today's teens is identifying the real needs they have — the needs that aren't being met by the culture — and orienting formation around them.
That requires what evangelical Protestants call "discipling" and what Beckman calls "active mentoring." It entails establishing real, authentic relationships with teens; identifying and naming their gifts and talents; and treating them with respect, but also gently leading them to question the culture; being honest and admitting struggles; modeling what the Christian life looks like; and not pulling any punches when it comes to teaching truth.
"The teens like it that the Catholic Faith has answers to the hard questions," Gaughan said.
"It's comforting for them to know that part of our life as Catholics is that we have the answers. They thrive on that."
Emily Stimpson is an OSV contributing editor.
Copyright © 1996-2019 Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.


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European Commission
Brussels, 30 November 2012
The European Crime Prevention network (EUCPN)
The European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) was set up on 28 May 2001 and then re-established on 30 November 2009 by a Council Decision.
The EUCPN is supported by the EU through a grant from the ISEC programme worth €845.000 (covering the period mid 2001-mid 2014).
Main objectives of the EUCPN
The network aims to:
These goals are achieved through the implementation of annual Work Programmes, based on a multi-annual strategy (2010–2015).
The EUCPN consists of a Board of National Representatives (meeting 4 times a year) and is supported by a Secretariat comprising of a Coordinator, a Research Officer and an Administrative Officer.
Activities of the EUCPN
EUCPN deploys a number of activities and uses its web-site as main dissemination and communication tool (http://www.eucpn.org):
The theme for the 2012 European Crime Prevention Award and the EU Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN)'s Best Practices Annual Conference is "Community policing as a tool for Crime Prevention, for Burglaries, Domestic Violence and Juvenile Delinquency". The EPCA and the BPC will take place 4-5 December 2012 in Nicosia (Cyprus).
In addition, since 2012, the EUCPN Secretariat is producing "Thematic Papers" (2 published so far) on specific crime types and how to prevent them. In June 2012 the EUCPN Secretariat has published the first 6-monthly "European Crime Prevention Monitor" which presents information on crime situations and crime trends based on statistics, surveys and reports from different sources. The aim of these reports is to provide a quick and substantial, but selected overview of the situation and trends on crime and crime prevention. Target groups are local, national and European practitioners and policy maker.
Examples of good practices promoted by the EUCPN
The EUCPN has identified and disseminated good practices in areas such as:
Other EU initiatives to support crime prevention
The Programme for the Prevention of and Fight against Crime – ISEC (€600 million for the period 2007–2013) is funding a wide range of projects.
Over the years, this programme has supported a number of crime prevention projects in different crime areas such as: crime prevention in the urban space; prevention of domestic violence and violence against children; prevention of youth delinquency; prevention of cybercrime; crime prevention in penitentiary system; restorative justice; prevention of financial and economic crime; prevention of trafficking in human beings and prevention of drugs related crime.
Examples of such projects can be consulted on DG Home Affairs website.
In addition, crime prevention activities can also be supported by a number of other EU financial instruments, such as the 7th Framework Research Programme, structural funds and other programmes related to integration and education.
Side Bar

subset: commoncrawl


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Sunday, September 02, 2007
0 Comments:
About Me
- Name: Lawrence Christmas
- Location: Jamaica, New York, United States
A 15 year veteran of the licensing and entertainment industry, Lawrence has worked on everything from Lord Of The Rings™ to M&M's. After attending The School Of Visual Arts in New York, Lawrence was hired as head toy designer for Happiness Express Inc. While there he had the opportunity to design everything from night lights to action figures. Working for a small company also meant wearing many hats. Lawrence gained valuable experience in package design, sculpture and styleguide creation. After 5 years in the toy industry he moved on to a career in character illustration, creating styleguide art for Newline Cinema, Jim Henson Productions, and 4Kids Entertainment to name a few. Among other things he is now one of the official licensing artists for Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles, Major League Baseball and Nickelodeon's Go Diego. Not content to just draw the characters, Lawrence has also made the leap to digital animation. To date he has worked on films for the web and broadcast television for companies like ABC Networks, Nickelodeon, and VH1. Lawrence currently resides in Queens, New York where he plots to corrupt the minds of youth with silly pictures and funny books.
Previous Posts
- Pitstop Reborn
- Loosie Goosie
- Character Sketch
- Tha Madd Hattah
- Character art I did for Major League Baseball
- just a cool 70's type brutha...
- A Christmas Card Design
- Three Six Mafia
- Shinzu is coming soon..... shhhhhhh....... LOL
- quick painting


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I must do a 2d editor with opengl.
I must have a panel with a texture that occupy all the screen and over this panel i must draw line and a disk(a filled 2d circle).
I wish draw the panel at z = 0 and the lines and disk at z = 0.2 or 0.3.
may be is a good solution?
or there is a better solution?
and for the picking ?
what sense have a ray in a 2d application?


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A proposed change to the city's tree ordinance would allow the city to plant trees on private property through an easement, with the trees becoming the responsibility of the property owner after one year.
The public hearing on the proposal will be held at the City Council meeting July 31, and the Council is expected to take final action August 7.
The change would allow the Director of Parks and Recreation, with approval of the Mayor, to ask for the permission of property owners to plant one or more street trees on property adjacent to the public right-of-way. These requests would be made when there is insufficient land available for the planting and proper growth of trees in the public right-of-way or when the space between the curb and sidewalk is anticipated to be reduced through a future street project. The property owners would agree to assume the responsibility for the proper maintenance of the street trees, including watering, cultivating and mulching.
"This community prides itself on our beautiful trees, but locating street trees between the curb and the sidewalk sometimes places them at risk when the roadway is widened," said Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Johnson. "This innovative solution has been developed to insure that Lincoln residents will continue to enjoy tree-lined streets in the future."
Johnson said city staff would be able to work with property owners several years in advance of street widening so that young trees would be established prior to the existing trees being removed.
City Arborist Steve Schwab and the Community Forestry Advisory Board researched how other communities handled the situation. They worked with the City Attorney's office on the proposal to work with private property owners to establish temporary easements for street tree planting.
The city would designate the type of tree or trees to be planted from the city's approved street tree list and would also determine locations. Property owners have the right to refuse street trees just as they currently do when trees are planted on the city right-of-way.


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WW1 – Tribute to the Lafayette Squadron
envoyé par KumKum91. – L'info video en direct.
by Capt. Tony Wickman
U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs
6/1/2010 – PARIS (AFNS) — U.S. and French civilian and military leaders paid their respects to America's first combat pilots during ceremony at a memorial outside of Paris, May 27.
Gen. Roger Brady, the U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander, U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Rivkin, French Lt. Gen. Paul Fouilland, the Strategic Air Forces commander, several local elected officials and nearly 200 guests gathered at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial's central Arc de Triomphe to pay tribute to the 68 American pilots who died in service to the Allies during World War I.
READ FULL ARTICLE >>>>> www.af.mil courtesy.


