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Another segment of a project The Rise and Fall of a Saloon In The Latter Part off The Twentieth Century. These excerpts are not chronological. In fact very little logic prevails…
There are four pricings on liquor in most full service bars depending on the cost of the product used. "Well" is the lowest price. These liquors are usually found in the "speed rack", the array of bottles kept in wire racks at bartender thigh level for easy access.
After that come your "Call" which may or may not be included in the speed rack depending on the saloon. Usually, though, "Call" brands were displayed so the customer could see and recognize the brand. "Call" is followed by "Premium" in pricing and sometimes "Super Premium." which are progressively more expensive. These last two categories are sometimes kept in a visually exclusive area so the customer can feel his order has Extra Special Status.
Pour Cost
There is a thing called "Pour Cost" that is critically important to a saloon's fiscal health. This is the calculative guide saloonkeepers use to figure out approximately how much it costs to pour each drink.
From the web we have this definition:
"…Pour Cost – jargon for cost percentage – is a reliable indicator of profit/loss performance.
Pour cost is obtained by dividing the cost of depleted inventory by the gross sales generated over a given period of time. Because liquor, beer and wine sell at radically different cost percentages, each must be calculated separately for the process to have true significance…"
To allow The Bar to apply this formula part of the closing bartender's duty was to line up every bottle of alcohol emptied that day on the end of the bar. This is called the "Breakage."
Here we have a little historical interlude…
The history of the word 'breakage' allegedly came about after Prohibition. It was a common practice in the early alcohol industry to re-use bottles or worse, refill an empty bottle having an expensive brand's label with an inferior product. Laws were passed that required saloons to at least break the necks or shatter the empties at end of their service to make them unusable. Hence the term "Breakage."
The empties are itemized on a clipboarded chart, brand by brand according to its rank in the call order. Beer tallies are by cases sold or kegs emptied as are the mixing liquids such as Coke and Tonic etc. These numbers are totaled up by the resident number cruncher, The Formula is applied and the end result is the Pour Cost.
Ideally, in an efficiently run saloon the pour cost would be around .22 or less meaning out of every dollar taken in, twenty two cents is spent on the actual amount of liquor used in pouring a drink.
Some saloons, like The Other Place opted for dispensing guns, a buttoned control that precisely measures the alcohol dispensed.
T.O. did not like dispensing guns. He liked the idea of his customers actually seeing the label on the bottle as the drink is poured.
T.O.'s pour cost was never anywhere near the ideal.
Pay attention, kiddies… Pour Cost and Profit… is the true Bottom Line. That which actually determines the Rise and Fall of a Saloon.
There are three ways to dispense liquor using a Bartender.
You have your metered guns. The most precise and controllable. Also the most impersonal.
You can have a bartender use a measuring cup called a "jigger". The 'jigger' is a double sided metal measure. One cuplet measures one ounce and the other side measures and ounce and a half. A shot glass is a more attractive way of measuring the amount poured. Some shot glasses used for this had a white line that the bartender would of course pour past that line for effect.
Or you could have your bartender pour the drink without any measuring devices at all.
This is called "Free Pour".
All pouring was assisted using special spouts "pour spouts", inserted into the neck of the bottles that are designed to keep the flow of liquid steady and controlled no matter at what angle the bottle is held. It uses the simple physics of routing the liquid through a tube narrower than the open neck of the bottle. This allowed a truly skilled bartender to vertically up-end the bottle and vary the distance the liquid actually flowed in impressive flourishes to delight the eye. The spouts were designed to make a little cheerful sounding, bubbly noise, as they dispensed liquor. In reality they were still dispensing the same amount of liquid that would be dispensed if poured in a more staid, measured, method.
Free Pour, to the viewer's eye, looks to be more generous than a measured amount, carefully poured, using the jigger/shotglass method and certainly more interesting than that generated by a dispensing gun.
Even so, a skilled Free Pour actually dispenses the same amount if the gun is calibrated to the industry standard.. Notice the word "skilled". I've used the word 'skill' a few times already because skill and being skilled is extremely important. People tend to ignore that word but in this case, skill affects the money line.
The Bar and The Other Place and most of the local saloons were expected to pour an ounce and a half of liquor when a drink recipe called for a "jigger" or "a shot" of alcohol. Free Pour was the ability, nay, the skill, to pour that ounce and a half without using a 'jigger', shot glass or other measuring device and come up with exactly an ounce and a half of booze in the drink.
At The Bar Free Pour amount was measured by cadence, usually by counting to four in one second increments.
Bartenders in training were given an empty liquor bottle and a pour spout and sent home to practice until they got Free Pour down correctly.
A visually clever way to test this was to pour into a brandy balloon glass and, having done so, tip the glass gently so it lies on its side.
A perfect ounce and a half Free Pour will go to, but not run over, the edge of the glass. This is a clever technique visually but a better test is more realistic. That is to Free Pour into different sized containers, with and without ice, then measuring the results in a measuring device of known value… a shot glass or jigger… to see just how accurate the bartender's pouring wrist is.
There were problems with a Free Pour. Some people never got the hang of it and either wasted booze or shorted the customer. Neither was good for business and it didn't help the bottom line.
It's amazing how complicated some people can make counting to four. Equally amazing how some cannot achieve this simple act at all. If a bartender didn't work well under pressure of a crowded, loud, night the Free Pour (and the Pour Cost) could be affected adversely.
The bartenders hated to be denied, however, and regarded having to use a shot glass to pour a drink to be like using training wheels on a bike. They also felt they could do better with tips using Free Pour because it looked more generous than scrupulously measuring using a gadget. This is particularly true if the bartender has sparkle and knows how to flourish and exploit the time it takes the pour to finish.
A well executed Free Pour was an asset but a bad one was its own trap because seasoned observers knew how to count to four too and no one likes to be short poured…
If your bar indulged in Free Pour you had a very real danger of over-pouring by a bartender looking to increase the tip factor by appearing to favor a customer.
"Have a Drink On The House!"
Pour Cost is affected by pouring 'free' drinks because, of course the product is not free.
It is paid for by the owner.
Some comping is necessary for good public relations. In fact T.O. had a "P/R key" (for 'Public Relations') on his register to try to keep track of the "on the house" drinks. Most bars make a provision for this. This could be abused by a less scrupled bartender looking to increase their tips by pouring a drink "on the house" for a customer who tips well. Some would do this without even bothering to ring it on the P/R key.
Then there are your surveys:
"…according to a survey done by the California Restaurant Association, the average bar or restaurant loses–simply loses–25 percent of its beverage alcohol. One-quarter of the wine, beer and spirits in the average restaurant or bar simply disappears, due to spillage, over pouring, mistakes and outright theft…"
Ah, yes…theft! Sometimes…sometimes a bartender at The Bar goes a little farther to have more than a small effect on Pour Cost. And that was due to the fact that the bartenders had their hands on company cash. They handled T.O.'s actual money. Money is always a temptive thing…
Bartenders, being as they are, in a trade that is somewhat nomadic at times, occasionally produced someone who "skimmed a little," using whatever rationale they conjured up to ease it in their mind.
And there were those who flat out stole from The House. If the pour cost was calculated weekly, thievery would eventually be spotted because it caused strange fluxuations in the Pour Cost. Even so, a skilled thief could cause a lot of damage in the long run before they were found out and terminated.
The losses incurred came, of course, out of the owner's pocket.
After your Pour Cost is determined then comes The Open Palms.
Your city license, your state liquor license, cabaret license, BMI/ASCAP licensing, state and local taxes, 'contributions' to Social Security and Workman's Comp, liability insurance, lease/rental of the actual premises, such money spent on necessities as utilities, gas, garbage disposal, ice machine servicing, refrigeration costs. Quite a list of hands wanting to get paid First.
Then comes your inventory. In California, if you ran out of a certain brand of booze you couldn't shop the local stores for the best price. No. You had to buy from a state licensed supplier.
Inventory could be even more costly if your saloon, like The Bar, included food service.
You must also add extraneous repairs as might be needed which include the obligatory visit from your local Roto-Rooter four times a year to snake out the toilets.
Lest we forget there must be salaries paid to the crew. And with that comes all the fun and taxes that come with payroll.
After all that is paid and/or accounted for the amount left over, if any, is profit.

subset: commoncrawl


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At the San Francisco SPCA we strive to be welcoming to everyone. We welcome you regardless of your race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, political persuasion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and national origin, to name but a few. We believe the human/animal bond is universal and knows no boundaries. Diversity brings innovative ideas, perspectives and opinions and we want these to help us continually strive to be better at what we do.
We welcome you as a staff member, a client, a volunteer, a donor, or through any other affiliation with the SF SPCA as long as you come in good faith and care about animals. Our mission is to serve the animals and people of San Francisco and beyond and we strive to have an SF SPCA community that is as diverse as the Bay Area.
Equal Opportunity
The San Francisco SPCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a work environment that values diversity and inclusiveness. We are committed to equal employment opportunity and fair treatment of all individuals, both applicants and employees, based on job-related qualifications and without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, family care or medical leave status, marital status, domestic partnership status, citizenship, military service status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law or local ordinance.
Zero Means Zero
At the San Francisco SPCA, we work hard to make sure that we treat our clients, donors, volunteers, and each other with integrity and respect, regardless of appearance, skin color, gender, sexual orientation or any other such distinction. Every staff member is responsible for helping prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace. We have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.


