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Primeval (US - DVD R1)
How could Gabe possibly be this bored by a giant crocodile movie? How indeed.
There is a giant crocodile named Gustav killing people in central Africa. No really, there is, like, in real life. In fictional life a hotshot news hound and his camera man are sent off with an up and coming sexy female news hound, a great white hunter, and a Steve Irwin-alike (all with zero character development) to investigate a fictional version of the great green lizard. There is political strife and small scale genocide in the area too. Things don't look good for our plucky band of stereotypes.
Primeval will probably be best remembered for its ill-advised ad campaign. Not content to stick solely with the exploitation stand-by of 'based on a true story', which has worked for years, the producers decided to keep the fact that the film was about a giant crocodile a secret. The ads proclaimed that the film was about history's most prolific serial killer. I hope that the word got out before a bunch of poor saps were disappointed that they weren't seeing the next Hannibal Lector or Michael Myers.
The film itself only spends about three minutes keeping its villain a secret, by opening with a crime scene investigation, which leads into a death scene that makes no sense. Maybe if the 'killer's' identity had been kept a little more ambiguous for the film's first half or third the campaign would've made a little more sense. As is, it just appears that Disney didn't want to admit they were releasing a film about a giant crocodile.
It's almost unbelievable how repetitive and boring modern monster movies can be. I mean, they're movies about giant creatures attacking people. I lived for this stuff as a kid. Primeval more or less shares its plot with Anaconda and Lake Placid, both much more entertaining films, and both of which are sort of off-shoots of the plot from Jaws, which may be the most ripped-off film in motion picture history. The characters are all brutal archetypes. There's the funny black guy, the cynical hero, the open minded, pretty chick, the smart but foolish environmentalist, and the hunter/guide with questionable intent. It's actually kind of embarrassing that people were willing to put time and money into a project this derivative.
But hey, we don't watch Godzilla flicks for their original plots and innovative character arcs, we watch them for the monster. So where the hell is the monster? I can't tell what's going on when you shake the camera so much. Seriously, stop cutting. You don't need to make sixty-seven cuts a scene. Maybe I just need to wait a while, maybe they're saving Gustav for a bang-up finale. Oh, there he is. Well, I guess he looks kinda cool. And he roars like a dinosaur? That's...neat.
Horror is a great place for politics, especially in the form of allegory. As a backdrop for politics it doesn't always work. It ends up looking indecisive rather than meaningful. Primeval is by no means meaningful, it's a monster movie put through the MTV filter. It's all flash and no substance, and sometimes that's okay, but only if a film is willing to run with it. The political drama side of the film is just as unoriginal as the monster movie side, anyway. It takes bits and pieces from just about every film about third-world civil war ever made. If you want to watch a horror movie that's serious about African politics rent Dust Devil, if you want to see a movie about giant Crocodilia eating people rent Alligator.
I don't want to get into the blatantly racist undertones of the film, but will say that it's been a long time since I saw a film featuring lead characters that take home a pet African man.
The flick may not be very good, but this disc looks spectacular. The film is super-stylized, like a commercial or heavy metal music video, but even when bathed in darkness or bleached with sun the transfer looks really damn good. Details are very crisp, without any noticeable edge enhancement. Noise and grain is only obvious when intended, like when we're shown DV or infrared footage. Colours are rich and vibrant. This is one of the better live-action discs I've seen in a while.
The film's audio is aggressive, as one might expect from a flashy music video. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is effective, only lacking a smidgen on the bass front. The surround channels are constantly abuzz with obtuse sound effects and a brutally average musical score. The crocs ridiculous battle cry will most likely startle your cat, and every line of Dominic Purcell's embarrassed performance is perfectly clear and cantered.
Fortunately for me there aren't too many extras to sit through. Unfortunately for me the first extra is a feature length commentary track. The last thing I wanted to do was sit through the film again. Fortune shines again when I realize the disc was sent to me kind of late, and that time restraints dictated that I simply skim through the commentary rather than sitting through the whole thing. At least that's what I told myself. The track features the director and his effects supervisor. The track is a bit lethargic, but informative. It's good to know that these guys at least tried to make a scary message movie.
Next up is a Croc-umentary (their words, not mine). Ahem. This is a brief featurette that spends more time on special effects than anything else, which is okay because there's a commentary track for those honestly interested in the production. The digital croc is actually pretty impressive for a medium budget production, and the effects men are good at explaining their craft.
The deleted scenes are par for the course and needed to be deleted. Once again, director and effects supervisor. Not found on the set is a collection of the purposely misleading trailers and TV spots. I wonder if BVHE is regretting that one enough to pretend it never happened.
I was willing to give Primeval a chance, despite the stupid ad campaign, because I like monster movies, but it's no better than the dozen or so already available straight to video or on the Sci-Fi channel. I feel sorry for everyone involved. Everyone tries their best, but it just isn't good enough. Entirely forgettable, and this is coming from a guy that absolutely loves Deep Blue Sea.
The funny thing is that actor Dominic Purcell is exactly where I left him when I last saw him in Grave Dancers, in an SUV, screaming while driving away from a monster.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Chris Gould Editor Join Date: May 2001 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,171
This is so weird. I was wondering what happened to Orlando Jones the other day. Now I know...
FangsFirst Member Join Date: August 2005 Location: United States Posts: 290
At least they say Alligator is finally coming to DVD!
Steven Carrier Senior Member Join Date: November 2004 Location: United States Posts: 1,575
best line in the movie:
"Its a Land Rover, it should just go!"
"Its a Land Rover, it should just go!"
Stubby Member Join Date: December 2006 Location: United States Posts: 291
FangsFirst wrote: At least they say Alligator is finally coming to DVD!
When might that be?
When might that be?
Chris Johnson Member Join Date: October 2005 Location: United States Posts: 1,465
You'd think a movie about a giant killer crocodile would be badass, but this was just BORING!!!! How could this have happened?
David Blackwell Senior Member Join Date: February 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2,831
wish it had a better script for the actors. the croc outacted them all. definitelya bad movie to make fun of and enjoy it that way. loved your review, Gabe.
Chris Johnson Member Join Date: October 2005 Location: United States Posts: 1,465
I wouldn't be shocked if this ended up being mcked by the MST3K guys at rifftrax.com later on.
Kaya Savas Member Join Date: April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 1,254
mikey mike Member Join Date: March 2006 Location: Yemen Posts: 256
hey that dude from "Prison Break" is in it so it's gotta be good right?
and I do watch "Godzilla" for the original plot lines and clever dialog so speak for yourself
and I do watch "Godzilla" for the original plot lines and clever dialog so speak for yourself
FangsFirst Member Join Date: August 2005 Location: United States Posts: 290
Stubby wrote: FangsFirst wrote: At least they say Alligator is finally coming to DVD!
When might that be?
Sept. 18 supposedly
When might that be?
Sept. 18 supposedly
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
Pfft, I've owned Aligator for years. Region Free players are the best!
staypuft Member Join Date: April 2007 Location: United States Posts: 5
As a horror lover, I thought it was pretty good. I too love Lake Placid and Alligator, and I have to say that my least favorite croc movie was some idiot's SCI-FI original movie attempt at Lake Placid 2. That ticked me off. Primeval made my cousins jump and scream, and I'll admit it was a good jumper, which also made it worth while. Liked it.
Disc Details
Release Date: 1st January 1995
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: No
Video: NTSC
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Spanish
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Extras: Director/Effects Supervisor Commentary, Croc-umentary, Deleted scenes
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Michael Katleman
Cast: Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton, Orlando Jones, Jürgen Prochnow, Gideon Emery
Genre: Horror
Length: 94 minutes
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EPA announces $800,000 funding to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites in communities across Oregon and Washington
Contact: Suzanne Skadowski, EPA Public Affairs, 206-295-4829, firstname.lastname@example.com and Susan Morales, EPA Brownfields, 206-553-7299, email@example.com
(Seattle - July 15, 2013) Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $800,000 in supplemental funding to help clean up contaminated Brownfields properties across Oregon and Washington. The Revolving Loan Funding will help these communities carry out cleanup and redevelopment projects, creating jobs while protecting people's health and the environment.
Revolving loan funds specifically supply funding for grant recipients to provide loans and sub-grants to carry out cleanup activities at Brownfields sites. When these loans are repaid, the loan amount is then returned to the fund and re-loaned to other borrowers, providing an ongoing source of capital within a community for additional cleanup of Brownfields sites.
In EPA Region 10, Brownfields Revolving Loan Funding is being awarded to:
Washington Department of Commerce: $500,000 for low interest loans similar to recent loan and grants to a local nonprofit for Senior Housing Developments in the Rainier Valley, Seattle.
Oregon Business Development Department: $300,000 for low interest loans or subgrants including a former Baker City machine shop that will be redeveloped, engaging local students, through a teacher's leadership, in cleaning up and redeveloping a property for the community's benefit.
There are an estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated sites in the U.S. The Brownfields program targets these sites to encourage redevelopment, and help to provide the opportunity for productive community use of contaminated properties. EPA's Brownfields investments overall have leveraged more than $20 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding from public and private sources and on average, $17.79 is leveraged for every EPA Brownfields grant dollar spent. The funds have enabled the support of 90,000 jobs in cleanup, construction, and redevelopment.
More information on EPA's Brownfields program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
More information on Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grants: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/rlflst.htm
Follow @EPAnorthwest on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAnorthwest