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November 2013 Artist of the Month - gillbrooks
November 2, 2013 12:47 am
Tags: AOM, gillbrooks, Vue
Each month the Renderosity community votes on the Renderosity Artist Of The Month [AOM] ... November's AOM is gillbrooks!
We congratulate gillbrooks for an outstanding collection of works in the Vue Gallery!
Who is 'gillbrooks' ?
What you see is what you get! I am Gill Brooks! I live in a village in Staffordshire, England along with my husband of 25 years (will be our anniversary on the 19th of this month) and our beautiful border collie, Maya.
How long have you been working in digital art?
The first digital art I dallied with was fractals way back in about 1999 when I had my first PC. Bryce was my first 3D programme in around 2001/2 and I used it to make my own original wallpapers, screensavers and desktop themes. Terragen 1 was another early software which did great skies and water but at the time was lacking in other content. Poser followed not long after (which I got mainly to add dragons and unicorns to my scenes). I discovered Vue 4 in 2002 and the rest is history.
Do you have any traditional art experience?
In my late teens and early 20's I did quite a few paintings using oils at first, then later used acrylics. I painted mainly landscapes copied from either personal photographs or the odd greetings card! I also recreated the cover of my favourite album cover at the time - Imperial Wizard by David Essex, and a copy of the Esso Tiger! I had no formal training - just went along with the flow.
What are you currently working on?
I love Autumn and Winter scenes, so artistically, I'm working on several of those at the moment. I'm also working on a new Winter themed scrap booking kit, re-rendering and reworking a lot of my old Vue scenes. Fortunately, I keep most of my saved scenes on my hard drive.
Who, or what, inspires you?
Nature mainly. I live near to a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the smallest in the UK) and we go there often to walk our dog. I always take my camera with me for inspiration, and it's also useful for textures for my plants and trees. I especially love going up there in the Winter when all the trees are showing their 'bare bones'. Wales is another great source of inspiration, it's such a beautiful country. I must have gigabytes of photos I've taken every time we go there.
I also like to do fantasy scenes and my all time favourite fantasy artist has to be Rodney Matthews, who over the years, has done most of the album cover artwork for Magnum (English rock band).
What software is in your digital toolset aside from Vue, and why?
Photoshop has to be my main other tool. A lot of people like to do images with no postwork, but, for me, the individuality comes from the postwork. Maybe it's because I was used to working with traditional mediums, but I love to paint in extra bits or tweak the lighting here and there. In addition to that, I do like to paint using Photoshop. Flowers are one of my favourites - I find it very relaxing.
I also like my scenes to have more of a painted look, rather than a digital render, so I use other tools such as Filter Forge for creating that look.
Sometimes, if I don't have exactly what I want for my scene, I use my limited modelling skills to make them. For that I use Hexagon.
Other plant creation tools are XFrog and Onyx.
My newest tool is right up my street, too - The Plant Factory from E-On Software, the makers of Vue. It's so good to be working on a scene, decide I want a particular tree or plant and be able to open TPF and make it from scratch rather than having to work within the constraints of Vue's plant editor. "Sweet Harvest" was one of the first serious plants I created. The fruits were modelled in Hexagon and I was able to get the leaf textures from the plants that were amazingly still going strong in our garden.
What do you enjoy most about Vue?
What's not to enjoy? Even in the early days when I first started using it, it was the best programme around for creating the scenes that I love to make. Over the years, the enhancements that E-on have made to the programme keeps it the best around. Though, it's not just for nature scenes as the Vue gallery here shows. It's a great tool for many different genres. There are some wonderful Sci-Fi Vue works out there and I do admire them. I'm just not that good at them as it's not my cup of tea.
What do you think your best piece of work is and why?
From a technical point of view, I think that "Dovedale" is the best I've done so far as it looks almost like the photograph that I used for reference. One of many I've taken there as we're not that far away from Derbyshire here.
But, my personal all time favourite would have to be "The Passing."
Do you have any tips you would be willing to share on the software you use?
I have done a handful of tutorials and "making-ofs" on my blog but haven't done any recently. I really should do more !!
If anyone is new to Vue, take time out to learn the programme and discover the many things that it can do. There are many great tutorials around. One site in particular, is geekatplay.com, where I'm always popping over to see if Vladimir has posted something new.
I've heard some say that they don't like the default 4-screen layout, but just because it's default, you don't have to keep it that way. I found it strange at first, but very soon realised it was great for precise placement of elements in a scene without the need to keep changing camera. I do go for one view when I'm working very close up, which is done very simply by double-clicking that view, then the same to revert to 4 views when I'm done.
Save often! There's nothing worse than losing your work if the software crashes.
How has this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work, relationships, and learning?
In the 11 years I've been a Renderosity member I've made many wonderful friends. Most of those I've never met but there's still a strong sense of friendship there. You've only got to look through the forums to see that anyone who posts a question will almost always get a response to help them, even if the person doesn't know the answer. I've always found the members here helpful, and when I can, I like to help others.
Do you have any parting comments, or advice for other artists?
Always do what you're doing because you enjoy doing it! Don't be afraid to ask, even if you think it's a dumb question, and for me, definitely - don't take yourself too seriously :)
Not forgetting, thanks to all those who voted for me, and also to those who didn't. The list of nominees are all great artists and all winners in my opinion.
We invite you to have a further look at gillbrooks' Gallery!
Be sure to visit:
- gillbrooks' Renderosity homepage
- gillbrooks' Renderosity Gallery
- gillbrooks' Freestuff
- Renderosity Vue Gallery
Artist of the Month is highlighting a talented Renderosity artist that has been nominated by mods and admins, and voted by the community. Recognition is given to this member for their collection of works for that year.
Since we only select one AOM per month, it is not about their works for that particular month. Instead, it is about highlighting a talented artist's works for that year, and they are recognized during that month.
To learn more about Renderosity's Artist Of The Month [AOM] award, and to view our past AOM's, please visit the AOM page.
Please note: If you find the color of the text hard to read, please click on "Printer-friendly" and black text will appear on a white background.
Please take a moment to join Renderosity's Newsletter List to receive news and information from Renderosity!
Related Articles:
- Interview with Artist of the Month - Warloc07
- Artist of the Month for February is warloc07
- January Artist of the Month Mel3d - Video Gallery
- Artist of the Month for January 2019
- Artist of the Month for December is TEYON
- Artist of the Month for October, 2018 - duo
- Video Gallery & Interview with July AOM Rikomortis
- Artist of the Month for July is Rikomortis
- Artist of the Month for June, 2018 - Kordouane


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Quickly Thenais stood up. "Where was the light?" Franticly, he tuned around, looking everywhere. There was no light, not even a speck. All Thenais could see was darkness, total, complete, darkness.
Grid J-10
Location... The capitol of Classic LEGOland.
Oof--Thenais hit the ground again. Someone had bumped into him. He tried to stand up but was knocked over again. Finally he found the wall and pulled himself up. He was safe now. He knew by the bricks where he was. Slowly he made his way out of the busy street and back to his tent. What had he seen? How had he seen it? Thenais reached his tent still wondering. He sat down and scratched his head. Then he felt it. His blindfold...of course. That's why he hadn't seen it clearly. But what was he saying? By all accounts he shouldn't have seen anything. Thenais removed the blindfold. It was a useful piece of cloth in that it let people know he was blind. Most of the time he forgot that he even had it on. "It's not a very thick cloth" he thought as he pressed it between his fingers. A normal person could probably see right through it. Could it be that his sight was retuning to him? Just like he had remembered the stories. A spark of hope leapt within him. He gazed around expecting things to pop into focus.
But nothing did. Darkness again and a cold reality. "I must be going mad." Thenais thought to himself. Of course he wouldn't see again. What had he been thinking? Still, a spark of hope is a hard thing to put out and Thenais didn't put the blindfold back on. Just in case.


text:
Words: Mike Lewis
Imagine a stylish, watch-type device that not only tells the time but can track stats ranging from airtime to number of times you paddle surfing, knows what sport you're participating in automatically, spits out stats on your mobile device, and lets you build contests to one up yourself and your friends.
This futuristic idea came to the crew at NZN Labs and Vapor Studio, and they've turned their dream into reality with a new action sports-specific activity tracker called LIT, which debuted on Indiegogo April 2, raising 27,ooo dollars of its 100,000 dollar goal in just one day.
Conceived by NZN's Ricardo Camargo, Michael Ford, and Richard Zinn, the crew's goal is to do for the activity tracking market what GoPro did for camera world, and after looking through the functionality, it looks like they're onto something big.
The guys over at TransWorld Business recently sat down with the co founder and CEO of NZN labs, Michael Ford. Check out the interview HERE


text: Scott King is bringing some interesting ideas to the table concerning celebrity culture, social revolution, and Globalism. He often includes humorous elements in his work, which is hardly ever a bad thing. King has produced conceptual graphic design, print design, and installation work (large and small) with equal skill and insight. From a piece depicting Ulrike Meinhof as the Mona Lisa, to punk flyers, sculpture, and altered magazine covers, King is doing it. And he's doing it well.


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Astudy from Dedham, Mass.-based ARC Advisory Group titled "Industrial Ethernet Infrastructure Worldwide Outlook" forecasts the market for hardened industrial Ethernet switches and other types of industrial Ethernet network infrastructure will increase to almost $1 billion during the next five years. The ARC report observes strong recent development and says no barrier currently exists to rein in this above-market growth.
A 2004 ARC report measured the industrial Ethernet infrastructure market at $124 million. This latest study finds the market grew to more than $260 million in 2006, and will continue to increase 29% annually, reaching $995 million in 2011.
Although Ethernet has secured a growing share of the global automation networking market, ARC's market research confirms that numerous other types of industrial networks have also been expanding over the last several years. Budding markets for manufactured products and the explosion of new manufacturing capacity in China and other areas of Asia have led to growth among manufacturing automation companies.
Ultimately, some of the applications now served by the many industrial device networks and motion control networks will migrate to industrial Ethernet. In turn, the market for industrial Ethernet switching will grow as machine automation system designs evolve to incorporate more Ethernet-based devices.
"While Ethernet will never entirely replace device networks, it will continue to pick up more applications over time," says Harry Forbes, senior analyst at ARC Advisory Group and principal author of the report.
For more information on this ARC report, visit www.arcweb.com/res/ethernet-infra.