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Welcome to Prtukrishna School
Our purpose is to train leaders our country needs to have a prosperous tomorrow. Our never ending belief in our students and faculty has led us to be recognized as one of the highest quality schools in academia.
At our school, students flourish in a kind and supportive environment. We focus on structuring proper class sizes and a program of instruction that is both individualized while meeting if not exceeding accredited standards. Our teachers help students reach their ultimate academic potential and succeed in achieving their goals.
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Our students are school-age students, seek to develop the skills and competencies specifically provided in our formal school curricula.
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Our tutors, teachers are professionals who meet experience in their area of work and the ability to impart knowledge and skills accurately and lead our students to successful learning processes in theory and practice.
We invite you to learn more about our academic offerings, here on our web site. not hesitate to contact us to provide more information. We are happy to provide advice on our programs.


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In Less than Three Weeks, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Has Secured Multiyear Deals for the Fall 2010 Off-Network Launch of The New Adventures of Old Christine, Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm
June 08, 2009
After three weeks in the marketplace, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD) has sold the broadcast television syndication rights for Warner Bros. Television's critically acclaimed sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine , starring Emmy� Award winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus, to stations representing more than 70% of the country in multiyear deals for a fall 2010 off-network syndicated launch. Additionally, WBDTD has cleared the award-winning and acclaimed HBO comedy series Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm in more than 70% of the country, one month after it was announced that the two series would debut in fall 2010 with Tribune Broadcasting serving as the primary launch group. The announcement was made today by Ken Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
WBDTD has licensed the first five seasons of The New Adventures of Old Christine (including the upcoming fifth network season) to Tribune Broadcasting's owned-and-operated stations in New York (WPIX-TV) and Los Angeles (KTLA-TV), and to Weigel Broadcasting's WCIU-TV in Chicago. In addition to those clearances, "Christine" has been sold to stations from the following broadcasters: CBS Television Stations, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Fox Television Stations, Local TV, Hearst, Raycom Media, Meredith, ACME Television, Titan, Roberts Broadcasting, Gannett, Capitol Broadcasting, Grant and Cox Television. Stations will air "Christine" as a daily strip, with two runs airing Monday�Friday, as well as two half-hour weekend telecasts.
In addition to launching on the Tribune stations in 17 markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" have also been sold to stations from the following groups: CBS Television Stations, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Fox Television Stations, Local TV, Hearst, Raycom Media, Meredith, ACME Television, Titan, Roberts Broadcasting, Gannett, Capitol Broadcasting, Grant and Cox Television. Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm will be presented in strip form by stations, with episodes airing Monday�Friday, along with one weekend telecast.
"We are extremely gratified by the station community's response to these three series," said Werner. "Stations realize how incredibly important it is for them to maintain their historical position of providing quality off-network series to their viewers. �Christine,' �Entourage' and �Curb' are distinctive, high-profile series that will continue to fortify the sitcom blocks local station viewers and their advertisers have counted on."
Created by Kari Lizer, The New Adventures of Old Christine stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine Campbell, a divorced single mother juggling the daily stresses of motherhood and her business. She won an Emmy Award� as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the show's first season, and then added two additional nominations in the category following the second and third seasons. (Nominations for the time frame covering season four will be announced this July.) For her efforts, Louis-Dreyfus has been named one of the 10 funniest actresses on television by Entertainment Weekly, and TV Guide raved that "Julia Louis-Dreyfus is doing career-best work as the titular single mom." Called "one of TV's best sitcoms" by USA Today, "The New Adventures of Old Christine" will return for its fifth network season this fall on CBS.
Moving to its current Wednesday, 8�8:30 p.m. (ET/PT), time period for the 2008�2009 season, "The New Adventures of Old Christine" proved to be a game-changer for CBS in the half-hour against the stiff competition of American Idol and Bones. "Christine" improved the network's time period rating from 2007�08 by +10% among Households, +15% among Women 25�54, +17% among Men 25�54 and +13% among Adults 25�54. (Source: NTI Galaxy Explorer. CBS L+SD US AA%. Wednesday 8�8:30 p.m. 09/24/07�05/25/08, 09/24/08�05/20/09, regularly scheduled programs only; 07-08 TP: Big Brother, Kid Nation, Power of 10, Price Is Right Prime)
In addition to Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine stars Clark Gregg, Hamish Linklater, Trevor Gagnon, Emily Rutherfurd, Tricia O'Kelley, Alex Kapp Horner and Wanda Sykes. Kari Lizer and Andy Ackerman are the executive producers of the series, from Kari's Logo Here in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Entourage was created by Doug Ellin and has been executive produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Doug Ellin, Rob Weiss, Denis Biggs and Larry Charles. The series has won multiple Emmy� Awards as well as a Golden Globe� and Peabody Award. Drawing on the experiences of entertainment industry insiders, the series stars Adrian Grenier as Vince, who is enjoying life in the limelight as a hot young actor; Kevin Connolly as Eric, Vince's manager, who tries to help him make the right choices; Kevin Dillon as Vince's half-brother Drama, whose own career has been eclipsed by Vince's success; Jerry Ferrara as Turtle, the least savvy of the group; and Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold, who serves as Vince's aggressive, high-powered agent. Additional series regulars include Perrey Reeves as the long-suffering Mrs. Ari and Rex Lee as Ari's assistant, Lloyd. Recurring guest stars include Debi Mazar as Vince's publicist, Shauna; Carla Gugino as Ari's nemesis, Amanda; Emmanuelle Chriqui as Sloan, Eric's girlfriend; and Beverly D'Angelo as Ari's partner Babs. "Entourage" also features a number of high-profile guest stars each season, appearing as themselves or in character roles.
Emmy�-winning writer/producer/comedian Larry David created and stars in the Emmy�- and Golden Globe�-winning comedy series "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Each episode of the signature program features verit�-style footage of David (playing himself) at home, at work and around Los Angeles, as he gets into predicaments with fictional and real-life personalities. The series also stars Jeff Garlin as Larry's manager, Jeff Greene; Cheryl Hines as Larry's wife, Cheryl; and Susie Essman as Jeff's wife, Susie. Each season boasts appearances by a number of notable guest stars playing themselves or character roles. The series has been executive produced by Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Gavin Polone, Robert B. Weide, Larry Charles, Alec Berg, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer, and Tim Gibbons.
About Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD) is one of the leading suppliers of entertainment programming to the domestic television marketplace, distributing first-run syndicated series, off-network television programs and theatrical motion pictures to local broadcast television stations, as well as to pay, cable, satellite and broadcast networks throughout the U.S. WBDTD handles the domestic distribution of television series produced by Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Horizon Television; selected HBO Independent Productions and the Lorimar Television library; current feature films from Warner Bros. Pictures; and the Studio's unmatched motion picture library.


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This article is courtesy of Project AWARE.
Five species of highly traded sharks, both manta rays and one species of sawfish were listed under CITES at the conclusion of CoP16 held this month in Bangkok, Thailand. Delegates from 170 countries considered 70 proposals affecting more than 300 species, including eight of some of the most vulnerable sharks and manta rays.
"We're proud that divers' voice has contributed to achieving this key milestone for sharks and ray conservation and we're grateful to proponent governments for recognizing the value of thriving shark and ray populations, and for championing sound proposals," said Ania Budziak, Project AWARE's Associate Director of Science and Policy.
The oceanic whitetip, porbeagle, three species of hammerheads and both manta rays – all classified as threatened on IUCN's Red List – are now added to CITES Appendix II. "This is a significant and historic achievement for marine species in general, specifically manta rays which are the first Elasmobranch species to be listed under CITES on the first attempt," said Budziak. "Scalloped hammerheads, among the most endangered and most commonly taken in illegal fishing operations for their valuable fins, received a surprising majority."
Since 2010, when eight shark species were declined CITES listing, the scuba diving community joined with shark advocates around the world, have campaigned for this moment. Armed with more than 135,000 shark petition signatures and 245,000 letters sent direct to CITES delegates, Project AWARE has taken every opportunity to put CITES protections front and center on government agendas. Along with our partners, we've met with CITES representatives, participated in public consultation processes and worked on shark protection issues at every turn including the IUCN World Conservation Congress, meeting of the signatories to the CMS MOU on Shark Conservation and CITES preparatory workshops in Mozambique and Senegal.
"This is an enormous victory, not only for the vulnerable species and ocean ecosystems, but for the coastal communities globally whose tourism-based economies rely on healthy, thriving shark and ray populations," said Alex Earl, Project AWARE's Executive Director. "It's also a significant achievement for the marine protection movement as a whole. This conference was the very first to consider an unprecedented number of shark and ray proposals and there has never been stronger momentum for their protections than now."
What's next for the campaign to protect sharks and rays? "We now urge all Parties to CITES to work swiftly on implementing the obligations to ensure sustainable international trade," said Alex Earl. "But for the moment, we celebrate the significance of these historic decisions."
Heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who joined the Project AWARE movement and campaigned for this amazing milestone. The passion and dedication of ocean advocates is unmatched. We're proud of our achievements together and we couldn't have done it without you.
Thank you to all PADI Members and Dive Centres who support Project AWARE. Please look out for more alerts from Project AWARE on how you can get involved.


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FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here
The markets zigzagged in a tight range Tuesday amid a lull in the economic calendar and headlines on U.S. budget negotiations.