subset: commoncrawl


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Ok, so you're probably wondering. "Why is Freejack talking about programming?"
Fair question.
If you recall from the prior postings, I started with computers because of gaming so programming is integral to and supports my gaming. Without gaming, I might never had started programming and I wouldn't be here today (or perhaps not at this point anyway).
Today, I'll give you a quick run down of where I am now, in the 21st Century.
You recall
There has to be a purpose, a reason for writing a gaming tool. People don't generally just start writing software. There's a perceived need, something missing or just a personal need to create.
Much like gaming adventures or sourcebooks. Someone, a Ref for example, spends time running a game and decides to clean up the adventure and make it available.
I'm not sure what sent me into the programming realm though. I see all the tables for Car Wars spread throughout the various
I'm a programmer from way back. Heck, it was because of gaming that I started learning how to program back in 1979 or so.
At the time, I was running AD&D three times a week. I had a 2'x3' sheet of stiff cardboard with a quarter inch grid. I covered the board and taped down three sides so I could slide the grid paper out if needed. As a graphics artist, I used some rub-on letters and numbers to create a header, drew some lines and used a grease pencil to keep track. I also had a


text: Scott Bennett, a professional climber, spent the last three months living and climbing in Southern Argentina. Upon arriving home, the only question he heard was "How was it?" But he has always had trouble answering the question, as the trips are too varied to be captured in a short response. Instead, he defines the low and high of his season here and lets you decide.


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Food2Fork makes it easy to find great recipes.
Search by name or ingredients. Join to save your favorites for later.
Christmas Cookies I
- 4 cups molasses
- 2 cups butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 2 teaspoons anise oil
- 3 cups dried currants
- 2 cups sour milk
- 6 cups white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 cups walnut halves
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 3 cups raisins
- 1 (8 ounce) package candied citron peel
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 16 cups all-purpose flour
DirectionsView on All Recipes
Why don't we display directions?
|Nutrition Facts
|Serving Size 1/144 of a recipe
|Amount Per Serving
|Calories 177
|Total Fat 4.8g
|Saturated Fat 1.9g
|Cholesterol 13mg
|Sodium 73mg
|Total Carbohydrate 32.2g
|Dietary Fiber 1g
|Sugars 17.5g
|Protein 2.4g
|* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.
All RecipesView All 36792 Recipes
Visit Publisher Site
Recipe and photo copyright http://allrecipes.com


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Topics include digital photography, French, science, cooking, Harry Potter, the circus, yoga and the wild west
The deadline to register for Spoon River College's Summer Youth Program is Wednesday.
The program is slated for 9 a.m. to noon July 15-18 at the SRC Outreach Center with available classes for students entering grades first through sixth, according to a news release. Participants can attend three 50 minutes sessions of their choice, which meet each day.
Students who sign up for Bonjour will explore France through language, culture and activities, students in Crazy Science will learn about chemistry and physics through hands on experiments, and those in Digital Photography will learn about taking great photographs and how to use their camera.
Other topics this year include: Gardening, cooking, Harry Potter, the circus, yoga and the wild west. Courses will meet at the same time each day, similar to a college schedule.
To register, visit the outreach center at 2500 E. Jackson St. in Macomb, or download a brochure at www.src.edu/outreach and click on Summer Youth Programs.


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Beauclerc FL Real Estate
Along San Jose Boulevard north of Sunbeam Road begin two older, more established
communities: Beauclerc (pronounced Bo-claire) and San Jose. The drive through
these neighborhoods is one of the city's most scenic, with large mature trees
and some of Jacksonville's most notable landmarks along the way.
Beauclerc Road is a desirable location, extending out to the St. Johns River and
lined with stately trees, as is most of Beauclerc. A mix of housing styles are
available in this neighborhood, from brick ramblers to two story contemporaries.
Most of the homes in Beauclerc were built in the 1970s and 1980s. The area is
also home to small office parks and condominium communities, as well as small
retail centers. This area also affords riverfront views and access, with many
impressive estate type homes lining the river. San Jose is just north of
Beauclerc, extending toward downtown along San Jose Boulevard. San Jose is
almost an exclusively residential community, with homes built in the 1950s and
Whether you want to commute to work downtown or Southside, all of these areas
are convenient. They also are close to beaches, St. Augustine, Town Center
shopping, restaurants, sport events & more.
Come let us give you a tour of our areas.


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Modern Piggy Banks
This week I have been spending too much money on unnecessary luxuries (I blame the holiday sales). It is time to put myself back on a budget and made me think that adults should go back to using piggy banks. There are a handful of "piggy" banks that are modern and decorative and blend in with the rest of the decor.
My favorite bank is the doggy bank - I always did love balloon animals! It is so fun for a bedroom accessory and would definitely bring a smile to my face every time I see it (and remind me to fill it with extra change).
Shown Above:
- Doggy Bank: Animi Causa Boutique $89
- Bright White Egg Bank: J Schatz $115
- Harry Allen's Pig Bank: A+R $198
- Piiiig - Extendable Savings Bank: The Spoon Sisters $16
- My Car Savings Bank: SFMoma Museum Store $58
Images: As credited above