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Pierre-Julien Deloche - MINOX APO HG 10x43 & MD 62 ED W
Hi, Im PJ Deloche. I live in the South-East of France and am a professional archer. Ive been in the French Navy for 14 years as a lookout and with the coast guard in the maritime rescue coordination centre. In both areas of activity, optics are always around my neck or on my shoulder.
My sport is archery which I have been practicing since 2005. I was ranked no. 1 in the world for almost two years from Oct. 2013 to June 2015. To reach this accomplishment, I won 36 international medals in 45 national team selections! Now Im a professional archer, competing in official tournaments around the world, designing new archery products, and advising brands in communication and marketing.
Please go to my website to learn more about which MINOXs beauties Im using, if youre in love with the French language of course ;-)
Indoor shooting is at eighteen meters. The centre of the target is the size of a ten cent coin! My personal best was the national record only one arrow out of sixty shots outside a twenty millimetre circle!
Outdoor shooting is at fifty meters to compete in a world archery event. Im shooting at ninety meters as well in official tournaments, where in this case the centre is twelve centimetres in diameter!
My category is compound. The bow is non-Olympic as it is the youngest boy in the archery family. The Compound Bow category offers the ultimate accuracy, delivers speed, design and engineering. My category competes in European and World championships, four stages and a World Cup final. These events take place two times a year, during indoor and outdoor seasons. We participate in a lot of international tournaments as well.
As Im talking about accuracy and engineering, also design, I choose MINOX optics to bring me the daily assistance on all shots that must be confirmed between ten to ninety meters. I need to see the result on target, to see if my arrow is touching the line or not
MINOX completely fulfils this expectation with robustness, clarity and light weight designed for sharp-customers who are expecting the highest standards. I travel a lot all around the world and my 640 gram binoculars accompany me everywhere, resisting the trips and weather and offering me a superb view in wonderful countries every time.
Wherever I am, true confidence in my APO HG 10x43 binoculars for short distances and my MD 62 ED W spotting scope with the 21x42 eyepiece for long distances never fails me.
Sincerely yours in Archery, and in MINOX!
Athlete's résumé:
- 2016 indoor national champion, national rankings #1.
- 2014, 2015 two times world cup winner in Poland and China.
- 2015 three times bronze medalist, world cup in France, USA, Morocco.
- 2014 team winner world cup in Colombia.
- 2014 three times world cup silver medalist, China, Switzerland, France.
- 2013 European champion in Poland.
- 2013 world cup winner.
- 2013 world cup winner mixed team France.
- 2013 world championships silver medalist.
- 2013 world games silver medalist.
- 2013 European grand prix winner.
2016-2007: five world records, four European records, sixteen national records.
Team gold 2008 World Cup event.
Team gold 2010 and 2012 European championships.
Team silver 2009-2012 world and 2008 European championships.
Team bronze 2009 world championships.
Team silver 2007 world championships.