Continue Reading Below
Today's Markets
As of 11:07 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 point, or 0%, to 12965, the S&P 500 dipped 3.4 points, or 0.24%, to 1406 and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 18.5 points, or 0.62%, to 2983. The FOX 50 slipped 3.3 points to 1039.
The month got off to a gloomy start Monday after a disappointing manufacturing report added yet another layer of doubt to the shaky U.S. economic and political situation. Still, the S&P 500 is looking to close the year out with a 12.1% annual gain.
Materials, industrial and health-care names performed the best on Tuesday. Meanwhile, telecommunications and consumer discretionary stocks were the laggards.
With the economic calendar barren on the day, traders are once again setting their sights on Washington, D.C. There, lawmakers continue quibbling over a budget deal that averts the looming fiscal cliff -- tax hikes and spending cuts that go into effect in January. If the cliff isn't avoided, the U.S. economy is expected to take a powerful punch, potentially sizeable enough to create a minor double-dip recession.
Republican leaders in Congress rejected President Barack Obama's budget plan Monday, calling for a new one with $2.2 trillion in savings over the next decade. The new plan includes $800 billion in new tax revenue, $600 billion in savings from health-care programs (like Medicare), $300 billion in other military and domestic spending cuts and other changes aimed at lowering the overall budget.
However, the White House almost immediately rejected the new plan.
"The (proposal) does not meet the test of balance," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said, according to Fox News. "While the president is willing to compromise to get a significant, balanced deal and believes that compromise is readily available to Congress, he is not willing to compromise on the principles of fairness and balance."
In corporate news, Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) revealed plans to buy Gambro, a privately held Swedish dialysis firm, for $4 billion. Baxter hopes to solidify its renal business in the move.
Energy futures were solidly in the red. The benchmark crude contract dipped 74 cents, or 0.83%, to $88.30 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dropped 1% to $2.70 a gallon. In metals, gold slumped $16.10, or 0.94%, to $1,705 a troy ounce.
Foreign Markets
The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.62% to 2598, the English FTSE 100 was flat at 5871 and the German DAX climbed 0.25% to 7453.
In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 slipped 0.27% to 9432 and the Chinese Hang Seng edged up by 0.15% to 21800.


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"Now we know what we're up against," insisted Tom Curtis, the young coach of Caribbean minnows Antigua and Barbuda, who stretched USA and drew with Jamaica in 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ qualifying earlier this summer. "We'd never been at this level before, but now there are no more surprises. If we're bang on our game, we can get results."
A tiny island cluster of around 80,000 people in the sun-soaked Leeward Islands, Antigua and Barbuda have next to no international profile. But the ambitious Wadadli Boyz are not overawed and they're raising eyebrows all over the region. Speedy and compact, they were a tough nut for four-time CONCACAF champions USA to crack back in June in Florida. After going down 2-0, Curtis brought on ace striker Pete 'Big Pete' Byers, who scored sensationally to set up a tense finish. The David-Goliath affair eventually ended 3-1 for the States, but Klinsmann and Co knew they'd been in a game.
If we're bang on our game, we can get results.
Most coaches would have been happy to be competitive, given the gulf in class, international ranking and overall pedigree. But not Curtis, who as a player in 1996, reached the FA Cup semi-final in a shock run with Chesterfield. "Competing well was just part of the plan," Curtis told FIFA.com. "We wanted to be organised and make it difficult for the them to play against us. But our goal isn't just to compete, it's to get results. I feel we could have gotten more from the game, and that's just what we'll aim to do when they come to play us here in the return leg."
The Antiguans home ground wasn't even built for football, but the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium was rocking four days later when Curtis's cries for results were answered. "We were much better against Jamaica," the 38-year-old Englishman said of the goalless draw against their Caribbean neighbours, who participated at France 1998. "We were stronger and more aggressive. We kept the ball and it was a step up from the US game."
Curtis, who also coaches club side Antigua Barracuda, where the vast majority of his national team play in the USA's third professional tier, is not a man to be content with a cosmetic draw. "We should have won that game," he said. "We made more chances than they did. You could tell the fans were disappointed, and that's a good thing. They believe and so do we."
The nearly 10,000 fans who attended the Jamaica draw represented a record attendance for a football match in St John, Antigua and Barbuda's capital, and the game had the feel of a cup final. "A lot of Jamaicans live here in Antigua, so both teams had their backers," said Curtis. "The support was amazing and the atmosphere was really inspiring."
Decisive Guatemalan double-header
Up next for Curtis and his men are a pair of clashes with Guatemala, who they are tied with at the foot of Group A. With only the top two teams from each section moving on to the final hexagonal* *round, the games are vitally important for both sides. First up is a visit to the intimidating Estadio Mateo Flores – where the Guatemalans managed a draw with USA – before a trip back to the Viv Richards Cricket Ground four days later.
"We've worked on making the right kind of preparations – hotels and training facilities," said Curtis, eager to show his upstart side and their FA aren't some fly-by-night operation, naïve to the peculiar challenges of away matches in the CONCACAF zone. "The logistics are important, and we've done everything we can to make it so the players only have to worry about showing up and playing football."
With 17 members of the team coming from the Barracuda side that finished their season disappointingly in last place at the weekend, the Antiguans will be fighting fit for the upcoming contests. As expected, Curtis won't be happy with competitive performances to keep up appearances. "We want to get through the next two games in shape to reach the final round," he said. "I don't know if that's a win and a draw or a win and win, but we're aiming to reach that final round, nothing less."


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Social Media Standards
Why use Social Media as a university employee?
Social media applications have become a primary way to reach prospective students and the external community, as well as current students, staff, and faculty. As an employee, you can help tell the Illinois Springfield story through social media.
We want to use social media to engage our audiences and give them a good impression of the University of Illinois Springfield. We know that in many cases, a social media site may be the first place that someone learns about us. We hope that those audiences will subsequently visit the UIS website, come to campus for a Preview Day or other event, or otherwise get to know us better.
Setting up a Social Media account as a university employee:
It is better to ask for help, than to make a mistake that is hard to undo. For help with setting up a social media account, please contact the UIS Office of Web Services.
When setting up the name for your account, please be specific by using the name of your department or service. Do not use the name University of Illinois Springfield or UIS alone without also adding a specific reference to your purpose. For example, use UIS Biology for the name of your Facebook Page or Group.
- See our Guidelines for Using Facebook
- See more details about setting up social media accounts on the UIS Web Services website.
Tips on Using Social Media
Be responsible for what you say or write
Take responsibility for what you say or write on social media websites and applications. Exercise good judgment and common sense. You are representing the university, and there may be consequences if you do not handle this responsibility well. Please see the following policies regarding the use of computer technology at the University of Illinois Springfield:
- UIS Acceptable Use Policy
- Campus Web Policy
- University of Illinois Information Security Policy
- FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The UIS Office of Records and Registration offers classroom and online training to help faculty and staff understand the act and learn how to comply.
- The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, usually called the AP Stylebook, is a guide for grammar, punctuation and principles and practices of reporting. It also includes an overall legal review of legal issues and ethical expectations, including libel and slander.
Be honest
When using social media as an employee, do not use pseudonyms or false screen names. Use your real name, be clear who you are, and identify that you work for Illinois Springfield. Do not say anything that is dishonest, untrue, or misleading. If you have a personal vested interest in something you are discussing, point it out. Be smart about protecting yourself and your privacy. The content you publish will be around for a long time, so consider it carefully and also be cautious about disclosing personal details.
Respect your audiences
The public in general, and Illinois Springfield's employees and students, reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view – please be respectful of that. Don't say anything contradictory or in conflict with the Illinois Springfield vision, mission and goals. Don't be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, offensive comments, defamatory comments, personal insults, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory – such as politics and religion. Be sure to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed are yours alone and do not represent the official views of UIS.
Don't tell secrets
It's perfectly acceptable to talk about your work and have a dialog with the community, but it's not okay to publish confidential information. Confidential information includes things such as unpublished details about programs, services, financial information, grants, research, projects-in-progress, etc. that have not yet been finalized and publicized.
Protect your own privacy
Privacy settings on social media platforms should be set to allow anyone to see information that is publicly available by virtue of the fact that you are an employee of the State of Illinois and the University of Illinois. Other privacy settings that might allow others to see your personal information should be set to limited access. Be mindful of posting personal information about yourself that you do not want the public to see.
Respect copyright laws
It is critical that you show proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use or fair dealing of copyrighted material owned by others, including Illinois Springfield own copyrights and brands. You should never quote more than short excerpts of someone else's work, and you should always attribute such work to the original author or source. It is good general practice to always link to others' work rather than reproduce it.
Protect Illinois Springfield students, staff, faculty, and business partners
Specific individuals should not be cited or obviously referenced without their approval. Never identify a student, staff, faculty, or business partner by name without permission.
Controversial Issues
If you see misrepresentations made about the University of Illinois Springfield in the media, you may point that out. Always do so with respect and with the facts. If you speak about others, make sure what you say is factual and that it does not disparage that person. Avoid arguments. Brawls may earn traffic, but nobody wins in the end. Don't try to settle scores or goad others into inflammatory debates. Make sure what you are saying is factually correct.
Be the first to respond to your own mistakes
If you make an error, be up front about your mistake and correct it quickly. If you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so. If someone accuses you of posting something improper (such as their copyrighted material or a defamatory comment about them), deal with it quickly – better to remove it immediately to lessen the possibility of a legal action.