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DIANA is a one-owner 1992 Hinckley Sou'wester 52. She was highly customized during the build process, by her extremely experienced and knowledgeable original owner. This 3 stateroom, 2 head vessel, with keel and centerboard is the ideal vessel for extended offshore cruising.
DIANA has been on the hard for several years as her owner has pursued powerboating interests so she will need work.
Some unique features that set DIANA apart from other vessels in her class are centerboard-up draft of 5'10", a 5-Kw Northern Lights generator, two reverse-cycle air-conditioning systems, water maker, electric winches, raised cockpit bridge deck, diesel tank clean-out ports, additional insulation, teak countertops in the galley, satin-cherry interior with 6' 6" headroom throughout and a custom designed saloon table that can accommodate 10 people.
DIANA has been on the hard for several years as her owner has pursued powerboating interests so she will need work.
Deck features include:
Shorthanded sailing cockpit set-up.
Edson pedestal wheel steering includes:
Also easily accessible:
Other cockpit features:
Entertainment Electronics:
Well-appointed, DIANA has a beautifully finished, varnished cherry interior with an off-white overhead. There is a satin-urethane varnished teak and holly cabin sole that has a built in teak grate and fiberglass pan dustpan. There are varnished cherry integral handrails outboard port and starboard below the portlights throughout.
Layout - Tri-cabin plan includes two heads:
AFT COMPANIONWAY from the cockpit:
The oiled teak aft companionway steps have:
These steps are movable for access to the insulated generator area.
Down the companionway steps immediately to port is the Owner's cabin that includes an ensuite head forward. Cabin features include:
The Owner's Head forward is finished in varnished cherry and has:
MAIN CABIN - The full-width main cabin includes:
Aft starboard, opposite the aft cabin, is the U-shaped GALLEY to starboard of the companionway and handy to the cockpit:
Forward of the galley to starboard, the Nav Station faces aft.
The full-width main salon has a large Dinette area to port and a custom Settee area to starboard that includes the entertainment center.
To Port:
Large Dinette area has cushioned seating that wraps almost around the custom dining table. This affords plenty of relaxed seating area when entertaining or dining:
To Starboard:
Forward of the main salon, this cabin has a solid cherry door to separate it from the rest of the accommodations. A second door forward leads to the forward head that is shared with the starboard guest cabin.
Large double berth - with custom shelves under large storage drawers.
This cabin has upper and lower berths and is similar to the port guest cabin with a solid cherry door to separate it from the main salon and a second door forward that leads to the forward head that is shared port guest cabin.
Forward of the two cabins is the two-entry door head that also has a bulkhead door forward for access to forepeak/chain locker storage, that includes a shelf.
The Forward Head is finished in white "easy to clean" fiberglass with teak integrated in the sole.
Hood electric stoway double-spreader mast (Light Gray Awlgripped) with preventors and electric cockpit winches that allow shorthanded sailing. Topping lift on the boom and there is a mast bale. Bridge clearance at main truck less antennas = 69' 3".
12-VOLT DC and 110-VOLT AC systems.
Separate heavy-duty 12-Volt battery banks system for the engine and house accessories:
110-Volt AC power is supplied by:
Northern Lights 5-KW Generator (2,595 hrs 3/21/2014) - in sound enclosure and rubber-mounted, and includes an intake blower. Dual alternator and a remote panel at nav station.
Heavy copper strapping bonds all circuits, major mechanical components and rigging to the keel for grounding.
The sound insulated engine compartment is easily accessed. Engine space room has dome lighting. The engine is soft-mounted with Scatra-drive coupling for quiet and vibration free operation. Also rubber-mounted to isolate vibration are the muffler, refrigerator, air conditioning, generator and generator box.
Yanmar 4JH2-DTE 88-hp marine turbo diesel engine with a 2.7:1 reduction gear transmission, stainless steel shaft and 3-blade auto-pitch prop.
Ground Tackle Equipment:
4480 SE Robertson Road
Stuart, FL 34997-2301
United States


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Occupational Gratitude
September 27, 2012
Noah first met his occupational therapist at summer camp. He was three-and-a-half years old and had already developed a fierce dislike of school (and any school-like activities) and a deep distrust of teachers (and any teacher-like adults). But for some reason, Ms. M___ was different. He liked her. He liked her a lot.
For over three years now, she's worked with him. First, almost daily, at preschool, then weekly. She was his anchor, the thing he looked the most forward to all week, the one person who could always — ALWAYS — coax the most and the best from him. Balance, coordination, motor planning, social skills, play skills, handwriting, attention span, self-regulation. She's encouraged him, pushed him and challenged him. But most of all she's believed in him, and loved him. Genuinely, unconditionally.
She's the first person to hear about Noah's victories and breakthroughs, big or small. She is one of his biggest cheerleaders.
She's also the first person I talk to when I'm having a rough time, or need ideas or strategies or some empathy from someone who gets it. Or maybe just to geek out about The Hunger Games. She's kind of been my cheerleader, too.
Yesterday she told me that she's moving on. She's resigned. She's accepted a new job somewhere else, and the countdown to Noah's final session has begun.
We both cried. She cried the hardest.
I haven't told Noah yet. God. That's going to suck.
The good news is that I know Ms. M___ and I are going be awesome friends now, and that she's not really going anywhere. Except maybe to our house, and my couch, since we'll allowed to hang out and drink wine and play with Noah in the backyard.
And you know? It's time. It really is. Noah's doing great. Beyond great, really. And other kids deserve to be great now too. I wish I could tell those kids and their families that man, you guys, you're so lucky.
You're about to meet the person who is going to change your life.


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I was debugging an ASP.NET Web Application Project today and when I got to a breakpoint and then clicked the Stop Debugging tool button, it appeared to stop just fine, closing Internet Explorer and returning me to my editor. But what really happened was that the code had continued to run. I thought I had seen this behavior before, but this time I had conclusive proof because it updated 45 records in my database with data representing the bug which had led me to want to stop in the first place.
So what happened? I thought when I told the debugger to Stop, that it really would stop and not do any more work. But that's not the case. After some searching around, I found this posting on Microsoft Connect that states that this is by design. At first, that sounded ridiculous and like a lame excuse, but if you read the details, it actually makes sense. And it points you to the solution which is to use the Terminate All action on the Debug menu rather than the Stop Debugging command.
Now, I'm not saying you should use Terminate All all the time, because in many situations, it doesn't really matter if the page code is allowed to run its course before closing. But in situations, such as mine where I wanted to prevent it from running to completion and tweaking my test data, it is the perfect solution. I customized the debug toolbar to add this button right next to the Stop button so now it reminds me to decide which level of interruption I really want.
One side-note is that the Terminate All command will not only stop your code execution at that exact location, and close the browser window, it also terminates the Visual Studio Web Server, so there will be a little extra overhead the next time you start the debugger as it has to restart the web server. But that's a small price to pay for the benefit of knowing your processing actually stopped where you wanted it to.
posted @ Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:03 PM
Emerald City Domains
© Ajarn Mark Caldwell
Theme by PiyoDesign. Valid XHTML & CSS.


text:
|June 6, 2013
Contact: Whitney Ray
Phone: (850) 245-0150
|en Español
|Print Version
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Pam Bondi has outlined critical concerns regarding Bank of America's possible failure to comply fully with the servicing standards she helped negotiate, which are required by the national mortgage settlement. In a five-page letter that preceded a meeting between the National Monitoring Committee, of which Florida is a member, and the Bank of America on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi shared her concerns on behalf of Florida's homeowners and requested that Bank of America improve its process immediately. Complaints about Bank of America account for nearly 40-percent of the total 293 complaints the Attorney General's Office has reviewed and shared with the National Monitor regarding possible non-compliance by the banks.
In the letter, Attorney General Bondi states, "It isn't the statistics that are as important as the people they represent. Let me give you some actual examples of the problems I've outlined—real Floridians, who, without the assistance of my office, most likely would not have seen successful resolution of their circumstances."
The concerns regarding possible non-compliance with the national mortgage settlement by Bank of America include, but are not limited to:
· Failing to maintain a single point of contact;
· Failing to comply with the settlement's dual tracking restrictions;
· Failing to comply with certain timing requirements;
· Failing to oversee foreclosure counsel; and
· Allowing lengthy loan modification processes to occur.
To read the letter, please follow this link: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JMEE-98ESLS/$file/BOA.pdf


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Things to Do
Mövenpick Hotel West Bay Doha is ideally located in the heart of West Bay, the perfect location to experience Qatar at its best. Perfect for shopping, soaking up the culture or strolling along the Doha Waterfront Corniche.
Looking to do a little shopping? City Centre Mall has over 250 stores and is only a 10 minute walk from Mövenpick Hotel West Bay Doha. It is also home to the Doha Ice Skating Rink, a cinema and a large food court.
Towards the northern part of the city, you will find Katara Cultural Village, a local hub for events and activities all year long, including the country-famous Sports Day. It is also great for dining, walking and taking in a show. The village includes an amphitheatre, heritage centre, libraries, art galleries and museums. There are also retail outlets, coffee shops and a market.
Museum of Islamic Art
Art and history enthusiast can enjoy one of the greatest art collections at the Museum of Islamic Art. Set on the waterfront, the museum building in itself is an architectural gem. Visitors will enjoy masterpieces of Islamic art, including metalwork, ceramics, jewellery, woodwork, textiles and glass, collected from three continents and dating from the 7th century, also labelled as one of the world's most complete collections.
Souq Waqif
Dive into the Qatari tradition and customs at the ever popular Souq Waqif. Translating into 'The Standing Market' it is becoming one of the city's top tourist spots, selling traditional garments, spices, handicrafts, and souvenirs. The Souk has also expanded and now includes restaurants serving cuisines from all over the world, as well as Shisha cafes.
The Pearl covers four million square meters of reclaimed land which now boasts luxurious modern residencies and a promenade around the world's longest waterfront walkway that is lined by internationally renowned restaurants and high end boutiques. A perfect place for a stroll, some shopping and of course al fresco dining.