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There are many myths about Fedora floating around. Some of them started out as facts that have changed long ago, others start out as rumors or misunderstandings. Some are just FUD spread by people who don't like Fedora. Here, we attempt to address some of the myths we have heard.
- 1 MYTH - Fedora is not suitable for everyday desktop users
- 2 MYTH - Fedora is unstable and unreliable, just a testbed for bleeding-edge software
- 3 MYTH - Fedora isn't true to free and open source philosophy, or isn't community-driven
- 4 MYTH - Fedora doesn't include software that it could
- 5 MYTH - Installing software is difficult, and RPM is the problem
- 6 MYTH - Fedora lacks good management tools
- 7 MYTH - You have to disable SELinux to use Fedora
- 8 MYTH - Fedora should use an alternative default filesystem
MYTH - Fedora is not suitable for everyday desktop users
FACT - Fedora is packed with features that make computing easy, secure, and enjoyable for everyone.
Fedora contributors such as Red Hat provide a great deal of the functionality found in modern Linux systems, not just Fedora. Fedora integrates these technologies in a way that is cooperative with their developers, so it arguably adheres better to their design and intent.
Features in Fedora such as NetworkManager, PackageKit, and PulseAudio make it easy for anyone to enjoy the next generation of free and open source computing. Our Security team provides rapid response to software issues and ensures that users can be as safe as possible in their use of Fedora software. (Some other "user friendly" distributions lag Fedora by days, weeks, or even months in their response times to these issues.)
Our openly-gathered statistics show that Fedora has a broad range of appeal and a wide user base. And the contributions of well-known, trusted names in free and open source software like Red Hat also ensure that Fedora continues to lead the pack in innovation and usability.
MYTH - Fedora is unstable and unreliable, just a testbed for bleeding-edge software
FACT - This myth comes from misunderstanding two things:
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is derived from Fedora every few years.
- Fedora has rapid releases, a short life-cycle, and a lot of new code.
The first item means that Red Hat uses Fedora as a platform to promote the development of new technology, some of which might end up in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and be inherited by other derivative distributions. Red Hat contributes to Fedora efforts in the same way as any other contributor can. Fedora provides a platform in which any contributor, large or small, can integrate and offer technologies for a large audience of consumers. This does not mean that Fedora is untested, it simply means that Fedora is a rapidly progressing platform.
For the second item, this does mean that Fedora is often running in uncharted innovative territory, but not that it is using too-new code. The programs in Fedora are generally stable releases or well-tested pre-release versions. There are guidelines behind the inclusion of pre-release software, and thorough testing is always done prior to Fedora releases. Refer to QA for more information about our extensive quality testing practices, which, like all other Fedora teams, are open to community participation.
Each new Fedora release receives updates from the Fedora community for two subsequent releases, plus one month -- on average, about thirteen months. We do everything we can to make sure that the final products released to the general public are stable and reliable. Fedora has proven that it can be a stable, reliable, and secure platform, as shown by its popularity and broad usage. Additionally, our well-managed packaging and review process adds an extra layer of safety not found in some other distributions.
You can count on Fedora.
MYTH - Fedora isn't true to free and open source philosophy, or isn't community-driven
FACT - Red Hat is the primary sponsor of the Fedora Project, and does direct some aspects of the project, but Fedora is driven by its community of contributors.
Red Hat's position with Fedora only aids to provide stronger management and direction than many other open source projects enjoy. Red Hat's interests are the interests of the community, and the community is given a great deal of power over what happens with Fedora. As an example, Fedora has thousands of packages maintained by hundreds of volunteers from the Fedora community.
Red Hat has always contributed a huge amount of development directly back to the community. Much of this work has become part of Fedora, and is evidence of the dedication of all of the contributors to the principles of free and open source software. Refer to Red Hat contributions for more details. Because Fedora is a project that is driven by contribution, those who participate have the most say in its direction, but Red Hat goes to great lengths to encourage and accept community direction.
Fedora itself is a completely free and open source project. Fedora has not only a publicly-available git repository for all its software, but also offers source code for every piece of the project, from build systems to web sites to artwork to documentation. All code must be covered by a free and open source license for inclusion in Fedora, guaranteeing your rights to modify and redistribute the software. The only things that are controlled by Red Hat are the Fedora trademarks. These protections are in place to ensure the integrity and continued value of the Fedora name and brand for use by the Fedora community, nothing more.
MYTH - Fedora doesn't include software that it could
FACT - One of the primary aims of the Fedora Project is to provide an open operating system that can be freely distributed and modified by anyone, wherever they are in the world.
We encourage anyone who wishes to see a free and open source software product included in Fedora to join the package maintainers team, but Fedora cannot accept packages that include features with potential legal liabilities. The Forbidden items page describes some of the legally problematic packages, and lists the open source alternatives that we provide.
For example, Fedora includes several media players which support a wide range of free and open formats, but does not include any proprietary technologies. Supporting these audio and video formats allow us to ship a multimedia-capable desktop that anyone, anywhere, can use and modify. The Fedora Project realizes that some users need to use the proprietary formats that we are not free to ship, and so we provide media players that are extensible via plugins. This allows third parties that legally distribute codecs for these formats to make them available as plugin packages that work with our media players. If users still want to have proprietary plugins like MP3 or MPEG to run on their systems, they can try the Fluendo plugins.
In general, the restrictions described on the Forbidden items page are intended to protect global distribution and use of our software to the greatest possible extent. Laws vary between jurisdictions, and lawyers may have differing interpretations, requiring the Project to adhere to more restrictive rules than others might choose to apply.
MYTH - Installing software is difficult, and RPM is the problem
FACT - Fedora provides the PackageKit and yum utilities for managing software. Like apt, Red Carpet, and other Linux software management systems, yum uses repositories of packages to automatically locate, query, download, and install the latest versions of software. The yum command-line utility is actively developed, and is closely integrated with Fedora. Users that find yum difficult to use are encouraged to use PackageKit instead.
The PackageKit utility provides both a command-line and a fully-featured graphical interface for managing software. PackageKit is also a cross-distribution application, meaning it can be used on many other distributions to manage software as well. It is now included in several other distributions and its use is growing more widespread. PackageKit uses the existing yum as a backend, so all the latest improvements to yum also improve the PackageKit user's experience.
RPM itself is simply a library and a file format for software packages that support specialized features, such as digital signatures for verifying the authenticity of the packages. The supplied rpm utility enables you to perform various tasks relating to RPM packages, including installing individual software packages, but it is not the recommended method for installing software on Fedora systems.
For more details, read the draft of the Software Management Guide. To participate in revising this guide, visit the Documentation team's page on this wiki.
Many users use the obsolete phrase dependency hell in reference to a time, several years ago, when RPM software was more difficult to manage, before yum was available. Free and open source software move quickly, so opinions that software has not advanced during that time are misinformed and even dangerous to the community. This "dependency hell" has not existed for a very long time in Fedora. With advances not only in yum but also in the underlying RPM library and the inclusion in Fedora 11 of DeltaRPM support through the yum-presto plugin, Fedora software management now exceeds the capability of many other systems.
MYTH - Fedora lacks good management tools
FACT - Fedora developers follow a clear set of usability principles:
- The system should not require the user to do anything that the system can automatically do itself
- If a management tool is required, it should perform just one particular task, and do it well
- Management tools should have as many features as are required, but no unnecessary functions
- Management tools should not require exclusive control of configuration files - administrators must be able to safely manually edit configuration files if they wish
Significant effort has been invested in developing automatic hardware detection, and more recently in automatic network configuration with the NetworkManager system. Since Fedora Core 4, many USB devices will work as soon as they are plugged in, requiring no manual configuration at all.
Fedora supports common administrative tasks by providing a set of graphical utilities, collectively known as the system-config tools. These enable administrators to configure key aspects of the system, as well as popular network services. The Sabayon desktop management tool is developed on Fedora by Red Hat engineers, and follows the same design principles as the system-config tools.
Fedora also has arguably the most elegant and sophisticated installation software of any operating system. The Anaconda installer supports a wide range of methods from CD to network boot and installation over the Web. The kickstart facility makes creating and using templates for automating installation a simple task. Engineers constantly work on refining Anaconda, and extensions to this technology like Cobbler provide scalable installation and provisioning for the largest installation bases.
Fedora also supports creation of, and installation from, LiveCD discs and LiveUSB keys.
MYTH - You have to disable SELinux to use Fedora
FACT - Fedora's SELinux policy has evolved greatly over time, and many users never even know it exists because it exposes so few problems. SELinux is designed to prevent applications from doing things they shouldn't -- it's like a set of valet keys for your computer. If a flaw is suddenly exposed in software covered by SELinux, SELinux can prevent anyone exploiting the flaw from gaining access to large portions of your system. For example if someone breaks into a Web service running on your computer, they will not be able to access anything the Web server couldn't access, such as your personal email.
However, the SELinux policy also has a number of tunable booleans, which allow you to increase or decrease the amount of coverage for a service or across your whole system. These booleans allow you to deal with problematic applications with a single command, without turning off all the increased security and peace of mind that comes from SELinux.
Also, turning off SELinux using the disabled setting can have severe consequences for system upgrades or other changes in your system configuration later. When SELinux is completely disabled, your system cannot write context information along with newly created files and folders, even if that context information won't be used. If you then attempt to upgrade, recover, or otherwise operate in an SELinux-enabled environment, you may have problems. The permissive setting is more reasonable, because it will bypass SELinux's enhanced security but at least warn you when something unexpected happens. (The alert system can also be turned off either system-wide or per user if you don't want to be warned about potentially hazardous problems.)
MYTH - Fedora should use an alternative default filesystem
FACT - Fedora supports
ext3 and now
ext4 as the default filesystems because they are robust, and provides excellent performance for the normal range of systems and workloads.
Some alternative filesystems are designed to provide specialized management features and optimized performance for large-scale systems, but these do not provide greater performance than
ext3 on standard PC hardware. The
reiserfs, and
jfs filesystems are available as experimental installation options for those users and developers with advanced requirements. We welcome participation by interested developers to improve support for these filesystems.
The Reiser4 filesystem is still in development by Namesys, and does not currently fully support several key features required by Fedora users, including SELinux, ACLs (Access Control Lists), and NFS (Network File System). Namesys continues to maintain version 3 of the Reiser filesystem, but development is now focused on version 4. Version 3 of the Reiser filesystem also lacks robust support for ACLs and SELinux.
Fedora also includes experimental support for
btrfs and is actively tracking the progress of this interesting file system.


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The BlackBerry® Developer Relations team here at Research In Motion® (RIM®) continues to make amazing strides in reaching out to the developer community. This weekend – March 30th and 31st – we'll be hosting a HTML5 hackathon for students with Pace University in New York City. We collaborated with Pace University to create an opportunity for students to learn how to develop in HTML5 and take mobile apps to the next level with our BlackBerry® WebWorks™ platform.
Adam Stanley, Patrick Mollins and Erik Oros from the Developer relations team will be on-hand to help guide students as they work with the BlackBerry platform and to give them some tips and tricks, as well as lead some sessions to help these developers gain insight into our web tools.
Students can choose to develop an HTML5/BlackBerry WebWorks application around one of the topics suggested by RIM experts prior to the event or use their own imagination to come up with an app idea and work under RIM experts' guidance to implement it as a BlackBerry smartphone or BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet app. A total of three winners will be selected by a jury of three-five experts from Pace University and RIM at the end of the two days and recognized with prizes including free participation at one of RIM's upcoming developer conferences.
We're hoping that at the end of the event, students will have a working prototype or full-fledged BlackBerry application which leverages HTML5/BlackBerry WebWorks technology.
This event is intended to be the first in a series of Future Developer Days focused on student participation as part of our BlackBerry Jam Program. For more details on the BlackBerry Jam Program please visit https://bdsc.webapps.blackberry.com/devzone/jamcommunity.
Stay tuned here for more info from the event and to learn about the winning apps and developers.


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Growth hormone deficiency means the pituitary gland does not make enough growth hormone.
Alternative Names
Pituitary dwarfism; Acquired growth hormone deficiency; Isolated growth hormone deficiency; Congenital growth hormone deficiency; Panhypopituitarism
The pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain. This gland controls the body's balance of hormones. It also makes growth hormone. This hormone causes a child to grow.
Growth hormone deficiency may be present at birth (congenital). Or it may be the result of medical condition. Severe brain injury may also cause growth hormone deficiency.
Children with physical defects of the face and skull, such as
Most of the time, the cause of growth hormone deficiency is unknown.
Slow growth may first be noticed in infancy and continue through childhood. The pediatrician will usually draw the child's growth curve on a
The child will be much shorter than most children of the same age and gender. The child will still have normal body proportions though body build may be chubby. Often the child's face looks younger than children of the same age. The child will usually have normal intelligence.
In older children, puberty may come late or may not come at all, depending on the cause.
Exams and Tests
A physical examination, including weight, height, and body proportions, will show signs of slowed growth rate. The child will not follow the normal growth curves.
Testing is usually done after the pediatrician has looked into other causes of poor growth. Tests that may be done include:
Growth hormone causes the body to make insulin-like growth factor (IGF1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3). Tests can measure these growth factors.Accurate growth hormone deficiency testings involves a
Tests to measure other hormone levels may be done because lack of growth hormone may not be the only problem.
Treatment involves growth hormone shots (injections) given at home. The shots are usually given once a day. Older children can often learn how to give themselves the shot.
Treatment with growth hormone is long-term, often several years. During this time, the child needs to be seen regularly by the doctor to ensure treatment is working and to change the dosage of the medicine if needed.
Serious side effects of growth hormone treatment are rare. Common side effects include:
- Headache
- Fluid retention
- Muscle and joint aches
- Slippage of the bones at the hip
Outlook (Prognosis)
The earlier the condition is treated, the better the chance that a child will grow to near-normal adult height. Many children gain 4 or more inches over the first year and 3 or more inches during the next 2 years. The rate of growth then slowly decreases.
Growth hormone therapy does not work for all children.
Possible Complications
Left untreated, growth hormone deficiency may lead to short stature and delayed puberty.
Growth hormone deficiency can occur with deficiencies of other hormones such as those that control:
Production of thyroid hormones
Water balance in the body
Production of male and female sex hormones
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call your health care provider if your child seems abnormally short for his or her age.
Most cases are not preventable.
Review your child's growth chart with the pediatrician at each check-up. If there is concern about your child's growth rate, evaluation by a specialist is recommended.