Think about consequences
Consider what might happen if an Illinois Springfield employee makes disparaging comments about our university on a social media site. The comments might be reproduced throughout the internet or via other means. We might lose prospective students or employees, or our reputation may be permanently damaged. If you wish to talk about UIS on social media applications, please see our list of written descriptions, key words and phrases, and other documentation about UIS.
Wherever practical, you should use a disclaimer saying that while you work for Illinois Springfield, anything you publish is your personal opinion, and not necessarily the opinion of the University of Illinois Springfield.
The following tips will contribute to your successful use of social media.
- If you set up a social media account for use by your department, be sure to inform your supervisor. Make logins and passwords available to other key staff in your department; or, add other key staff to the account. When you set up an account, you are agreeing to accept responsibility for monitoring the content, deleting spam, and generally assuring that the account represents UIS in the best possible light.
- Don't duplicate what others have done; i.e., don't set up a new Facebook account called University of Illinois Springfield. We already have one of those. Make an account that is specific to your department, academic subject, faculty or staff group, etc.
- Make sure that your use of social media does not interfere with your job or commitments to our students, staff and faculty.
- The best way to be interesting, stay out of trouble, and have fun is to write about what you know. If you write about topics you are not knowledgeable about, there is a good chance you will be embarrassed by a real expert.
- If you have doubts about a particular post, or if something does not feel right, either wait and look at it again before publishing, or ask someone else to review it.
- Quality matters. Use a spell-checker. Check your facts. If you need help with design or content, ask for help from the UIS Office of Web Services.


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This is a work in progress attempt at rewritting the main site.
All the important sub sites can be accessed from the left hand bar.
The legacy content is still available on the old site but will hopefully be migrated and modernized over time.
If you are interested in knowing what has happened, here is the complete history of Defence-Force.org...
Welcome to Defence Force!
Sat 8th June 2019
- Upgraded the C compiler to version 1.36 by integrating all the latest changes from Fabrice Frances:
- Better code generator
- float/int conversion fixes
- better error handling
- Changed the default compile optimization level from -O2 to -O3 - providing significantly better code generation, both in size and speed
- The code generator macro file is now compatible with both XA and FRASM
- Upgraded Link65 to the version 0.66: The new macro file generate lines that contain multiple instructions, the linker stopped at the first encountered instruction, this new version correctly parses that
- Updated FilePack version number to 0.2 to 0.5 after somebody reported an issue with a veryyyyyyy old version which happened to have the same version number of a much more recent one.
- Tap2Dsk 2.1.1: Added a fix to avoid the tool to stay stuck on tapes with incorrect size specified in their headers
- Fixed a problem with itoa not correctly processing negative numbers (the '-'' was overwritten by the number printing routine). Also took the opportunity to optimize the code (removed the jsr itoa / rts as well as an unnecessary x register clearing (it's set to zero when we are back from udiv10)
- Added support for %u to printf
Server Failure
Thu 30th May 2019
- For some reason, the power supply of the webserver died, and in the process corrupted the filesystem. Took a bit of time, but thanks to rfm and tomreyn from #ubuntu (the freenode IRC support channel), we are mostly back in business.
- I'll probably have to monitor the machine, do some more checks, and at some point replace the PSU by a new one (right now we are running from an old one that was laying in a cupboard...), so expect some occasional reboots.
Power Brexit
Sun 6th January 2019
- A blog article explaining how to change the power cord of a Binatone Data Recorder
Happy New Year!
Tue 1st January 2019
- Well, there are no news so far, but have a good one!
Optimizing Buggy Boy (1)
Thu 15th November 2018
- A blog article showing how to apply optimizations on some old existing code
Performance Profiling
Sun 11th November 2018
- A blog article about optimizing your Oric code
Tape Storage Hacking
Thu 1st November 2018
- A blog article about storing Oric game tapes
Sun 14th October 2018
- Upgraded Bas2Tap to version 2.1, with better handling of defines and DATA instructions
- Added a missing EQ0W_C macro for the C compiler.
- Added a missing reference to Sedoric in the library library index file
Sun 29th July 2018
- Upgraded Bas2Tap to version 2.0, with support for labels, defines, escape codes and binary optimization
- Updated macros for the C compiler from version 1.29 to 1.30 (fixes in the ADDW_IID, SUBW_IID, ANDW_IID, XORW_IID and ORW_IID which used the wrong register to access the source pointer).
- Fixed the BomberZ samples program to use the new Bas2Tap syntax
- Fixed the library functions 'scanf' and 'sscanf' (For some reason these files had not been converted to use the XA syntax when we switched from FRASM)
- Upgraded the version of Sedoric 3 used by Tap2DSK with the patch that improves the handling of the "insert master disk" prompt
- Modified the Oricutron batch file to use PUSHD/POPD instead of CD, this makes it possible to start the emulator even when the project is on another disk drive location
Sat 17th March 2018
- Upgraded FloppyBuilder to version 1.2 (fixed issues with gap2 and crc values)
- Upgraded Bas2Tap to version 1.0, now correctly handles corrupted programs using out of range tokens as well as saving to a file instead of stdout
- Upgraded PictConv to version 1.0 (Fixed some error handling as well as a minor issue in the Atari multipalette conversion)
Even more demos
Sat 3rd March 2018
- Most of the missing Atari demos (Phaleon, Charts, Save The Earth, ...), are now present in the Demos tab.
Website revamp
Sun 25th February 2018
- Added a new 'Demos' tab, and added all the demo pages which were still on the old site. Now I just need to create pages for the 10 more recent demos which never received quite as much love!
Website revamp
Sat 24th February 2018
- Did a massive revamp of the Defence-Force home page, it should now look and act more like an actual portal than it had for these few last years.
Global Game Jam 2018
Tue 6th February 2018
- A blog article about my participation to the Global Game Jam 2018
Sun 15th October 2017
- Added some redirects for all the game sudomains (1337.defence-force.org, ...) to now point to the new game pages on the main site
Thu 13th April 2017
- Upgraded XA to the version 2.2.5 (Added a new '-cc' command line parameter to allow compatibility with the CC65 toolchain)
- Upgraded PictConv to the version 0.25 (Fixed the off-by-one error in the tape header when Exporting Oric images to tape format)
- Added a new environment variable, OSDKXAPARAMS, which can be used to pass any arbitrary set of parameters to XA when the build script is called
Oric graphics in details
Sat 8th April 2017
- A blog article describing how the Oric graphics system works
Sat 18th March 2017
- Upgraded XA to the version 2.2.4 (Extended the values for a number of hardcoded defines (labels, blocks, number of open files, etc...))
- Upgraded Linker to the version 0.65 (Fixed some issues in the token pattern matching used to detect labels resulting in #includes containing relative paths to be incorrectly parsed)
- Upgraded FloppyBuilder to version 1.1 (New format, new commands, sector interleaving, ...)
- Upgraded PictConv to the version 0.24 (Fixed a problem in the color reduction code failing on a 32bit source image)
- 6502 syntax coloring for Notepad++, by Jede
Thu 21st April 2016
- Upgraded the server hardware and software
Sun 17th January 2016
- The build script is now correctly setting up XA: If you use 65816 or 65c02 instructions they will be refused with an error message
- Upgraded Linker to the version 0.64 (fixed a bunch of problems with include files and external symbols)
- Upgraded FloppyBuilder to version 0.19 (Better error handling)
- Improved the FloppyBuilder sample program with a new API file to make it easier to use
Thu 7th January 2016
- Upgraded PictConv to the version 0.23 (Two new options for the Atari ST monochrome mode, -f2 and -s1)
- Upgraded FloppyBuilder to the version 0.18 (Added a 'ReserveSectors' command that can be used to leave room on the disk for save games or stuff like that)
- Added a FloppyBuilder sample program.
- The OSDK is now going through the Coverity analyzer (https://scan.coverity.com/projects/osdk - a number of small issues have been corrected, but as all code changes that can lead to bugs).
Thu 17th September 2015
- A blog article talking about character sets on the Oric
Preprocessor abuses
Sat 15th August 2015
- A blog article about pre-processor and linking format in the OSDK
Oric Library
Sat 13th June 2015
- Added a downloadable versions of 'Manuel de Référence' and 'Travaux Pratiques' from André Chenière
Sun 31st May 2015
- Upgraded PictConv to the version 0.22 (Fixed the -o0/-o1 documentation error, and made the -f5 charmap mode actually work)
- Upgraded FloppyBuilder to the version 0.17 (data can now be extracted from an existing DSK file, parser and macro expansion improvements)
- Upgraded ym2mym to version 1.6 (music can now be truncated and faded out)
- Disabled the verbose messages displayed by old2mfm.
Let's make noise
Sat 28th February 2015
- A blog article how to use the MYM player to have some music in your Oric projects
Sat 14th February 2015
- Upgraded PictConv to the version 0.21 (Support for AIC pictures and alpha channel in pictures)
Oric Library
Sat 15th November 2014
- Added a downloadable version of L'assembleur de L'oric 1 et Atmos (in French)
Fri 12th December 2014
Sat 20th September 2014
- Updated code generator and macros for the C compiler (bug fix for the MicroChess program).
- Many fixes to make the LINUX version a reality (case change for files, gcc compile fixes, ...).
- Upgraded Bas2Tap and Tap2Dsk to give names to the generated tapes.