text:
UK: Prices fall as discounts continue
PUBLISHED: 10:10 06 August 2014
Shoppers saw the deepest level of deflation for eight years last month as retailers continue to discount groceries, clothes and electrical goods.
Prices fell for the 15th month in a row to hit 1.9% in July from 1.8% a month earlier, according to the British Retail Consortium/Nielsen shop price index.
The survey's authors said this was the deepest level of deflation since they began collecting this data in December 2006.
Food price inflation fell to 0.3% from 0.6% 12 months ago, as major supermarkets such as Tesco and Morrisons cut prices to fight off competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl in a bid to retain market share.
British Retail Consortium director general Helen Dickinson said: "This is great news for households who are benefiting from fierce competition within the industry at a time when disposable incomes remain under pressure.
"The lowest ever recorded food inflation will be particularly welcomed by the lowest income households who typically spend around a third of their expenditure on food."
The report pointed out that the majority of agricultural commodity prices fell during the first half of the year, which, combined with a strong pound, kept prices down.
But Ms Dickinson added that falling prices meant challenging conditions for retailers as margins were squeezed, while other costs such as business rates continued to rise.
Price pressure on non-food retailers eased slightly, with the overall rate of decline decelerating to 3.3% last month from 3.4% a year ago.
However, some of the sharpest price falls still came in the non-food sector with prices among clothing retailers slumping 11.2% over the year, while electrical goods fell 5% over the same period.
Nielsen's head of retailer and business insight Mike Watkins said non-food retailers were "maintaining the level and depth of price cuts and promotions to help drive footfall" over the summer holiday season.


text:
Skype Aims to Work Advertisers Into the Conversation
Jun 14, 2012 11:06 AM PT
Skype has begun plastering display ads across its calling interface.
The Microsoft-owned VoIP service refers to them as "conversation ads." The ads, according to Sandhya Venkatachalam, Skype's general manager and VP of advertising and monetization, could spark additional topics of conversation and generate interactivity between families and circles of friends.
Skype will use non-personally identifiable demographic info such as location, gender and age to better serve ads. Users who opt out of such data collection approaches will only see ads specific to their locations.
Currently, the ads are only being shown to users accessing Skype from Windows who do not have Skype Credit or subscriptions to the service. The ads will appear on 1:1 audio calls, and Skype said the ads will be silent and won't affect the quality of the call.
Skype didn't return our request for further details.
Customer Turn-Off?
Skype features ads on its home tab, but the new conversation ads will be one of Skype's first forays into display ads for its calls. The service will need to proceed with some caution, Jon Arnold, principal at J Arnold & Associates, told the E-Commerce Times.
"They would have to manage this well, since the user base is pretty loyal," he said.
Even with a loyal base, Skype isn't alone in the online call service market, so a major blip in the ad service could damage the brand, Gordon Owens, digital marketing professional at GO Digital WSI, told the E-Commerce Times.
"If ads distract the users from the main reason they are on the system -- to have a conversation -- then they will find an alternative," he said.
Another potential concern is how personally targeted Skype makes its ads. It's common for sites such as Facebook and Google to gather user info to make ads as user-specific as possible, but Jack Gold, research analyst at J. Gold Associates, said the company has to straddle the thin line between delivering targeted content and invading user privacy.
"They do have to be careful here so as not to turn off the users with excessive snooping, but so far a similar strategy has worked for Google monitoring Web activities," Gold told the E-Commerce Times.
Even if Skype users have a problem with the service, the ads are only going to appear to those customers who are using the service for free, which doesn't leave them much room to complain, said Arnold.
"Ultimately, nothing is really free, and Skype users have had it good for a very long time -- maybe that's about to change," he said.
Skype and Microsoft
Despite potential concerns over launching ads, Skype is in a position where it has to generate revenue somehow -- a problem that's not so severe amongst some of its competitors, said Arnold.
"The real problem is that Skype can really only make money from direct usage of their voice service," said Arnold. "Google has ad revenue, so they can give Google Voice away for free and still be in business. Skype doesn't have that luxury, so there's a tradeoff of generating new revenues from these ads against driving people away to free services like Google Voice."
That lack of revenue probably doesn't sit well with Microsoft, which scooped up Skype for US$8.5 billion about a year ago. At that hefty price, Microsoft has ensure it gets what it paid for, said Arnold.
"They have not had success building a social media business with their users, and with so much money being thrown at Facebook, Microsoft has to find ways to get a better return on their investment," said Arnold.
A mutually beneficial relationship between the companies is crucial if Skype is going to prove to be a good buy, said Gold. The Conversation Ad launch might be a step on the way to bringing Microsoft and Skype's assets closer together.
"I think the real opportunity for Skype and Microsoft is to tie Skype closer to Bing and make it a delivery platform," said Gold. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see them try to parse some of the text files and direct ads to those subjects."