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Talk:Scouter Knots
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
| Please familiarize yourself with Help:Talk pages before posting on discussion (a.k.a. talk) pages.
— Use headings, indentations; and please, always sign (~~~~) your posts. (See Help:Talk pages for details.)
— Ask your Scouting/advancement-related questions on our forums... several Scouters will be happy to help you.
Awards to MOVE
- I moved the Unit Leader Award of Merit from "Leader Awards" to "Honor Awards" to reflect that you are nominated/awarded the knot. The Leader knots are generally earned and leaders submit for their own recognition.
- QUESTION - Should we move the "Distinguished Commissioner Service Award" from "Honor Awards" to "Leader Awards". I say this because it's not really a "nominating situation". Councils can setup training standards, but those are standards for everyone. This knot seems more parrellel to the normal leader award knots and less like the Awards of Merit.
I should mention I did the one move because I was asked by someone to submit their name for an award of merit. They had clearly earned it, but they didn't realize it was different than the other leader awards that they could pursue themselves. :)
Awards to add
See http://usscouts.org/awards.asp, then knot detail... We need to include that full list. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Scouterdennis (talk • contribs) October 26, 2008. (Please, sign and date your posts on talk pages.)
PTC Knot
Need to include the Philmont Training Center Master's Knot (see USSP) http://usscouts.org/awards/Philmont.asp
This is a three track program. When a Scouter has Completed the the first and second tracks, the Scouter would earn the square knot. By completing thing third track the Scouter would earn a PTC square knot device.
- First Track
- Attend Philmont Training Center (PTC) as a participant.
- Second track
- 1. Take an additional Course at PTC.
- 2. Recruit 3 people to attend a PTC course.
- 3. Teach a BSA course in your district, council, area or region.
- Note: Course and participation in the course must be approved by the council or area chair prior to the course.
- Third Track
- 1. Serve as a faculty member at PTC or attend a third time as a participant.
- 2. Recruit 3 people to attend a PTC course.
- 3. Do one of the following:
- 1. Coordinate a council, area or regional cluster approved training event and coordinate and staff a promotional booth for the PTC at a council event.
- 2. Conduct a council "Philmont Family Meeting" to share PTC information and encourage family participation.
- 3. Teach a training course in a foreign county- Coordinated and approved by the BSA international division.
—Preceding unsigned comment added by Knichol (talk • contribs) July 29, 2009. (Please, sign and date your posts on talk pages.)
Speakers Bank Knot
There is also a BSA approved knot for participating in the speakers bank of a Council —Preceding unsigned comment added by Flaxin (talk • contribs) December 20, 2010. (Please, sign and date your posts on talk pages.)


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Anyway, I allowed myself to get roped into the "discussion", and of course it got into the dating of the New Testament. One fellow has even found a "Christian-friendly" source that dates the Gospels to 120-170 AD. However "friendly" that source might be, I directed him to Wikipedia on the topic:
The earliest works which came to be part of the New Testament are the letters of the Apostle Paul. Most scholars generally agree on the dating of many books in the New Testament, except for those some believe to be pseudepigraphical (i.e., those thought not to be written by their traditional authors). The Gospel of Mark is dated from as early as the 50s, although most scholars date between the range of 65 and 72.[21] Most scholars believe that Matthew and Luke were written after the composition of Mark as they make use of Mark's content. Therefore they are generally dated later than Mark although the extent is debated. Matthew is dated between 70 and 85. Luke is usually placed within 80 to 95. However a select few scholars disagree with this as Luke indicates in the book of Acts that he has already written the Gospel of Luke prior to writing the introduction to Acts. The earliest of the books of the New Testament was First Thessalonians, an epistle of Paul, written probably in A.D. 51, or possibly Galatians in 49 according to one of two theories of its writing. Of the pseudepigraphical epistles, scholars tend to place them somewhere between 70 and 150, with Second Peter usually being the latest.Now, notice 3 thinks about this publicly-edited summary of the dating of the NT:
In the 1830s German scholars of the Tübingen school dated the books as late as the third century, but the discovery of some New Testament manuscripts and fragments from the second and third centuries, one of which dates as early as A.D. 125 (Papyrus 52), disproves a third century date of composition for any book now in the New Testament. Additionally, a letter to the church at Corinth in the name of Clement of Rome in 95 quotes from 10 of the 27 books of the New Testament, and a letter to the church at Philippi in the name of Polycarp in 120 quotes from 16 books. Therefore, some of the books of the New Testament were at least in a first-draft stage, though there is negligible evidence in these quotes or among biblical manuscripts for the existence of different early drafts. Other books were probably not completed until later, if we assume they must have been quoted by Clement or Polycarp. There are, however, many discrepancies between manuscripts, though the majority of the errors are clearly errors of transcription or minor in scope.
On the other extreme is the dating proposed by John A. T. Robinson. He claimed that, since he believed none of the writings in the New Testament showed clear evidence of a knowledge of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (in A.D. 70), which Robinson thought should certainly have appeared considering the importance of that event for Jews and Christians of that time, that every book which would come to form the New Testament was therefore written before A.D. 70.[22] Given Robinson's appeal to the absence of evidence, his view is widely rejected by New Testament scholars.
[1] It lists three distinct theories about the dating of the books of the NT, and discredits the one most favorable to the Christian case. This speaks to the degree to which there has been some amendments to the article over time as it diminishes the overzealous statements of the advocating side regarding the validity of Robinson's theory. I like Robinson's theory, but it's right to say that it's an argument from silence.
[2] It also discredits the worst case for the NT as attempted by 19th century German scholarship. What's interesting about this section is that the Germans are discredited by the use of the NT by Polycarp (who lived 65AD – 155 AD), and Clement of Rome (died 99 AD), and by the archeological evidence in manuscript form. The case against the late-date of the NT has what the atheist is allegedly looking for: hard archeological evidence.
[3] The "majority" opinion, then, phrased by Wikipedia, is that the Gospels were written no later than 72 AD – a completely-conservative (in terms of "conservative estimate" not "conservative theology") estimate.
After having pointed this out to the Twe-atheists, I was called a liar (which, of course, thanks for that – of course I wrote the Wikipedia entry), and then told, "we agree then: there are no contemporary reports of Jesus." (or words to that effect)
Well, if one is looking for newspaper clipping, of course not. But let's consider something:
This is a chart which shows when stuff happened historically, and when someone thought it was about time someone wrote something down about it. It speaks to a short list of concerns:
[A] It speaks to the preservation of the manuscripts we are talking about. The amount of skepticism we should have toward the Gospels regarding their reliability based on how well they are preserved has to be minimal – unless we want to start elevating our skepticism toward Plutarch and Pliny as well.
[B] It speaks to the proximity of the Gospels to the events they report. That is, the Gospels were – even in the most conservative estimate – written down only 30 years after the events. That's entirely consistent with the practices of other historians in the ancient world.
[C] It speaks to the perception of Jesus at the time of the composition. Let's face it: the ancient world was not like our world in about a million different ways, but the two most striking differences for this examination are that they did not have mass media, and they didn't spend a lot of time doing things which didn't directly relate to staying alive – they didn't have a lot of free time due to the lack of, well, stuff. So for not one but four stories about the life of Jesus to be circulated and then copied and propagated with a high degree of concern for accuracy speaks to the perception that the earliest writers about Jesus had toward the telling of his story.
Does this prove the tales of the miraculous? Of course not. Does this demand that atheism is utterly false? Not hardly. But what it does do is speak directly to the claim that these tweeting atheists have made that Jesus was not even a person. It speaks to the kind of evidence they are and are not willing to accept to even begin to frame their own arguments – and whether they are consistent in their demand for the "scientific" and the "rational". The dating of the books speak to their origin and autheticity -- which is to say, their overall reliability.
If you want to disbelieve God, I leave it to you to do so. But you ought to first be sure you're not disbelieving God a priori and then demanding the evidence fit your own requirements – because that is, in fact, dishonest.