- Upgraded Header to version 0.2: The address can now be specified with either $ or 0x as an hexadecimal prefix
Oric Library
Thu 24th April 2014
- Added a downloadable version of the Oric Atmos manual (in English)
Wed 16th April 2014
- Defence-Force.com is now operational - kind of
Sun 16th March 2014
- Upgraded Bas2Tap to version 0.2
Mon 24th February 2014
- Upgraded Oricutron to version 1.1
Sun 23rd February 2014
- Oricutron 0.9 is now used by default instead of Euphoric, you can set OSDKEMUL to choose between EUPHORIC and Oricutron.
- Added FloppyBuilder 0.15 - A new tool to generate bootable floppies with full access to overlay memory.
- Added Ym2Mym 1.4 - A new tool to convert Atari ST and Amstrad musics to a format suitable for the Oric.
- Upgraded PictConv to the version 0.19 (New 'img2oric/libpipi' algorithm)
- Plus quite many internal changes (linux compatibility, bug fixes, ...) which should not impact the end user of the SDK
Oric Library
Fri 29th March 2013
- Added a downloadable version of Au coeur de l'Oric Atmos (in French)
Oric Library
Sun 10th March 2013
- Added a downloadable version of the issues 13, 153 and 273 of the CEO Mag
Oric 30th birthday
Sun 6th January 2013
- The Oric 30th birthday page is now online
- The Facebook page is now online
I wish you all the best for 2013.
Don't forget you can use Defence-Force's forum and wiki!
Sun 8th April 2012
- Oricutron 0.9 is now used by default instead of Euphoric, you can set OSDKEMUL to choose between EUPHORIC and Oricutron.
I wish you all the best for 2012.
Don't forget you can use Defence-Force's forum and wiki!
Tue 18th January 2011
- Upgraded XA to the version 2.2.3
- Added TapTool 1.0 - Should work as a drop-in replacement for Tap2CD, in the future will provide in one tool all the functionalities of Tap2Wav, Tap2CD and Tap2DSK.
- Added DskTool 1.0 - Should work as a drop-in replacement for Old2Mfm, in the future will provide in one tool all the functionalities of Old2Mfm, Raw2Mfm, CRCFix, Init, MakeDsk, ...
Sat 15th January 2011
- Upgraded Euphoric to the version 1014
- Upgraded MemMap to the version 0.004
- Upgraded XA to the version 2.2.1
- The handling of the stackframe should not be more robust, fixing the random variable corruption that happened in code using many functions calls and local variables.
- The libraries now contains a 32 bit multiplication routine, and a Microsoft compatible random number generator.
I wish you all the best for 2011.
Don't forget you can use Defence-Force's forum and wiki!
Improved schematics
Sun 2nd May 2010
- Thanks to Paul Carpenter you can now dowload an improved versions of the RGB converter in the video hardware section.
Downloadable books
Wed 28th April 2010
- Thanks to François Schuler you can now dowload the PDF versions of every issues of Théoric in the Oric library.
Fri 12th February 2010
- Added taptap.exe in the bin folder.
- Added a 256 bytes assembler sample demo.
- Updated Xa.exe.
- Updated tap2dsk.exe.
- Updated Link65.exe - it accepts now up to 10000 labels instead of 2000.
- Updated FilePack.
- Updated PictConv.
- Updated MemMap.
- Updated Bas2Tap - it can now add colors to comments.
- Modified make.bat to make it work with the new disk building system.
- Modified osdk_euphoric.bat to restore the current directory on exit.
- Fixed the build scripts for some of the samples, that pointed on the wrong location for data files.
- Fixed lib.h, peek/poke/deek/doke should now work correctly.
- Removed the Visual Studio project files from the sample.
Downloadable books
Sat 6th February 2010
- Thanks to François Schuler you can now dowload the PDF versions of every issues of Micr'Oric in the Oric library.
Downloadable books
Fri 5th February 2010
- Thanks to Alfonso you can now dowload the PDF versions of the sixth issue of Micr'Oric in the Oric library.
I wish you all the best for 2010.
Don't forget you can use Defence-Force's forum and wiki!
Atari ST demos
Tue 24th November 2009
- A new page is available in the Atari section, with the 20th anniversary demos of the Atari ST and STE.
Thu 13th August 2009
- Thanks to the author of PJirc you can now discuss with other Oric users on the IrcNet channel #oric.
Downloadable magazine
Thu 2nd July 2009
- Thanks to Alfonso you can now dowload the PDF versions of the first issue of Micr'Oric in the Oric library.
Downloadable books
Thu 4th June 2009
- Thanks to Alfonso you can now dowload the PDF versions of Getting more from your oric in the Oric library.
Downloadable books
Mon 25th May 2009
- Thanks to Wascol you can now dowload the PDF versions of Oric Atmos - votre micro-ordinateur and Oric Atmos - vos programmes in the Oric library.
Tue 10th March 2009
- The link to the 3D engine list on the useful videogame links was not working anymore. Thanks to Ellie for signaling the issue and providing me with a cool replacement !
Caloric source code
Mon 9th March 2009
- The Caloric source code is now available on the Subversion repository. Thanks Jede.
I wish you all the best for 2009.
Don't forget you can use Defence-Force's forum and wiki!
Hyper-Basic manual
Mon 19th May 2008
- Added a downloadable version of the Hyper-Basic manual. It's available in english and french in the Oric Library. Thanks to Brana for the translation !
Demo updates
Sun 12th August 2007
- Added a photo of the team on the Next demogroup page
- Updated the Barbitoric Demo page with the youtube video
- Updated the Buggy Boy Demo page with the youtube video
New games available
Sat 17th March 2007
- Better late than never, the Oric games page has been updated.
You can now dowload both 4k Kong and CycloTron games, complete with screen shots, documentation and source code.
Misc stuff
Sun 4th March 2007
- Updated my online resume
- The OSDK now has its own domaine
Mon 26th February 2007
A dear friend of mine, Jean-Michel Hervé, aka Tuo^Mandarine, passed away this morning. He is sorely missed.
Barbitoric video
Sat 17th February 2007
- Updated the Barbitoric Demo page with a downloadable video
I wish you all the best for 2007.
Ten year anniversary for Defence-Force !
Wed 13th December 2006
- Replaced a part of the build process that was crashing Wine. It is now possible to compile an Oric program with the OSDK on a Linux machine.
- If you have DosBox installed, it is now possible to run Euphoric in a windowed mode.
- Updated the documentation with more interpage links.
- Upgraded Euphoric to the version 1007
- Added Bas2Tap as a native part of the OSDK. It is now possible to generate programs from a BASIC source code easily.
- Added a lot of options to fine tune the output of Bin2Txt, including the possibility to generate BASIC files.
- PictConv can now export pictures as BASIC DATA lines.
- PictConv can convert colored pictures that are not 240 pixels wide
Wed 2nd August 2006
- Corrected a stupid mistake that led to invalid code generation
Thu 1st June 2006
- Some new features in PictConv:
- If there is something specified after -o3 or -o4 modes, it's used as a label name to use when generating source code data.
- If there is a 'z' specified after -f0 mode (monochrome conversion), it means that bit 6 should not be set in converted bytes
- Added -n switch to set the number of values per line (stolen from Bin2Txt !)
- Update the documentation page about PictConv, it was severly lacking some important details -like file formats-
Sun 4th June 2006
- Corrected a bug in the makefile (introduce in version 0.012) that make it impossible to compile C programs
- It is now possible to use .ASM extension for assembly source code, in addition to .S
- Added pictures of Windows 2000 and Windows XP system properties in the installation page.
Sun 4th June 2006
- Corrected a bug in the linker that made it impossible to use the linker with only one source file
- Corrected a bug in the #file command in XA, it now correctly displays the file and line if an error happens during the second pass
- Corrected a bug in the handling of static function pointer generating bad code (1.29 code generator by Fabrice)
- Added an option to display the size of generated programs in Header
Wed 1st March 2006
- Corrected a bug in the data unpacking code (overflow when offset was equal to 4096 exactly)
- Corrected a bug (hack) in XA that make it crash when processing too many levels of macro expansion
- Added a way to generate masks from a bitmap in PictConv
- Added support for Atari ST compatible bitmap data in PictConv
- Added an option in Bin2Txt to set the number of values per line of data
- Added a new program in the OSDK, MemMap with the associated osdk_showmap.bat to show how memory is used
Defence-Force's forum
Sat 7th January 2006
- A big addition to this site: We now have a discussion forum! Find out what's going on, voice your opinions, enjoy...
Phaleon Gigademo
Sun 1st January 2006
- Updated the Phaleon Gigademo page with a lot of screen shots
I wish you all the very best for 2006.
No update was done in 2005.
(This is the year I moved to Norway, I was very very busy)
Oric gallery update
Sat 4th September 2004
- Added a picture by Mermaid in the oric gallery
Member list
Sun 15th August 2004
- A page with the Defence Force team members in the Oric section
Buggy Boy
Sat 14th August 2004
- A page about the Buggy Boy demo in the Oric section
New magazine
Mon 31st May 2004
- Added a 'Personal Software' magazine issue dedicated to the Oric in the Oric library
Updated resume
Sun 23rd May 2004
- Updated my Curiculum Vitae page !
Thu 1st January 2004
- Corrected bug in the memset routine: it was trashing the first byte that follow the routine.