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Browse by:
Electronic publishing system
Electronic publishing system
Patent Drawings:
(5 images)
Date Issued:
September 14, 1999
June 21, 1996
Langford-Wilson; Alistair
(Abbotsford, AU)
Cybergraphic Systems Ltd.
(Hawthorn, AU)
Primary Examiner:
Fetting; Anton
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney Or Agent:
Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis, L.L.P.
U.S. Class:
Field Of Search:
International Class:
U.S Patent Documents:
Foreign Patent Documents:
2 246 102
Other References:
The present invention has application in electronic and printed media such as newspapers, magazines and computer text systems. The present invention relates to a mechanism by which text and images for publishing can be prepared and/or edited. The invention has particular application in the layout of newsholes.The present application discloses an electronic media publishing system comprising a data base in which there is stored, inter alia, a layout style, a layout family, layout children and layout cousins. There is also disclosed a method of preparing a layout of information in which a newshole is selected and resized if necessary in accordance with user definable rules.
I claim:
1. An electronic publishing system for preparation and/or editing of one or more publications via a computer, the system including a database which defines at least the following:
at least one publication to be prepared and/or edited, the publication having a plurality of sections, each of which includes at least one newshole;
at least one layout style for each section such that each layout style comprises a plurality of different layouts;
the layouts in each layout style forming one or more layout families, the layout families defining layout variations of publication elements such as text and images;
the one or more layout families structured so as to include layout children, wherein each layout child within a layout family is genetically consistent in format with all other children within the layout family and pertains to a different sizenewshole from all other children within the layout family.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein said database further includes layout cousins which define alternative layout children.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein each layout style is associated with a plurality of sections.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the relationship defined by the resizing means includes one of:
a) proportional relationship;
b) fixed-difference relationship; or
c) a user-defined specific expression or algorithm relationship.
5. A method of preparing and/or editing a page of a publication using the system of claim 1, comprising the following steps:
defining a section to which the page is to belong;
defining a layout style within the section defined to which the page is to conform;
searching the database of layout families within the defined section and layout style for appropriate layout children;
displaying the appropriate layout child or children;
selecting one of the displayed layout children to be used as the format for the page; and
resizing the child to fit it to a newshole on the page.
6. An electronic publishing system for preparation and/or editing of one or more publications via a computer, the system including a database storing a plurality of layouts according to the following structure:
the plurality of layouts are associated with at least one publication to be prepared and/or edited;
the one publication is divided into a plurality of sections each containing at least one newshole, with each section being associated with at least one layout style;
each layout style comprises a plurality of layouts;
the layouts in each layout style are arranged into layout families wherein the layout families define variations of publication elements;
the layout families are structured to include layout children, wherein each layout child within a layout family is genetically consistent in format with all other children within the layout family; and
resizing means for defining a geometric relationship between the publication elements of each layout child to fit within a designated newshole.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein said database includes layout cousins which define alternative layout children.
8. A method of preparing and/or editing one or more publications via an electronic publishing system in a computer, the method including the steps of:
defining a plurality of sections for one or more publications;
defining at least one layout style for each section wherein each layout style is made up of a plurality of different layouts;
arranging the different layouts in each layout style into one or more layout families, such that the layout families define layout variations of publication elements such as text or images;
defining layout children for the layout families, wherein each layout child within a layout family is genetically consistent in format with all other children within the layout family, and pertains to a different size newshole from all otherchildren within the layout family;
designating a newshole in a section to be prepared;
designating a layout style to which the section to be prepared is to conform;
searching the layout families within the designated section and layout style for appropriate layout children which correspond to the designated newshole;
displaying the appropriate layout child or children; and
selecting one of the displayed layout children to be used as the format for the page.
9. The method of claim 8 further including the step of:
defining an overall size of a page belonging to the designated section, so that the appropriate layout children are those which substantially correspond to the defined size of the page.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein layout families are only searched if they contain children whose minimum size is smaller than or equal to the defined size and whose maximum size is equal to or greater than the defined size.
11. The method claim 10 further including the step of:
resizing the layout elements of the appropriate layout child or children located, according to defined geometric relationships between the layout elements, before displaying the appropriate layout child or children.
12. The method of claim 9 further including the steps of:
monitoring any changes made by a user to the selected layout;
determining whether the changes result in a layout which exceeds at least one maximum dimension of the selected layout; and
if at least one of the maximum dimensions are exceeded, suggesting an alternative layout.
13. The method of claim 8 wherein one child in each family is marked as Head of the Family, and only the children so marked are searched for conformity to the designated section and layout style.
14. A method for preparing a publication, comprising the steps of:
storing in a database a plurality of layout families, each representing a different format for elements of a newshole, each layout family including a plurality of layout children which pertain to newsholes of respectively different sizes;
displaying one child for at least some of said plurality of layout families;
designating one of the displayed layout children;
resizing the designated layout child to fit a specified newshole size;
determining whether the resized layout child exceeds limits of the newshole size to which it corresponds;
replacing the designated layout child with a different layout child from the same layout family whose associated size corresponds to the specified newshole size, if said limits are determined to have been exceeded; and
generating a newshole in accordance with the designated layout child or replacement layout child, as appropriate.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the children within a family respectively pertain to mutually exclusive ranges of sizes in at least one geometric dimension.
16. The method of claim 14 further including the steps of storing resizing expressions that are respectively associated with said layout children and which specify geometric relationships between elements of a newshole for an associated layoutchild, and wherein said resizing step is carried out in accordance with said stored expressions.
The present invention relates to electronic and printed publishing and provides a mechanism by which text and images for publishing can be prepared and/or edited.
Particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention is directed at the layout of newsholes.
The present invention has application in electronic and printed media, for example newspapers, magazines and computer text systems.
The design of a newspaper provides a particular style and flavour discernible by the reader.
As used in this context, `design` refers to the graphical rules or guidelines that govern how elements (such as headlines, pictures and text) should be used to construct newsholes, including the number and type of elements which may or may not beused in certain circumstances, the size and position of those elements in each case, direction on suitable typography, and usage of other graphic devices such as borders and colour.
The design style of a newspaper is often considered critical, for a number of reasons. For example, it has great bearing on the newspaper's "appeal" to different readers (such as, large heavy headlines in a tabloid, or smaller "dignified"headlines in a "quality" broadsheet). The readers are attracted to buy the paper and this obviously helps to determine that paper's market. Designs also serve the purpose of giving the newspaper a unique or distinct look so that they are distinguishedfrom their competitors. For these reasons, very often newspapers spend considerable time, effort and money on determining their design "style".
Currently, in many publishing environments, the design of a newspaper is controlled by only a few people and is communicated--often verbally--from one person to another. These people may or may not also be responsible for laying out thenewspaper (that is, implementing their own design) but, typically, layout is performed by people who did not determine the design style but who must learn it and implement it as faithfully as possible.
As a result, a number of problems and issues may and do arise with newspaper layout:
1. It is possible for the design to be implemented incorrectly in some cases, due to a misunderstanding or ignorance of its requirements, or pressure of workload, or lack of skill by the layout operator. This may result in a glaring andundesirable deviation from "style".
2. It is possible under the existing arrangements for the design and style of a newspaper to change over a period of time, due to changing interpretation of how it should be applied, and/or a build-up of a series of minor "styles" inaccuracies. Although this change may be subtle and may occur over a period of a number of years, any change is often noticed by readers of the newspaper, with possible negative effects on the readership of the newspaper.
3. A layout, although it may be creatively faithful to the design guidelines, may be inefficient in its usage of space, resulting in expensive wastage of space and/or less news being put in the paper.
4. Computer systems are available with electronic tools that facilitate the building of layouts. However, these systems will require the layout to be constructed manually using those tools, which is labour-intensive and time-consuming. Inaddition, these systems provide little or no guidance on the paper's style and do not assist the layout operator in determining how layouts should be designed. They merely permit the layout operator to build the layout, once the operator has personallydetermined what should be built.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,354 and GB 2,246,102 disclose how newsholes can be arranged to fill a given area (such as a page). However, they could not be used to generate the newsholes themselves.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,829,470, 5,287,443, 5,113,488, 4,755,955 and 5,079,724 all relate to different aspects of manipulating type and/or images to fit a given shape. These disclosures do not reach the concept of publication design rules, and theywould not assist in any way in actually helping to build or determine the newshole design. These inventions address mechanical problems that may arise once it becomes necessary to pour text and/or images into those shapes to fill them up.