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bliss as being in seventh heaven in hymn, rainbow colours in seven days creations . prose . verse . poems . sonnet . haiku . senryu . rhymes . hymes
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Blush Bliss Kiss
Posted by Rachana Shakyawar
2 comments:
You have known me with my first blog Humming Today
Now this is a time for me to know more of YOU.
Since, I know no matter how much your and my life be counted as different, we still share same feelings, emotions, needs, desires and dreams!
Lets share more of rhyme & hymns of Life!
Please be free to share your ideas, questions or anything you like or even dislike about this blog/post.
I will heartily appreciate you constructive feedback!
Lets lead Life a melodic style!
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Grand Theft Wiki talk:Titles
Game Names
The biggest concern surrounding consistency here is the use of game names in text, section headings and page titles.
For example, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the full name of the game, so absolutely must be used on that page. However, on pages about that game, do we really need to use the full title. Page titles like List of Missions in Grand Theft Auto:Vice City are cumbersome to read and to type. Shortened titles like Missions in GTA Vice City are easier in both of those respects.
There are many choices of title for that page, for example:
- Missions in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City <-- Wikipedia version
- Missions in GTA: Vice City
- Missions in GTA:Vice City
- Missions in GTA Vice City <-- Current GTW version
- Missions in GTA VC
- Missions in GTA: VC
- Missions in GTA:VC
- Missions in GTAVC
- Missions in VC
- Missions in Vice City <-- refers to the city, not the game, so could be VCS and GTAVC
- Missions in Vice City (game) <-- Wikipedia sometimes does this
Sites like Wikipedia use the long "correct" titles, but pages like List of characters in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories really do look silly.
Notice that Wikipedia says "List of" at the start of the title - that is something that we do not do here on Grand Theft Wiki.
So which should we use? This is something that needs to be debated here.
- I think that we should use either Missions in GTA: Vice City, or Missions in GTA Vice City, that is formal enough, especially since this website is based on Grand Theft Auto. To add to that, Rockstar also officially uses the term GTA in the same way as Grand Theft Auto for games. Adding Grand Theft Auto, would just make more clutter in my opinion. 47 21:33, 25 March 2007 (BST)
- I agree entirely - it's not as if anybody here isn't going to know what "GTA" stands for - especially those viewing mission lists. The last question is whether or not to use the colon... GTA: Vice City or GTA Vice City? The full names MUST use a colon, but do the short names? If we do use it, then you should ALWAYS use the colon (except for GTA III and GTA IV). If we don't use the colon, then the only time we do use it is when the names are written in full. We need to make a decision here to achieve consistency. Xenon 22:53, 25 March 2007 (BST)
- Alright I see your point. Adding the colon will further cause a lot of mess, especailly with new users, because they will get confused on whether to use it or not. It is most obvious that the "GTA Vice City" is self explanatory just like "GTA III". Like I said using it for one and not the other would cause a hell of a lot of mistakes by general users.
47 01:12, 26 March 2007 (BST)
- So you think it's best to stick with what we have now, and only use the colon when the game title is written out in full? I think that is our best and simplest option. The only exceptions to that rule are the numeric titles (Grand Theft Auto 1, Grand Theft Auto 2, Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto IV) - Xenon 18:44, 26 March 2007 (BST)
Another consistency issue
After a short discussion with Gboyers, I think it's time we discussed this publicly: I feel there should be some sort of consensus arrived at regarding how we format headings in articles, in particular whether or not to use [[links]] in the actual headings themselves. I am in agreement with Gboyers on the fact that it looks better without links in headings, as it maintains a consistent flow and aesthetic. Personally, I think links are nice to have, but should be kept within text to avoid headings being of two different colors (e.g. black and blue), since we aren't going to have a link for every heading. Thoughts? EganioTalk 21:05, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
- I agree that links should be left out of headings. The purpose of a heading is to separate two topics that fit in the same article (eg. A page about a character could have ==Appearances in GTA Vice City== and ==Appearances in GTA San Andreas==). Links would distract from that purpose. If a link is necessary, I think that it should be formatted as follows:
- ==Appearances in GTA Vice City==
- In GTA Vice City...
- Thoughts? Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 23:42, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
That is what you would have to do if we disallowed links in headings. In my opinion you can rarely link too much (unless it becomes confusing). If you need to link in a header, then it probably shouldn't be a header, and it should be formatted some other way, such as a table or a few separate bulleted lists with an intro line. Gboyers talk 00:23, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
- Agreed. If it was possible to link too much, we wouldn't have a page to display pages without links. If it is possible to make a link, I think that it should be done. In my opinion, even red links are a good idea, but Gboyers may disagree because it makes the wiki look empty. {like the situation with empty headers, which I don't agree on either). How about this, take a page like Radio Stations in GTA IV. It could be formatted where every station is a header, and lists what songs are played on that station. Because every header could be a link, we could allow header links. The use of headers would simply be for a larger font. But on pages where not every header can be a link we could disallow it. So my idea is for header links to be consistent with the rest of the page. Thoughts? Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 08:20, 25 October 2008 (UTC)
Place or Game in Article Names
This discussion was imported from User talk:Gboyers. The first two posts are a direct discussion between User:Gboyers and User:Biggest gta fan ever.
Freeways in GTA IV was once called Freeways in the GTA IV rendition of Liberty City, which moved to Freeways in Liberty City in GTA IV, which a few days later I compressed to Freeways in GTA IV. I was thinking that Freeways in GTA IV would be much easier to find, and we all know that GTA IV takes place in Liberty City (anyone who wants to know about the freeways anyway). I noticed however that your the one that made Bridges in Liberty City in GTA IV, meaning that you have a reason for mentioning Liberty City? I think that one of them needs to be moved for consistency, but which one? Oh, and sorry for having one huge post and taking up all the space on your talk page again. Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 05:23, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
- I recall a decision being made on whether to mention games or cities. Normally, you'd say city (Bridges in San Andreas). But where there are multiple 3D renditons of a city, then mention the game name instead (Bridges in GTA IV). Don't bother mentioning both (unless you have to). Create redirects and/or disambigs as much as possible (whichever is appropriate). However, if a feature is only in one rendition, you can leave it as the city name (eg: Subway in Liberty City?).
- The reason for all that is because Liberty City is a place, and GTA III is a game - things to do with the place should be part of the place as much as possible. However, if Rockstar keep re-using cities, they're all going to have to be moved to the game's name. And I also don't like having different styles for different games (not that anyone would notice). So should we move to use "in GTA IV" for everything, instead of the city names? Or should we stick with using the best option, and using the 2nd best if that one is impossible, and using 3rd best if that one is impossible? Gboyers talk 05:40, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
- Firstly, your example, there is a subway in every Liberty City. Secondly, going by the current policy, we can't have Bridges in Liberty City because there are bridges in EVERY GTA game. As for the policy change, it's something that might have to be discussed, because although mentioning the place would be the absolute correct way (there are bridges in Liberty City which is in GTA IV/It would be best to place them in the city rather than the game in the name), but as the cities get re-used, we're going to find large amounts of inconsistency with the current best, or second best, or third best, etc.. For example, GTA San Andreas can have (almost) everything under the place name, games that take place in Vice City are half way there (same city in GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories/and apart from GTA 1 that's the only rendition) but Liberty City? With two completeley different (3D) renditions, and one of them being used twice, it's almost always Bridges in Liberty City in GTA III Era or Bridges in Liberty City in GTA IV. That's one thing you mentioned is that you don't like different formatting accross games, which is being done, and thinking about the future, what if there is another Vice City and San Andreas?
- A move to game name would ensure that it was kept consistent, however, what about the Liberty City in the GTA III Era. We couldn't have Bridges in GTA III because the same bridges are featured in GTA Liberty City Stories. This is why discussion is needed on the topic, does anyone have any ideas? Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 06:35, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
- For this reasoning, maybe it is just best to keep the current system at least for now if no one has any suggestions. Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 07:29, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
- That's not quite what I suggested. There are a few options - I'm going to use bridges just as an example word, not a real-life suggestion:
Number 1 2 3 4 Single Rendition Bridges in San Andreas Bridges in GTA San Andreas Bridges in San Andreas Bridges in San Andreas in GTA IV Multiple Renditions Bridges in GTA IV Bridges in GTA IV Bridges in Liberty City in GTA San Andreas Bridges in Liberty City in GTA IV Summary Place name if possible
Game name if not
Game name always Place name if possible
Place-in-game if not
Place-in-game always Pros Currently Used Consistent More descriptive
More obvious
More descriptive
Cons Inconsistent Relies on games, not place names Can be long / unneccessary Always long / unnecessary
- We currently use #1 (although #3 is sometimes used). I suggest we move to use #2, because then it is consistent, and we don't have to change things around for every new game, although it does talk about games, not places. We could use #3 or #4, but these could be a bit too long (Police Stations in Vice City in GTA Vice City Stories). I'm just glad we use "GTA" not "Grand Theft Auto". I think #2 is the most consistent, and the best to use - even if it is slightly inaccurate. Don't forget that redirects should exist, and don't forget that this applies to categories too. Thoughts? Gboyers talk 17:46, 17 November 2008 (UTC)
- Almost entirely agreed. The only problem is, relying on game name, what happens to the bridges in Vice City? We can't use Bridges in GTA Vice City because the same city (and same bridges) appears in GTA Vice City Stories. I think that this is another reason why (in the past) #1 would have been best, but with a move to #2 being an almost important change for consistency while keeping page names short, what would we do in this case? Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 04:26, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
- That is a good exception to the rule. Perhaps that could be Bridges in Vice City, with Bridges in GTA Vice City and Bridges in GTA Vice City Stories both redirecting there. Or it could just be at one of those, with the other one redirecting. I think that keeps everything factual and consistent. Just so long as you do NOT use Bridges in GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories or anything stupid!! Gboyers talk 04:52, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
- Defiantly Bridges in Vice City with the others redirecting. So we have an agreement? I guess it's time to do the task of finding all Bridges in San Andreas style articles and moving them to Bridges in GTA San Andreas. And when I moved this discussion, I kind of guessed that it would remain between us, but it was just a matter of fairness. Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 05:54, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
- Wait, in that case, it would become Bridges in Liberty City (because of GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories having the same affect of the Vice City games), defeating the purpose of the policy change because of Liberty City in GTA IV. So I think use Bridges in GTA III or Bridges in GTA Vice City and have Bridges in GTA Liberty City Stories and Bridges in GTA Vice City Stories (respectively) link back there. GTA III and GTA VC being the prominent games. Thoughts? Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 05:54, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