- Added screenshots of Euphoric menu, boot sequence and debugger in action
Thu 1st January 2004
- Corrected a bug in the data unpacking code
- Corrected a bug in the EQW_DI macro instruction
- Modified the linker to handle pure assembly code projects (SET OSDKLINK=-B in the configuration file)
- Modified the linker to make it not complain about .( and .)
- Modified the linker to add #file directives in order to get valid error messages (file/line) from XA assembler
- Modified the linker to makes it accept /* */ comments (was previously crashing badly)
- Modified the assembleur to accept the #file directive
- Modified the makefile to accept a OSDKCOMP variable to handle compiler optimisation settings
- Updated Euphoric to release 1.004a
- Added 'testing' mode to PictConv
- Added a 'do not save header' mode to FilePack
- Added a new sample project: 4KKong game
More books
Mon 13th October 2003
- Added two books in the Oric library.
More art
Mon 13th October 2003
- Added two pictures from D. Vasiljevic in the oric gallery.
More art
Sun 30th March 2003
- Major update of the Oric Gallery page.
- Creation of an Atari gallery page.
- Oric and Atari pictures have been removed from the picture section.
Barbitoric best of
Wed 22nd January 2003
- Updated the Oric Gallery page with Barbitoric demo pictures.
Barbitoric demo
Sun 19th January 2003
- A page about the Barbitoric demo is now available in the Oric demo section.
I wish you all a very nice year 2003.
Fri 1st November 2002
- Corrected bug in the code generator: floating point code is now working.
- Made some improvements in the build and execute batch files.
- Added already made Visual Studio projects and workspaces.
Fri 1st November 2002
- Corrected bug in the code generator: function pointers are now working correctly.
- Corrected bug in the code generator: NULL pointers as parameters are now working correctly.
- Corrected bug in memset, it was crashing !
- Added configuration information on how to use VisualC++ and UltraEdit for editing.
- Added some definitions in the glossary.
- Added a page with the 6502 instruction set.
Fri 1st November 2002
- Corrected bug with -u option of FilePack (was not working anymore)
- Corrected various problems in the documentation (spelling, html errors)
- Added version number on the first documentation page.
Fri 1st November 2002
- Corrected error in Bin2Txt documentation
- Corrected problem with the 'tmp' folder that was missing in the Zip archive
- Added FreeImage.dll (needed for PictConv)
Fri 1st November 2002
- Updated code generator and macros for the C compiler.
- Updated tape header manager, can now remove headers and set autorun flag
- Added FilePack, Bin2Txt, PictConv, WriteDsk, Tap2Cd and Tap2Wav
- Added this documentation :)
- Added two samples (picture display, and file decompression)
- Added 'file_unpack' function
- Corrected bug in 'clock' function
- XA symbol table is now compatible with Euphoric debuger format
Assembly 2002
Sun 11th August 2002
- Assembly 2002 invtro is now available in the Oric demo section.
Sun 30th June 2002
- Some photos taken during the STNICCC 2000 and Volcanic 4 demo parties in the Oric section.
Demo links
Sat 29th June 2002
- Update of the links into the demo scene section.
Very Important Party
Fri 28th June 2002
- Some photos taken during VIP3 and VIP4 demo party in the Oric section.
Mon 24th June 2002
- A new tool is available in the Oric programming section: A file packer.
Oric Gallery
Sat 22nd June 2002
- A new section: The Oric Gallery.
User manuals
Sun 16th June 2002
- Two new books in the oric library: Cumana disk drive and MCP40 printer user manuals.
Thu 13th June 2002
- Since the VIP 4 demo party is now finished, you can now download our Oric demo on it's dedicated page.
Golden Web Award
Thu 30th May 2002
- I've been awarded the 2002-2003 Golden Web Award. That's cool !
Mon 27th May 2002
- Few more pictures in the passion section. One link to the Paint Shop Pro web site.
Oric manual
Mon 20th May 2002
- Ten new books (Pravetz 8D, manuals) in the Oric library.
French videogames
Sun 12th May 2002
- Update of the Time Commando page in the video game / adeline software section.
Oric DOS manual
Wed 1st May 2002
- The Oric Dos 1.1 can now be downloaded in the Oric library.
- Added a picture of my MegaSTE in the Atari hardware section.
Sun 21st April 2002
- PictConv can now be downloaded in the Oric development section.
Bulgarian Madness
Sat 20th April 2002
- Photos of Pravetz 8D motherboard in the Oric Hardware section.
- A new book in the Oric library: The Pravetz 8D user manual.
French videogames
Sun 7th April 2002
- A new company: Babylon Software.
French videogames
Mon 11th March 2002
- Three new companies: 4x technologies, in utero, et yeti interactive.
- The patched version of Phaleon demo is available: Start your emulators !
French videogames
Sun 17th February 2002
- Update of the Little Big Adventure page.
- The videogame company list was split in two parts. The living and the deads.
French companies
Wed 6th February 2002
- Update of the page about Lankhor (R.I.P.).
- A new video game companie: T-Bot interactive.
Sat 12th January 2002
- Lots of modification. The setup/use is a lot simpler than before.
- A complete manual with pictures explaining how to configurate the OSDK to use from Visual Studios.
- Euphoric is integrated into the release
Floppy disk manuals
Tue 1st January 2002
- The french version of the sedoric and microdisc manual is available as a HTML file in the oric library.
I wish you all a very nice year 2002.
Too bad that '2001, a space odyssey' did not happen...
pfuuuu :'(
Oric manuals
Wed 14th November 2001
- The french version of the oric atmos manual is available as a PDF file in the oric library
Misc changes
Tue 2nd October 2001
- Update of the Lankhor page. Their website is back online
- The oric hardware section now present a oric to scart video converter.
Oric programming books
Sat 4th August 2001
- Large update of the 'Oric programming' section
- All the site has been checked for typos
Wed 1st August 2001
- Correction of a bug in the header creator
More books
Fri 22nd June 2001
- General update on the Oric library, with two downloadable books (the Oric 1 user manual, and Geoff Phillips book)
- The Extense site search engine has been replaced by the Google one.
Thu 1st March 2001
- First official version of the OSDK
Oric manuals
Wed 7th February 2001
- General update on the oric library !!!
Check out the http://www.vachealait.com page to learn the latest news on big money consumer incursions.
If you are tired of paying for everything and for nothing for all the bad reasons in the world, sign the petition.
Ensuring that 'poor' artists continue to earn their money is not a bad thing in itself. But taxing everything and everything becomes downright disgusting ...
For example, I have a CD burner, two PCs, an Atari Mega STE and a network oric, as well as a DreamCast console and a PlayStation (one).
After a quick calculation, I came to about 120 original software, 16 DVD movies, a good fifty audio CDs, and 3 games in pirate version.
Yes, 3 pirated games, but these are games that I own the original that do not run on my PC because of the protection.
The music ? I buy CDs whenever I want. So why a burner?
Well for backing up, archiving, exchanging data between home and work, and transferring oric software from their cassettes to audio CDs (more reliable!).
My question: Why should I pay a tax on products that do not serve me to harm copyright?
(Basically, this page explains why some French organisation wants to apply a taxation on any numeric product that can be used to store, stream, listen any numeric data that could be protected by copyrights...)
Library update
Mon 15th January 2001
- The magazine section of the oric library has been updated. The CEO mag part has been totally modified !
More magazines
Sat 2nd January 2010
- A 'Rhetoric' page in the oric library
Happy new year everybody. I hope you got a nice year 2000, and that the year 2001 will be even better !
Sun 31st December 2000
- This is the last update for that millennium...It should have been done before, but I was the victim of a hard drive failure !
- Added screenshots of the Oric demo that won the first place at the STNICCC 2000.
Today is Christmas !!!
Merry Christmas everybody !
Another award
Wed 13th December 2000
- The International Association of Web Masters and Designers give that site the '2000-2001 Golden Web Award'
Web ring
Wed 13th December 2000
- Add a link to the 6502 web ring on the main oric page
This is the 24 november: official release date of the PlayStation 2 in France.
Today I decided to buy a DreamCast with lots of games, two pads and a VM.
The total costs less than a PlayStation 2 without anything else...
More books
Sun 19th November 2000
- Large update of the 'Basic programming books' in the oric library
More books
Sun 29th October 2000
- The complete covers of Théoric, Micr'Oric, Oric Owner and Oric Computing in the oric library
More books
Sun 8th October 2000
- Two books and one magazine in the oric library
- The design document part has been updated.
Contact section
Sun 4th June 2000
- Added a nice photo of Lyon, with a link on the web site
- Added a link to the web site of Angers
French companies
Sat 27th May 2000
- A new company in the list: WideScreen Games
- The pages about Arkane Studios and Eden Studios have been updated
Was in holidays in USA from 6th to 21th of may 2000.
A lot of changes
Sun 23rd January 2000
- The charts and the Phaleon now have dedicated pages
- The .ST files of the Phaleon demo and charts can now be downloaded
- A lot of texts and screen shots of the Phaleon dome...
- Some dead links removed
- A new page about my recent demo making participations
- Some links on demomaking web sites
First Y2K update
Wed 12th January 2000
- A new company in the list: QuanticDream
- Two new links on the video game links: Hugo Elias page and FlipCode.com
Add a link on the ARTICLE 11 page.
Basically, this page explains why some French 'censoring' organisation wants to control (they say 'regulate') the internet.
Doing that, they deny to the citizens the right to control their life themselves.