The publishing industry suffers from a lack of standard terms to describe common features of the trade: jargon varies widely not just from country to country, but even between publishing houses. To clarify the present disclosure, this briefglossary notes what we have used certain key terms to mean.
Page: This term is standard but may sometimes be confused with "newshole", described next. A page refers to the physical, printed page or some representation of it, such as a paper or electronic "dummy" page which is used for planning andpreparing the printed version.
Design: Refers to the graphical rules or guidelines that govern how elements (such as headlines, pictures and text) should be used to construct newsholes, including the number and type of elements which may or may not be used in certaincircumstances, the size and position of those elements in each case, direction on suitable typography, and usage of other graphic devices such as borders and colour.
Newshole: We have used this term to describe a component of a page, such as a story or advertisement (typically, we use it to mean "story" as in editorial reference, but conceptually, "advertisement" also fits). A newshole refers to a portion ofa page, which portion has been used for a common purpose or means (such a presenting a story). A page may contain one or many newsholes which are usually discrete from each other. A newshole may itself be comprised of several elements: a story maycontain headlines, pictures and text, which together make up the newshole for that story.
Layout: Refers to the way these design guidelines are implemented and actually put into practice in any particular instance.
Layout (or newshole) Element: This refers to the individual elements within a newshole, such as headlines, pictures, graphics, text, captions and so on.
Thus, pages contain newsholes, newsholes contain elements, and Design is the rules and Layout is the implementation of the design.
The present invention seeks to alleviate, at least, one problem associated with the prior art.
The present invention provides a system, apparatus and/or method of preparing or editing text for publishing in which:
a newshole is filled in accordance with a design, and
resizing of the newshole takes place if the fit is not in accordance with predetermined criteria.
Advantageously, if the newshole is resized, any number of the layout element(s) may also be resized.
In another form, the present invention enables the various elements of a newshole to be arranged (sized and positioned) and formatted (styles, using devices such as typography, colour and borders) in a manner that:
I. suits or matches the particular newshole design (presentation) rules of a publication, and or
II. allows the particular size and area of the newshole to be automatically fitted (or filled up) consistent with those design rules, by:
A. allowing the user to predefine relationships between the various components of the newshole, which relationships determine each component's size and position relative to the others', and/or
B. permits automatic recalculation of each component's size and position so that the newshole can be filled.
The present invention determines the shapes that comprise a newshole and/or what those shapes are (what they represent), and/or how big each one is, and/or where each is placed within the newshole.
For simplification purposes, the present invention is called NAILS, an acronym which stands for "Newspaper Automated Intelligent Layout System". (However, the present invention is not limited in application to newspapers, but can be used for anyelectronic or printed media where material is laid out or presented according to a certain style.) NAILS refers to the way the various elements of a newshole may be arranged (sized and positioned) and formatted (styled, using devices such as typography,colour and borders) in a manner that:
I. Suits or matches the particular design (presentation) of a publication and/or
II. Uses resizing to allow the particular size and area of the newshole to be automatically fitted (or filled up) consistent with those design rules.
NAILS achieves these aims by providing any number of the following facilities:
III. It allows the publication's design style to be defined by providing means whereby the publication can:
A. Predefine suitable layouts and store these into a database and/or
B. Determine and predefine the conditions or circumstances in which each of these layouts may be considered suitable for use and/or
C. Define, for each of these layouts, rules governing the behaviour of each element of layout, as to its size, position and typographic style and so on. This facility allows the publication to predefine relationships between the variouscomponents of the newshole, which relationships determine each component's size and position relative to the others'.
IV. It facilitates the selection and usage of layouts (from a database) in accordance with the predefined design style. To achieve this, it:
A. Allows the user of the database to specify the general type and style of the layout desired for the current newshole, in a quick, easy and intuitive manner and/or
B. Determines which layouts are or are not suitable or correct for usage in the current newshole, in accordance with the predefined rules and taking into account the specified desires of the database user and/or
C. Graphically displays for the user the correct or suitable layouts and allows selection of one of them and/or
D. Prevents the user of the database from selecting unsuitable or incorrect layouts and/or
E. Automatically builds the final layout, including transparently resizing the selected layout and its elements to suit the new size specified by the user, in accordance with the rules that have been defined for that layout and/or
F. Automatically monitors any further edits that the user may make to the layout after it is drawn, and measures these against the predefined design rules. Depending on the nature and circumstances of those changes and the dictates of thepredefined design rules, the present invention may further assist the user by: automatically adjusting the layout (or its elements) to accommodate or suit the user's manual edits; and/or suggesting that an entirely different layout would be moreappropriate according to the predefined design style; and/or allowing the user to accept that suggestion, at which point the software may automatically build the new layout and/or use it to replace the previous one.
A preferred embodiment of thepresent invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate examples of layout presentation FIG. 4 illustrated a resized FIG. 1
FIGS. 5-7 illustrate FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 with by-lines added.
The NAILS system provides a separate "working area" for each publication published by a newspaper (such as separate daily and Sunday newspapers). The present invention utilises adatabase for each of those publications.
Within each publication, the database is programmed preferably in a hierarchical structure, which is:
______________________________________ Publication Section Layout Style Layout Family Layout child Layout cousins ______________________________________
Section refers to the various sections of the publication, such as News, Sport, Business and so on. (The publication defines these according to its needs). Section was chosen as decisive division in the database because it is between differentSections that a newspaper's design style is most likely to vary. In other words, the design style (layout and typography) is likely to be more consistent within a Section but different Sections may have slightly different styles or design needs. Thepresent invention facilitates this, although the newspaper may also decide that each Section will be the same.
Layout Styles exist within each Section and are defined by the publication. Each Section has its own set of Layout Styles, though these can be copied into multiple Sections if they have common usage. The number of Styles within a Section is notlimited. Typically, Styles are set up to reflect generic layout uses, indicative of the Section's needs, for example: lead stories, picture stories, fillers, secondary leads and so on.
The Layout Families exist within each Layout Style and are defined by the publication. Each Family represents a layout variation or option within that Style: for example, a Style called "Picture stories" might contain options which feature bothhorizontally and vertically oriented pictures, and options such as placing the picture at certain positions within the story layout. There is no restriction on what these variations or options can be.
The Layout Children are contained with each Family and again are defined by the publication. Each child within a Family must have a unique size (width and depth) and the size of no two Children can overlap: within one Family, two or moreChildren may have the same width or depth, but no two can have the same width and depth. Typically, the Children in a Family will together form a contiguous range of sizes, so that the maximum limit of one Child will be defined by the minimum size ofthe next Child. Although the software will by default enforce this, it is preferred as it is not mandatory. The publication may specify a different maximum size (width or depth or both) for any Child (if only one dimension has a specified maximum, thesoftware will use the default for the other dimension) so long as the resulting combination of width and depth is smaller than the next Child's minimum size.
The Layout Cousins represent "alternative Children". Although they are not part of the primary selection process, they are used to provide greater options to layout operators. Their use is described later. A Layout Cousin is related to aLayout Child: they both have the same size. A Layout Child may have more than one Cousin.
It should be pointed out that while many newspapers would be familiar with the concept of "Sections", the concepts of Layout Styles (as used here), Layout Families, Layout Children and Layout Cousins are unique to the present invention. To ourknowledge, newspapers do not currently use such devices or concepts to organise their design style.
Description of populating the database
The present invention, in one form, provides tools for configuring, managing and populating the database. These tools are preferably but not essentially provided through menu bars and other computer functions within the application. They allowthe publication to store/remove Sections, Styles, Families, Children and Cousins to/from the database.
The publication may draw (graphically) each Child in the base layout application being used with the present invention. Since one form of the present invention depends on the theory that layouts will always be selected and sized upwards (madelarger than their original size, not smaller), the Child will be drawn at its smallest intended size.
The publication would then define, for each Child or Cousin, relationships between its various elements (such as headlines, pictures, captions, body text and so on). This is done using the Resizing Expressions noted below.
When a Child or Cousin is stored into the database, the publication nominates which Section/Style/Family it belongs to (and can create new Sections/Styles/Families as needed). The present invention then checks for any existing Children withinthat Family that may have a conflicting size range and automatically resolves that conflict by resetting the existing Child's maximum size (width, depth or both, as the case may be) to the minimum dimension/s of the new Child.
It is also expected that all the Children within a Family will exhibit what may be called "genetic consistency", in that they should all appear similar. That is, if one Child features a Picture above the main Heading, they all should. This isbecause a Family represents a particular variation or type of layout within a Layout Style; its Children then represent embodiments of that layout at various distinctive sizes.