- Defiantly Bridges in Vice City with the others redirecting. So we have an agreement? I guess it's time to do the task of finding all Bridges in San Andreas style articles and moving them to Bridges in GTA San Andreas. And when I moved this discussion, I kind of guessed that it would remain between us, but it was just a matter of fairness. Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 05:54, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
- We can't change everything just for one example - it's not just bridges I'm talking about, it's freeways, subway, rivers, islands, police stations, hospitals, airports, trees etc etc. For bridges, you would have: Bridges in Liberty City (for 3 and LCS, with redirects) and Bridges in GTA IV (use "did you mean" links at the top), also Bridges in Vice City (with redirects) and Bridges in GTA San Andreas. That should do it! The only other option is the one you suggested (redirecting Bridges in GTA Liberty City Stories to Bridges in GTA III, and using that for both games). Feel free to cheat (like that), but don't forget those redirects!! Gboyers talk 06:42, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
using placenames is good for GTA111 era games but the liberty city has been redesigned in GTA IV theretor uing placenames would cauce confusion Chip2007 1:22PM 18 november 2008 GMT
- To me, it seems like the most logical thing to do would be (using the "Bridges" example) to have "Bridges in (game)" and if a game re-uses the same city, have the later one redirect to the earlier one. So, for instance, "Bridges in GTA Liberty City Stories" would redirect to "Bridges in GTA III", but "Bridges in GTA IV" would be a separate page. This will also allow for easier integration of new pages for later games. "Bridges in GTA Vice City Stories" would redirect to "Bridges in GTA Vice City", etc. I would think any "Bridges in (city)" should be disambigs, linking to the different "Bridges in (game)" pages. --GuildKnightTalk2me 20:34, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
- Yea, I was actually on my way back here to say, "Don't just say feel free to cheat, we need to choose one or the other." But I do like the cheat idea. So Agreed. Doeas anyone else have any comments or have we come to an agreement? (oh and Gboyers, turns out it was a good idea to move the discussion to a public place). Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 22:13, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
OK, No one has objected, I'm going to start the moving tomorow, placing this talk page in Recent Edits and giving people one last chance to comment. Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 01:46, 24 November 2008 (UTC)
Chinatown Wars
Similar to one of the problems above, I have been seeing edits like this one to add mention of GTA CW (The Statue of Happiness is a tourist attraction in GTA IV and GTA CW). Seems GTA IV and GTA CW take place in the same city, we are going to get alot of pages about locations saying this. So should it be enough to say ...in Liberty City in GTA IV... which automatically means it's in CW (just click the link to LC in IV to find that out), using GTA IV as the game mentioned because like we said above (saying Bridges in GTA III even though they are in LCS as well) because GTA IV was the first released (and more prominent game)? As for the fact that Alderney doesn't exist in CW, those pages don't say in Liberty City in GTA IV because Alderney isn't in Liberty City, the pages simply say in Alderney in GTA IV, so there is no problem with what is/isn't in both. For something that is only in CW (because CW does have some of it's own "locations"), it would say in Liberty City in GTA CW. Thoughts? Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 02:29, 18 April 2009 (UTC)
- I think GTA Chinatown Wars is part of the GTA IV Era. So just like we have Liberty City in GTA III Era, we need Liberty City in GTA IV Era. That includes GTA IV, the DLC, and CW. So the Statue of Happiness is in LC in the IV era, rather than in LC in IV. We have separate pages for Liberty City in GTA III and Liberty City in GTA Liberty City Stories only to describe the differences. We mention things are "in GTA III and GTA LCS" quite a lot, and it's never been a problem, but the above is even simpler. That make sense? Gboyers talk 13:02, 18 April 2009 (UTC)
- OK, that makes sense, just one thing, Liberty City in GTA III and Liberty City in GTA Liberty City Stories both redirect to Liberty City in GTA III Era (we don't have separate articles). Right now, Liberty City in GTA Chinatown Wars already redirects to Liberty City in GTA IV, so should we just move that to Liberty City in GTA IV Era, and then give it some work to add the CW stuff? Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 06:23, 19 April 2009 (UTC)
- That's the best way to start, yes. If you later decide that there is enough for a separate article, say "for more detail go to LC in GTA III" and on those articles just say "its the same as LC in III Era but...." Gboyers talk 12:18, 19 April 2009 (UTC)}
Image names
I'm in disagreement with the current idea of jumbling all wordings in an image name into one big mess (i.e. [1] and [2]). It's less readable, even with capitalisation, and is even difficult to manage when used in large numbers in galleries. Isn't it a point for an image name to provide clarity? What happened to using parenthesis? - ZS 17:51, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- In my own opinion there is nothing wrong with the current re-naming of image files and there is no problem in reading the file names. This is also consistant with the names of character files, which was carried out over half a year due to my abscence from Grand Theft Wiki, and there was no criticism of the naming for those file names so I continued to rename files in this fashion. The renaming of images provides greater clarity from a name standpoint and there is no real problem with reading them, again, from my own experience of reading the file names. As for parenthesis, as explained above, there has been a large period of time to criticise this naming style and, as it wasn't taken, I continued to rename images in this fashion. A-Dust 18:09, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- I think having really long names can be very awkward, particularly when looking at the code. For example, names like File:Pony (GTASA) (Life's a Beach) (rear quarter).jpg or File:Yakuza Stinger (GTALCS) (rear).jpg are long and confusing, when looking at code. The names themselves provide clarity, but it's not hard to find out what an image shows (as generally it will be showing on the page). I think it would be hardest for inexperienced people who see
[[File:Pony (GTASA) (Life's a Beach) (rear quarter).jpg|thumb|250|A [[pony]] in [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas|GTA SA]]]]and have NO idea which bits to copy, which bits to change. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anyone tries to guess image names, so they don't need to be THAT consistent? I think keeping image names simpler (without loads of spaces and brackets) would help make things easier for everyone. How about a format like File:Pony-GTASA.jpg, which uses no confusing spaces or brackets. Extra images (such as rear) could be simply added on like File:Pony-GTASA-rear.jpg. I think that makes everything more obvious? Gboyers talk 18:42, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- I think having really long names can be very awkward, particularly when looking at the code. For example, names like File:Pony (GTASA) (Life's a Beach) (rear quarter).jpg or File:Yakuza Stinger (GTALCS) (rear).jpg are long and confusing, when looking at code. The names themselves provide clarity, but it's not hard to find out what an image shows (as generally it will be showing on the page). I think it would be hardest for inexperienced people who see
- A hyphen approach is good. It minimizes word bundles and should substitute the spaces well, because it's understandable how it can be confused as being part of the caption. However, we still have to be specific because vehicles in particular come in multiple variants. "Image:Pony (GTASA) (Life's a Beach) (rear quarter).jpg" is more of an exception as it can only be associated with a mission (regular Ponies in GTASA may also come with a similar stereo system as load). Surely it can be shortened to "Image:Pony-GTASA-LifesABeach-rear.jpg". Names for standard vehicle images should be more straightforward, as you stated with "Pony-GTASA-rear.jpg". - ZS 18:59, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- Just a note to say that vehicle images could keep the rear quarter section by adding RQV to the name. As for the images, I can start to change the images and add a hyphen if that is best for everyone. As I said above, I have no problem with it but others may well have. As for image names, as I argued when changing the character images, the policy of consistency should be enforced, otherwise what is the point in having it in the first place? I also have no problems with continuing this. I'd also like to raise the issue of using GTA3 and GTA4 in image names. Surely this should be GTAIII and GTAIV, as that is the name of the game. A-Dust 19:09, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- Since when is Roman numerals simpler than Arabic ones? It might be understandable for template names, but given the need to balance simplicity with specification, this may seem more trivial. Anyway, The hyphen format works well (see Burrito [3] article) so it should be fair enough. - ZS 19:22, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
I'll start to change the character and mission file names. And you don't have to move the file names if you don't want to as I'm than willing to continue the project on my own. A-Dust 19:30, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- I'd strongly suggesty waiting until we have agreed before changing everything (to avoid doing it twice). "RQV" won't make any sense to most people, it's not as if "rear quarter" is a common saying (however accurate). Adding "-rear" is adequate. On this wiki (See Project:Consistency) we use "GTA_III" not "GTA3", but I suppose we could remove the space for these short image names. And keep "rear" in lowercase, everything else in their normal cases. So that would make File:Pony-GTAIII-rear.jpg Gboyers talk 19:44, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- I still find it ridiculous that this guideline is too stringent. This part of the image name is supposed to be simple to understand. - ZS 20:02, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
Are you saying that "GTAIV" is too hard to understand? That's what it's called, and how it always should be abbreviated, and is easily recognisable. I don't really see the problem, compared with loads of spaces and brackets and non-obvious abbreviations like "RQV". Gboyers talk 20:14, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- It pretty much carries the same meaning, with one or two less characters. Besides, "front" or "rear" has long been used. I never mentioned using FQV or RQV as an abbreviation. - ZS 20:23, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- A-Dust did! But don't worry, I'm not trying to blame anyone for anything, just trying to figure out what would be best. Although GTA4 means the same as GTA IV, we've always tried to remain consistent and stick with one or the other (we chose IV). I also think it helps people realise it's the game's name, not "game number 4" (eg many people wrongly call GTA Vice City "GTA4", because it came after GTA III). People going around putting GTA3 and GTA4 makes things clash, especially when we end up with misnamed pages. However, maybe it would be simpler to use GTA4 with these short image names? Gboyers talk 20:28, January 21, 2010 (UTC)
- It's simpler, but do keep in mind these are just image names. People tend only to be concerned about whether they can easily understand what meaning the names carry. If they want to be sure about accuracy of game titles, they consult the article itself. And such regulation is really non-essential in larger Wikias such as the Fallout wiki, TF2 wiki, or the WOWwiki. Besides, lots of game and movie series are just as confusing chronologically as GTA, so it's more unlikely now that people will confuse GTA4 as GTAVC. - ZS 09:35, January 22, 2010 (UTC)
Fair enough. I just thought it was a little silly insisting on IV on the wiki and 4 on images. But if you genuinely think that
[[File:Pony-GTA4-rear.jpg|thumb|250|A [[pony]] in [[Grand Theft Auto IV|GTA IV]]]] is significantly easier to read than
[[File:Pony-GTAIV-rear.jpg|thumb|250|A [[pony]] in [[Grand Theft Auto IV|GTA IV]]]], then I'll trust your judgement. Anyone else got any comments before we proceed? Gboyers talk 12:24, January 22, 2010 (UTC)
- I have one, although it may be a little late. Like Image:Alderneysafehouse-GTA4-exterior.jpg as an example. As mentioned before we try not to have the same naming structure as Wikipedia, them having lowercase article whereas we have uppercase but wherever hyphens aren't used I do think it would be easier to read Image:AlderneySafehouse-GTA4-exterior.jpg as opposed to Image:Alderneysafehouse-GTA4-exterior.jpg. But then again we do need to keep the names as close to the in-game spelling as we possibly can. And some image names with punctuation marks are a little confusing. I personally think that images should not have these. Oh, and I do think that GTAIV, placed in the title would be better than GTA4. Such names on mission names. Gta-mysteries