I wish you all a very nice year 2000. The famous bug does not cause the annouced apocalypse... :)
Misc stuff
Wed 29th December 1999
- I forgot a French videogame company: Kalisto.
- Arkane Studios is born
I'm late!
Sat 2nd October 1999
- Look at the date just above: The last update was in march !
- Video games: I've modified the Adeline Software page, and added a page about Lankhor following a mail informing me of the opening of their website.
- Oric: A new page in the 'hardware' section. Plenty of scans of oric motherboards, and a complete description of main components. It's a preparation job that will lead to the 21th century Oric design :)
Here we go again
Tue 23rd March 1999
- Ok, time to get back to job. Defence-Force.org running again.
On strike until the 23th of march 1999.
Why on strike ?
Because French law are totaly outdated when it concerns Internet. But they still are used.
So, numerous French web-masters were on-strike to request a clear, efficient reglementation...
Misc stuff
Tue 19th January 1999
- I received the 1999 Web Academy certification. Thanks.
- Just hope the will like my logo :)
- Links for downloading .MOD files should now works fine.
Misc stuff
Fri 27th November 1998
- I received the 'Ravi's Elite Award'. Cool, and thanks again :)
- The oric library has been redesigned and extended.
New logo!
Sun 1st November 1998
- New Defence Force logo
- Added a few external links.
Sun 18th October 1998
- The 'Mike' (it's me) homepage is online. With pictures, curiculum vitae, and so on...
Sun 11th October 1998
- It seems that the new site style was not cool enough... I took notes so here is now the new version, more colourful. I'm waiting for next critics...
Sat 26th September 1998
- I finally made a decision about my 'editorial line' ... So far, I have always spoken on my page that things 'politically correct', no risk of annoying anyone, if not not the subject itself (obsolete stuff and cie ...).My decision is that eventually I'll talk about things that really hold my heart, to know why the universe turns square, why it's not always the guys who win, why programs crash, etc ...But hey, I must already redo all the architecture of the site, index the pages, delete the frames, etc ...No animated gif, no web counter, removal of banners, removal of the external links page (which will be placed in each thematic section ...). In short, it's a job!
Wed 23rd September 1998
- Registered Defence-Force in search engines and directories
- Start contacting webmasters that have links on my old page
- Change HOL pages with 'this page move here' message
Tue 22nd September 1998
- Errors 401 and 404 now are correctly displayed
Was in holidays in USA from 8th to 20th of september 1998.
Wed 26th August 1998
- Added this new page called "what's new ?"
- Modified all the bad adresses in the pages
Sun 16th August 1998
- I decided that this new site will be English AND French. Boring to do, but worth while !
New ISP
Sat 15th August 1998
- InterNIC registered my domain name. Cool !
- Transfer of the site to SimpleNet who is my new provider
ISP change
Fri 1st August 1997
- HOL (my first ISP) sends a mail saying that it will stops all web activities. And ask us to continue with AOL. Thanks you, bye.
Here we go!
Sat 1st March 1997
- My personal homepage is now online! Welcome to http://wwwperso.hol.fr/~mpointie


text:
Random Conversation
Check out this post from Stephanie . . . errr . . . . Dawn. She's friends with F Train and wrote this funny post about the Boathouse Bash. Here's a bit of it.
To set the tone . . . some middle aged magician just walked up to us during a NL ring game at the Boathouse.
Courtesy of Ms. Dawn:
Instead, it was another deck of cards. This time, Derek was his mark.
"Is that your daughter?" he asked pointing to the baby-faced Mrs. Spaceman.
"No, she's my wife," he (Derek) replied.
He (the magician) looked surprised.
"But you guys can't cross state lines, right?" (says the magician)
"No, it's ok. We're from Kentucky," Derek answered, not missing a beat.
There were plenty of weird and hilarious conversations going on during the Boathouse. Too bad we didn't have a film crew documenting this blowout party because it was a wild one!


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The Maine Wildlife Park (Gray): Home to over thirty species of native wildlife. Walk nature trails and tour expansive gardens. Enjoy the snack shack, gift shop, picnic area and more. Guaranteed to see a moose! The Park serves as a permanent home for wildlife that cannot survive in the wild and are here for their protection and healing. Open daily, 9:30-4:30pm, mid-April - Nov. 11
Sabbathday Lake Shaker Society (New Gloucester): Located within the perimeters of the only active and functioning Shaker Community in the world, the museum buildings encompass twenty-seven exhibit rooms which explore over 200 years of Shaker history. Gift Shop. Open Monday through Saturday, 10�"4:30pm, Memorial Day to Columbus Day
Poland Spring Resort (Poland Spring): Poland Spring Resort spans a vast 600 acres with an award winning golf course (the oldest golf course at a resort in the United States), 3 inns and 11 cottages. The resort offers numerous recreational and entertainment activities, water access, vacation and dining and room accommodations to suit any budget. Open every weekend, Memorial Day to Columbus Day; Open daily, in summer and winter Wednesday through Sunday.
Poland Spring Preservation Society (Poland Spring): Museum, art gallery, chapel and gift shop are housed in two buildings listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, the Maine State Building (originally located in Chicago at the 1893 World's Fair) and All Souls Chapel. The non-profit society conducts museum tours that focus on the history of Poland Spring, highlighting the Victorian and Gilded ages. Open Tuesday - Saturday, 9-4pm, Memorial Day to Columbus Day.
Poland Spring Preservation Park (Poland Spring): In the early 1900's a state of the art Spanish style water bottling facility and spring house were constructed at Poland Spring. Tour the former bottling facility and discover the rich history behind Poland Spring Water. Open Thursday - Saturday, 9-4pm, Memorial Day to Columbus Day.
Harvest Hill Farms (Mechanic Falls): Harvest Hill Farms Farm Market sells premium brand of natural range fed beef, chicken, lamb, and pork. In addition to our meat department we carry native vegetables, deli meats and cheeses, dairy products, baked goods and made in Maine products. We also focus on seasonal favorites such as lobsters, maple products, apples and much more. Family entertainment with Pumpkin Land in the fall and petting and viewing areas are available.
McLaughlin Garden (South Paris): Features mature collections of hostas, daylilies, astilbes, iris, phlox, sedum, cimicifuga, sempervivums, Maine wildflowers and ferns and over 200 lilacs all beneath a canopy of mature deciduous and coniferous trees. Explore the historic home, barn, Garden Gift Shop. This is Maine treasure. Garden: Open daily
The Presidential Inn Is across from the Maine Inn... a 5 minute walk. A Victorian beauty.
The Lodge is open year round 1/4 mile from the Maine Inn. Breakfast nook, gift shop and relaxing lobby. Upgraded in 2012.
The Cottages: Privacy insured. All have a full living room, snacking kitchen (toaster, coffee maker, refrigerator, silverware, and glasses), some with libraries, some with screened in porches... 2 to 5 air conditioned bedrooms. Minimum 4 People.
|Map Legend
|Maine's Best vacation Value Poland Spring Resort
Maine, United States
|Cyndi's Dockside Boat rental and Restaurant
723 Maine Street, Poland Spring, Maine, United States
|Presidential Inn
41 Ricker Road, Poland, ME 04274, USA
610 Maine Street, Poland, ME 04274, USA
|POland Spring Golf Course
Robbins Road, Poland Spring Country Club, Poland, ME 04274, USA
|Maine State Building
35 Preservation Way, Poland Spring Country Club, Poland, ME 04274, USA
|Poland Spring Preservation Park
|Poland Spring Donald Ross Golf Course
|Shaker Village
|3 miles
|Range Pond State Park
|2 Miles
|LL Bean
|20 miles
|Portland Maine
|35 miles
|1 mile
|1 Mile
|Outlet shopping
|20 miles
|Maine Wildlife park
|6 miles
|McLaughlin Gardens
|8 miles
|Cyndi's Dockside Restaurant
|1 mile
|Harvest Hill Farms
|6 miles
|entire weekend with food
|holiday weekends
|entire weekend with food
|5 day plan in summer
|entire 5 days including food
|7 day plan in summer
|entire 7 days including food


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For my next Memory Monday subject I have chosen teachers. While I may cover several teachers in some posts, in this post I am going to limit myself to my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Delgado. This was at Davidson Elementary School in San Bernardino, California.
My memories of kindergarten are fairly limited. After all, I was only 5-6 years old and, as is often the case for children when they first start school (we didn't have preschool in those days), I caught every bug that came through and missed a lot of days. One of the big events of the school year was the Big Guppy Give-Away, which I described in my Memory Monday post on Pets.
Mrs. Delgado must have been a nice lady for the most part; at least, my mother liked her. Mom was especially happy when Mrs. Delgado made silhouettes of us to give our parents for Christmas. As I remember, I excelled at sitting still for that silhouette. Several of us had to go to speech class once or twice a week (I'm not sure, but I think in my case it was because my extreme shyness gave me a slight stutter and made it appear that my vocabulary was underdeveloped).