For example, the configuration of the Headline may and usually will change as the layout's size increases: a small story of one column wide by 10 cm deep (4 inches) might feature two lines of headline at a pointsize of 14 pt with the only otherelement being one column of body text; but this headline configuration would not be used if the same layout were required to be used at six columns wide by 30 cm (12 inches) deep; instead, the publication might choose to use one line of headline at apointsize of 42 pt and might also change the body text from one column to six separate columns. Although the specifics of the headline and body text are different in each case, the layout can still be said to be "genetically consistent" in that bothrepresent the same approach of headline-over-body text. FIGS. 1-3 show how a certain style of layout presentation may be implemented differently at various sizes, according to the general sort of design rules that newspapers typically follow.
This illustrates the concept of Families and Children. It would be thoroughly confusing if, in the case described above, one Child contained a Subheading, Picture and Caption which were not present in other Children within the Family. Insteadof implementing these entirely different layouts as different Children within the same Family, the concept underlying the present invention would suggest that the publication should set up two different Families, one featuring head-over-body, the otherfeaturing the use of Headline, Subheading, Picture, Caption and Body.
Additionally, when Children are stored into the database, one Child within each Family will be identified as the "Head of Family", for purposes described later.
Description of Resizing Expressions
The Resizing Expressions allow relationships to be defined between the various elements of a layout (Child or Cousin), such as the headline, subheading pictures, captions, bylines, body text and so on.
These relationships are defined using a "dialog box" within the application (a small on-screen "window", opened via a menu bar or other command, that presents various options to the user).
The options available allow the publication to define, for any element, one of four different types of relationship:
A proportional relationship. In this case, the proportion is deduced from that which currently exists. For example, a picture may already occupy 60% of the depth of the total layout; specifying its depth to remain proportional would maintainthe picture at 60% of the total layout depth, even if the layout is subsequently resized.
A fixed-difference relationship. In this case, the software measures the actual difference between two values, and maintains that. For example, a picture may be 5 cm (2 inches) shorter than the total layout; specifying its depth to remain a"fixed difference" from the layout's depth would maintain the picture at 5 cm less than the layout's depth, even if the layout is resized.
No relationship. The specified value does not change.
A specified expression or algorithm which the user enters. In this case, the user may enter a mathematical and/or logical expression, which will be used to calculate a new value when the layout is resized. For example, the user might specify apicture's depth to be 50% of the newshole depth, plus 2 cm.
Each of these expressions may be applied, completely independently, to an element's width, depth, horizontal position or vertical position. In each case (with the exception of the manually entered expressions), the specific values used forproportional or fixed-difference calculation are deduced from those values present in the layout as currently drawn.
In each case, the relationship may be specified as being relative to any other element in the layout, or to the dimensions of the layout itself. For example, the publication may define the vertical position of a picture (in a certain Child) asbeing a "fixed difference" relative to the position of a headline.
The width or depth of an element may be specified relative to any other element's (or the layout's) width or depth, using "proportional" or "fixed-difference" calculations, or using a specified expression, or none. A Maximum limit may also beplaced on an element's width or depth, which will not be exceeded.
The horizontal or vertical position value of an element has additional options. First, the reference point of the position may be specified as being the element's top, middle or bottom point (for vertical positions) or its left, centre or rightpoint (for horizontal positions). Secondly, this may be specified as being relative to the top/middle/bottom (or left/centre/right, as the case may be) position of the nominated reference element (or layout).
Thus, the vertical position of the picture (described above) would be specified not just as being relative to the position of the headline. It would additionally be defined as: the top, middle or bottom point of the picture is relative to thetop, middle or bottom of the headline.
Using these Resizing Expressions, the inventors have found that virtually any desired relationship can be easily and quickly defined, and that as a result, virtually any resizing effect can be achieved.
As an example, a layout may contain a headline at the top (over three columns, say) with three individual columns of body text underneath. At the top of the second column of body text, but still underneath the headline, may sit a small picture(see FIG. 2).
Using these Resizing Expressions, it would be possible to specify that:
The headline will continue to stretch the full width of the layout (its vertical size and vertical and horizontal position do not need to change, but its width could be specified as either proportional to the layout's width, or a fixed-differencefrom the layout's width since in this case, both expressions would have the same result). Thus, if the layout was made wider, the headline would continue to stretch across its full width.
The first column of body text might be defined as: width, proportional to the width of the layout; depth, a fixed-difference from the layout's depth; h-position, none; v-position, top of body a fixed-difference from the bottom of the headline.
The second column of body text might be defined as: width, proportional to the width of the layout; depth, a fixed-difference from the layout's depth; h-position, left point is a fixed-difference from the right point of the first leg of the firstleg of body text; v-position, top of body a fixed-difference from the bottom of the picture.
The third column of body text might be defined as: width, proportional to the width of the layout; depth, a fixed-difference from the layout's depth; h-position, left point is a fixed difference from the right point of the second leg of bodytext; v-position, top of body a fixed-difference from the bottom of the headline.
The picture might be defined as: width, proportional to the width of the second column of body text; depth, a fixed-difference from the layout's depth; h-position, left point is a fixed-difference from the left point of the second leg of bodytext; v-position, top of picture is a fixed-difference from the bottom of the headline.
In this case, as the layout was made wider, the headline would continue to stretch the full width of the layout; the individual columns of body text would continue to each occupy roughly one-third of the layout's width (we say roughly, becausethere is a space between each column of text, so each column is slightly less than 33% of the total layout width); the second and third columns of body text would move to the right, so that they continue to be correctly offset from the first column andfrom each other, evenly spaced across the width of the newshole; and the picture would continue to be the same width as the second column of body text, would continue to be positioned in line with that column, and would continue to sit under the headlineand on top of the second column of body text.
We note also that, in the above example, that the width and the horizontal position of the picture could have been specified using different variations of the Resizing Expressions to achieve the same result.
Description of using the present invention to automatically build layouts
The layout editor uses the present invention, once the database has been set up containing layouts (Children) that have Resizing Expressions defined for them.
The present embodiment of the present invention permits different methods of usage. Only one is described here.
The layout editor may define, on the electronic version of the page to be laid out, an overall size for the particular story layout. The method for achieving this may vary depending on which application is being used as the base layoutapplication (the present invention may work with many different layout applications), but typically this would involve graphically drawing a box to indicate the desired width and depth of the total layout. The specified size of the layout is known asthe "target" size.
The layout editor may then invoke the present invention, as it is embodied in a computer application, using a menu bar or other computer command.
This will open a separate computer window. If the layout application system being used in conjunction with the present invention is able to tell the present invention which Section the current page belongs to, the present invention will bydefault select that Section. If not, or if the current Section's layouts are not actually desired, the user may select a Section manually.
With the desired Section specified, the user selects a Layout Style. The possibilities, as defined in the database, are listed in the present invention's window.
When this is done, the present invention reads the size of the target layout, notes the Section and the Layout Style requested, and searches for Families within the Section/Style which contain Children whose minimum size is smaller than or equalto the target's and whose maximum size is equal to or greater than the target's.
Because of the restriction that each Child within a Family must have a unique size (width/depth combination), only one Child can be selected from within each Family. It is possible that some Families may have no Children suitable for thetarget's size.
Once the possible Children are known, the present invention displays them within its window as a series of "thumbnails"--small, representative pictures of what each layout would look like.
At the same time, it resizes each Child to fit the target, using the Resizing Expressions defined for, and embedded within, each Child.
Thus, the layout editor is shown a number of layouts, each of which fits the target size, and each of which also suits the publication's particular design style for that Section (since the database is set up and subsequently searched in such amanner as to preclude "unsuitable" layouts being displayed).
To complete the operation, the layout editor simply selects the layout which appears most desirable. The present invention then "instructs" or "directs" the underlying layout application to build the selected layout according to the rulesdefined for it.
Thus, instead of having to build the layout manually in each case, the layout editor is simply able to work by selecting from a set of possibilities, and the computer is able to do all of the "leg work" required to actually build the layout.
This offers tremendous gains in the following areas: speed, faithful (consistent and accurate) implementation of design style, avoidance of design style errors, and simplicity of operation. It should be noted that the same series of actions areused to build any layout, regardless of its complexity, whereas when using manual layout applications, the amount of labour increases with the complexity of the layout.
Description of additional functions and points
The present invention provides a number of additional features, functions and methods of usage, including (but not limited to):
The invention is not limited or restricted to requiring a "target" layout size to be defined prior to requesting a selection of possible layouts. In this case, the procedure is the same except that a target is not specified, and the presentinvention does not search for a specific size of layout within the nominated Section/Layout Style. Instead, it retrieves those Children within the Families of the selection Section/Layout Style which have been marked as being "Head of Family". Thelayout editor may select one of these and it will be placed on the page at its default size. It can subsequently be resized.
If a layout, which has been selected and placed on the page, is resized so that either or both of its maximum dimensions are exceeded, the present invention monitors this and offers the layout editor a number of choices, one of which (thedefault) is to replace the Child with the Child which has been specified for use at the new size.