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Camera Geekery
Hasselblad Boutique Tokyo4 min read
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Jan 3rd 2013
Know How... 26
Get Fit with Tech
We'll help you stay in shape using technology. There are lot of options out there, so we took a look at a whole bunch so you can find the right tech tool for the job.
Wearable Gadgets
Fitbit: There are two models available now. The Fitbit Zip, $59. Fitbit One, $99. They both tracks steps and flights of stairs. Additionally there is a web component where you can compete with friends. The newest model is the "Fitbit One" with a clip housing and it also wirelessly syncs to BT 4.0 phones and computers. It tracks steps taken, stairs climbed, the amount of hours slept, your quality of sleep, and calories burned.
Nike+ FuelBand: This device shows you steps taken, calories burned, Nike's "Fuel points," but does not track sleep. Fuel points is Nike's metric to show your activity. It also syncs wirelessly via Bluetooth. The FuelBand is water resistant, but not waterproof. Its built in display gives you read outs of the time and your Fuel points.
Jawbone UP: The first model was a disaster, but there's a new one out. The company says the new one is waterproof and is much tougher than the old one. The device tracks your steps and sleep. The Jawbone UP works with in conjunciton with an iOS app that lets you track food intake by taking photos of what you eat or scan a bar code of packaged foods with the app (app is mobile only, and there is no web component). Unfortunately, syncing is NOT wireless - the device syncs using your headphone jack. There is no display on the UP either.
Other Gadgets
Withings Scale: People think of this as the tweeting scale, but that feature can be turned off. The scale tracks up to 8 multiple users. There is a web interface so you can see metrics about your weight, BMI, and body mass composition. Withings also offers apps for iOS and Android. There are no subscription payments necessary and the Withings Scale can connect with a number of devices and services like the Fitbit, BodyMedia FIT, and RunKeeper.
FitBit Aria: The Aria does similar things as the Withings Scale. you can include a food log. This scale also tracks up to eight users. There is a web component that allows you to compete with your friends. Additionally there are iOS and Android apps. The scale works with a number of services like MyFitnessPal and Microsoft HealthVault.
Fitocracy: Fitocracy is a free online community dedicated to fitness. It lets you log all your activities in a lot of detail. You can break down your workouts to their core components, logging every little thing. You also have the ability to see other people's activities and find other workouts if you're looking for a routine. There's also all kinds of gamification here - so if you like achievements, you'll like Fitocracy.
Joe's Goals: Iyaz's personal favorite. It's a simple chain calendar that lets you simply keep track of things. You can define your goals and keep logs. It doesn't have a group function, but you can share your data using a badge which is just a piece of embeddable HTML for your website.
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