Naps rated low on the "like" list and finger-painting rated high. Painting with regular paints was somewhere in the middle range for popularity. It was soon to drop much lower than that in my estimation. Our class was split into groups and we rotated activities from day to day based on the group we were in. We were supposed to clean up after ourselves after each activity. One day, after cleaning up, we were getting ready to go outside when something suddenly seemed to be amiss. Mrs. Delgado was angry. What could be wrong? Apparently someone had knocked over a paint can in the trough by one of the easels and left a mess. Who had been painting at that easel? I had. But I knew that I had left it clean and hadn't knocked anything over. If anything, I was overly fastidious about cleaning and believed that Mrs. Delgado knew this about me. She didn't. She was heading my way. I made a quick scan of the room, trying to spot the guilty boy (in my 5-year-old girl mind, the culprit had to be a boy) who had turned the paint can over by accident (or possibly deliberately). Too late. Mrs. Delgado stopped in front of me, whipped out her accusatory finger, and started yelling at me. Her voice was shriller than I had ever heard it before and she seemed to loom over me; I felt very small. The other kids surrounded us, and the tongue-lashing seemed to last a long time. I do not remember what, if any, punishment followed; it was probably some sort of time-out.
My family moved to nearby Highland a couple of years later and I attended Warm Springs Elementary School there through sixth grade. When I was in sixth grade, some of us "big kids" were selected to help the kindergarten teachers wrangle the kindergartners during a school activity, possibly the May festival. The kindergarten classes were in a separate block of rooms and I had never paid attention to who the kindergarten teachers were. I was assigned to Mrs. Delgado's class; she must have transferred to Warm Springs at some point. In sixth grade, at 5'3", I was one of the tallest students in school. I walked into Mrs. Delgado's class and noticed something I had never realized before: Mrs. Delgado was very short.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Memory Monday: Teachers – Mrs. Delgado
2 comments:
What a great memory especially the surprise ending. As I read your post, I thought about some of my favorite teacher memories.
Thanks, Professor Dru. I hope to read some of your teacher memories; I think it's interesting what we remember about school and teachers (selective memory?).ReplyDelete
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text:
Staff writer
At a time of the year when most people are thinking about putting away snow pants and cold weather clothing, Cameron Kahlua of Hillsboro is looking for "grow sizes" of winter clothing for her five children. In five months, Kahlua and husband, Kevin, are planning to move their family to Almaty, Kazakhstan where they will teach English in an American International School.
"We like adventure," Kahlua said. "I grew up in the Congo going to an American International School. Kevin is Hawaiian. We have always known someday we wanted to get jobs overseas. It is just a surprise that things fell into place so quickly right now."
Cameron Kahlua lived in Hillsboro off and on since she was in sixth grade and her parents, Gordon and Karen Wiebe, returned from mission service.
"I guess you could say doing something like this is in our blood," she said. "Seven years ago while Kevin and I lived in Las Vegas, we were set to go into mission work sponsored by the Southern Baptist church there. We were surprised by twins, and ended up moving back to Hillsboro. Then we had another child, but never forgot our dream to serve overseas."
This past December, Kevin finished his master's degree in school counseling at Emporia State University. Cameron was already a certified teacher. They decided in February to revive their overseas dream and attended a job fair in Boston for international teachers.
"We were in Boston from Wednesday through Sunday, during that Nemo blizzard," Cameron said. "By the time we flew back home, there was an e-mail of acceptance to Kazakhstan waiting for us."
Kahlua said Kazakhstan was formerly part of Russia and is the ninth largest country in the world, located between Russia and China.
"It's going to be cold there," she said. "I've been told the average temperature is much like that in Michigan, probably about -20 degrees in the winter."
Kahlua said they actually hoped to be accepted to teach in a more tropical environment, but the entire family was up to the challenge of moving north.
"The kids are very excited," she said. "Kiersten, age 13, is ready to go tomorrow, if we could."
Kahlua said she and her husband have a yearlong contract with Quality Schools International and the organization will provide a salary, housing, living and travel expenses for the entire family.
"This really is a career move for us," she said. "After we have been with the organization for two years, we can rotate between 39 private, non-profit schools in 27 different countries. There is a chance we may end up somewhere more tropical someday."
The downside to the whole adventure is the monumental task of condensing family belongings from a house full, into what might be carried in one suitcase per person.
"In the next four months we will really trying to pare down," Kahlua said. "We will be having tons of garage sales, selling our furniture, and getting rid of our car. The packing part is going to be very daunting, especially with five children."
Kahlua said she expects to be able to buy what they needed once the family gets established in their new country and home in August, but had heard clothing there was expensive and not of good quality.
"I'm trying to plan ahead a bit and buy things they will grow into once we are there," she said. "The interesting part is that I've heard the local people don't like to be cold, so their buildings are all very well heated. I imagine we will fit in just fine with our jeans and T-shirts."
The Kahlua children — Kiersten, 13, Elias, 10, Marley and Kanaloa, 5, and Avery, 3 — will finish the school year in Hillsboro, but look forward to an international education with their parents as teachers when they embark on a new life in August.
"We are just all very excited about this opportunity," Kahlua said.


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PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 5 — NASA took the rover Opportunity on its first real drive on Mars, a trip across pebbly soil that appears to be unlike anything else seen on the surface of the Red Planet, scientists said Thursday.
Opportunity rolled forward about 11 feet (3.5 meters) on Thursday, leaving it closer to an outcrop of rocks that scientists want to spend days studying. It was the first time the rover had moved since leaving its lander Saturday.
Scientists planned for Opportunity to roll 5 more feet (1.5 meters) Friday. That should put the slabs of bedrock within reach of the rover's robotic arm, although a little "scoot" may be needed to move Opportunity even closer, Larry Soderblom of the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Scientists skipped plans for the rover to conduct more soil tests on the way to the outcrop, opting instead to reach as quickly as possible a feature on the rocks they have nicknamed "Snout."
Spirit back to work
On the far side of the planet, the twin rover Spirit resumed its science work Thursday after being stalled for two weeks with software problems, project manager Pete Theisinger said. Plans called for it to brush off and examine the surface of a volcanic rock, he said.
Spirit could begin rolling again by the weekend, moving toward a crater 800 feet (250 meters) away that could take a month to reach.
The software problems have stymied its half of the $820 million double mission to find evidence that the planet was once a wetter place.
Then Opportunity may turn its attention to the Martian soil, spinning one of its front wheels to dig into a spot rich in the iron-bearing mineral hematite. Opportunity previously looked at a patch of soil elsewhere in its crater that contained very little of the iron oxide, which typically forms in liquid water.
NASA also has pinpointed where Opportunity landed, Theisinger said. The rover sits inside a shallow depression about 2,300 feet (700 meters) west of a larger crater, he said.
Spirit landed on Mars on Jan. 3, followed three weeks later by Opportunity.
As of Thursday, NASA recorded 5.4 billion hits on its Mars mission-related Web sites, Theisinger said. The number has grown steadily by 100 million hits a day, he added.
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Getting to the root of horseradish root problems
Approximately 55 percent of the horseradish produced in the United States is grown in the Collinsville, Ill., area, the self-proclaimed "Horseradish Capital of the World." The product is of such high quality that Europeans import it for gourmet and industrial use. But when crop sciences professor Mohammad Babadoost first arrived at the University of Illinois in 1999, he was told that growers had been experiencing significant yield reductions due to internal discoloring and root rot.
"If the roots are discolored, they are not accepted for processing," Babadoost said.
U of I researchers have been looking at various bacteria and fungi for more than 30 years, trying to identify the agents causing the problem. In the 1980s, they isolated a fungus called Verticillium dahlia, which was linked to horseradish disease at many locations in the United States.
Babadoost, however, was not convinced that this fungus alone was responsible for all the damage.
"When I came here, I realized that it's a serious problem, and I thought it could be a complex problem rather than a single-pathogen/single-disease problem," he said.
He was right. In 2004, he and his team determined that internal discoloration of horseradish roots is due to a disease complex caused by at least three fungi: Verticillium dahlia, Verticillium longisporum, and Fusarium solani.
"But I was still not completely convinced that that was the end of the story," he said. He was seeing a lot of root rot that did not appear to be caused by the identified pathogens.
He and his graduate student, JunMyoung Yu, carried out fungal isolations from horseradish roots from commercial fields in Illinois and Wisconsin. They first identified isolates to genus; those identified as Fusarium were further identified to species based on their morphological and molecular characteristics.
They selected 11 isolates that they identified initially as Fusarium oxysporum. After further analysis, they found that six of them were actually Fusarium commune, a species that was identified in 2003.
To compare the pathogenicity of the two species, they inoculated asymptomatic horseradish roots with either F. commune or F. oxysporum and monitored root quality at monthly intervals.
They found that plants inoculated with F. oxysporum developed internal root discoloration. However, roots inoculated with F. commune had more discoloration, and 83 percent of them developed root rot by four months after inoculation. This was the first time that F. commune had been linked to horseradish disease.
Knowing the source of the disease, however, does not solve the problem. Although infected roots can be dug up, washed, and replanted, the process is labor-intensive, and the plants remain susceptible to the pathogens that remain in the soil.
Babadoost said that growers are interested in developing resistant cultivars, but doing so will not be an easy task. "I don't know if cultivars resistant to the internal root discoloration will ever be available because of the complexity of the disease," he said. "You have to go through a long process of testing against each individual pathogen and combination of pathogens to come up with a reasonably resistant cultivar."
He recommends that growers use an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach. Infected roots can be cleaned in hot water and replanted. Biocontrol agents or fungicides can be used to protect the roots from infection for 12 weeks, and it takes roughly the same amount of time for root damage to reach unacceptable levels.
"If these two techniques are combined, by the end of the season in the fall the roots are either not infected or discoloration from infection is negligible, so you can sell the roots," he said.
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