The present invention, may operate with any known layout application available commercially.
Furthermore, its database of stored layouts provides a convenient means of "translating" layouts between one application and another, so that a database of layouts designed for use with one layout application can easily be converted to work withany other layout application.
A function is provided whereby a particular Section/Layout Style/Family can be assigned (or "mapped") to a "hot-key", a key on a keyboard designated to carry out a particular computer command. This functions as a sort of computer "shorthand". It allows a certain style or type of layout to be assigned and then employed by a single command. In this case, it might not be necessary for the user to open the present invention's window and make any selections: the user could simply define a targetand press the key assigned to a Section/Style/Family; the present invention would then automatically search that Family for the correct Child and fill in the layout effectively with a one-shot command (or, of no target was defined, it would placethe"Head of Family" Child for that Section/Style/Family onto the page).
A function is provided whereby a user may select, on the page, a layout which was already created using the present invention, and then "cycle through" alternative layouts. In this case, the alternative layouts are selected from with theSection/Style as the current layout. Each of the alternative layouts is chosen form the other Families within that Section/Style. This presents a convenient means of revising or changing a layout which has already been drawn, in light of furtherdevelopments concerning the page's overall design.
When the completed layout has been drawn into the target on the page, the layout is built as a series or set of objects which are in the "native" format used by the underlying application. That means the nature of the objects may vary dependingon the needs of the underlying application, but that in any case, the objects will be editable within that application.
The Layout Cousins referred to throughout this document allow the layout editor to select variations on a particular Child, where the variation may not be substantial enough to warrant inclusion of the Cousin as a Child within its own right, in aseparate Family. For example, the layouts in FIGS. 1-3 could conceivably also include Bylines for the reporter or contributing agency. Although some publications have a policy of always (or mostly) including Bylines, others allow the Bylines to beincluded or excluded according to certain criteria (even, sometimes, the whim of the layout editor). And even on those publications that do regularly include Bylines, there may need to be alternative Byline styles to accommodate, for example, thedifferences between a credit for a staff reporter and a credit for an agency reporter. In all of these cases, separate alternative Families could be set up to supply layouts with different Byline configurations (including no Bylines), but this wouldhardly seem worth the effort. It may also cause some confusion by presenting to the layout editor too many choices for selection, especially since the distinguishing features between the different Families would be so minor. In these cases, thepublication would set up Layout Cousins which would mirror the layout in the primary Child, but would offer the different Byline configurations. The layout editor can then select the particular layout that is desired, but modify using it a simplecommand to include various Byline styles. The Byline could, of course, be added manually, but automating its inclusion again simplifies the operation and allows the publication to ensure that when it is included into the layout, it too follows thedesired design style. FIGS. 5-7 illustrate the same layouts as FIGS. 1-3, but after Bylines have been added using Layout Cousins related (or assigned) to those Children. Another example of Layout Cousins might be to allow easy implementation of changesthat do not affect the layout at all, only its typography. The layouts in FIGS. 1-3 all have bold-face headlines and, although it is not illustrated, might have roman-face body text. An alternative presentation could be roman-face headlines withbold-face text, and this too could be achieved neatly through the use of Layout Cousins.
In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 it can be seen that the three layouts have different overall sizes and shapes and that the detailed particulars of each layout also vary to a certain extent:
The specific headline configuration is different in each layout, FIG. 1 has three lines of headline, FIGS. 2 and 3 each have two lines. Furthermore, the pointsize of each of the headlines is different in each layout.
Each layout contains a small picture and caption, but the specific position and relative position of this varies. In FIG. 1, its relative position is in column 1. In FIGS. 2 and 3 its relative position is column two, however, its specificposition is different since the columns in FIG. 3 are wider than those in FIG. 2.
The number of body text columns varies between the layouts and the columns in FIG. 3 are wider.
However, it may also be seen from these illustrations that from a design perspective, the publication might actually consider all of these layouts to be variations of single style or type of layout. This is because the general "look and feel" ofthe layouts is consistent with each other; the only reason the specifics vary between them is because they are different sizes.
For example, if this layout were indeed required to be four columns wide, it would not usually be considered satisfactory simply to enlarge the layout in FIGS. 1 to fit, producing a layout that looks like FIG. 4.
Even if the layout were adjusted so that it had three columns of text, instead of one extremely wide column, it can be seen that headline configuration is all wrong. Instead, it would be understandable that the newspaper might prefer a layoutsimilar to the one shown in FIG. 3. This is what the present invention allows.
Using conventional methods of drawing layouts manually (using a computer application), the layout editor would need to be familiar with this style as it is used by the publication, and would further need to understand how the style is to beimplemented at these various size. Finally, the layout editor would need to build the desired layout manually, ensuring also that the style is adapted accurately to the particular size required. This would require the layout editor to manually draweach box for each element of the layout, to size and position each box correctly and then apply correct typographical styling to each box.
According to the present invention, these three layouts (and probably other, also similar layouts) would be stored as different Children within the same Family.
The layout editor would then define the target size (requiring the simple drawing of a single box on the page) and would invoke the present invention's window. If the default Section (for the current page) was suitable, and it nearly always willbe, the layout editor would proceed by selecting a Layout Style, for example, "News stories with small pictures". (If the default Section, was not correct, the layout editor would select the correct one from a list).
The application would then display layouts appropriate to the size of the drawn target, one layout (Child) from each Family within the selected Layout Style (excepting any Families that do not have suitably sized Children). The layout editorwould expect to see a series of graphical thumbnails each showing a layout. If the layouts in FIGS. 1-3 had been stored as Children in a Family within the "News stories with small pictures" style, and the target was of sufficient size, the layout inFIG. 3 would be shown in one of the thumbnails.
The layout editor would then simply select that layout and the present invention would instruct or direct the underlying application to draw the completed layout into the target on the page.
This would complete the layout operation. Notice, the layout was completed in only a few simple steps, that throughout the process the layout editor was guided as to what the suitable layouts might be, and that the final construction was fullyautomated.
1. Much faster to produce layouts. Initial tests on existing newspapers show the present invention would be useable for about 80% or more of newsholes, on average, and that in each of these, the use of the present invention would eliminate oralleviate between 70% and 95% of the existing manual work necessary with existing software programs. This provides newspapers with the potential to make significant productivity gains, in an area (layout) that currently requires a large number ofspecialist and highly-paid staff.
2. System training is a major overhead for newspapers. On average, we find that a layout editor requires two weeks of full-time computer training before they can start producing pages: most of this (7 out of 10 days) is devoted to learning howto produce typical layouts on the layout software. We estimate that with the present invention the average layout editor would be fully conversant, practised and able to start real work in under four hours, and that several days of additional training(which might not be required, in many cases) could then be carried out "on the job".
3. Layout training: A layout editor new to layout requires substantial training purely in terms of layout design ability. This time is typically measured in months, sometimes years. Even an experienced layout sub-editor, on joining a new andunfamiliar newspaper (or even a new section within his current newspaper), may have to spend weeks learning the "house style" before he can run without any "hand holding". Since the present invention "knows" the house style", can illustrate this(graphically) to the layout editor and manages and controls the implementation of that style, this time would virtually be eliminated.
4. When a newspaper embarks on a "re-design", this is costly and lengthy process where an entirely new design is invented and then brought into practice. The nature of this typically requires the change to be "all or nothing". There areextreme difficulties in re-training existing staff in preparation for this. The present invention removes the hassle since the design team can simply set up a new, alternative database. During the design stage, this also allows them to carry outconsiderable "real life" testing experimentation. Then, when it is ready for use, the newspaper simply switches (over night) to the new database. All that is required is a brief (under 1 hour) familiarisation briefing for the layout editors, or perhapsa short written overview of the changes.
5. Provides consistency of style and flavour of publication to readers.
6. In many cases, more efficient filling of newsholes.
* * * * *
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text:
NEW YORK -- Ludovic Lefebvre can stomach just one more bite.
After five years of LudoBites _ hugely popular guerrilla-style, short-lived eateries held mostly around Los Angeles _ Lefebvre says he is done with so-called pop-up restaurants.
"Pop-ups have become a little ridiculous. I've become tired of it now," he said during an interview Friday. "I don't want to be associated with that anymore. It's time to change."
It's sad news for the French chef's legions of fans, thousands of whom sometimes crashed online reservation sites when clamoring for hard-to-get tables at one of Lefebvre's events.
The last LudoBites _ all of which have been operated in existing restaurants, but using his own staff, decor and food _ will be held next month.
But Lefebvre isn't disappearing. By the end of the year, he plans to pop up _ and stay put _ with a new and permanent Los Angeles restaurant.
Called Le Routier, the restaurant will be modeled after _ wait for it... _ French truck stops of 20 or 30 years ago.
Lefebvre says these restaurants were known for serving excellent but affordable country-style food, dishes such as coq au vin and beef bourguignon.
Appropriately enough, the restaurant _ which he described as something between a bistro and fine dining _ will be in a strip mall and next to a gas station.
"I realized I wanted to cook for everybody and be more accessible," said Lefebvre, whose just-released cookbook, "LudoBites," recounts the challenges and rewards of running a vagrant restaurant.
Does he worry after so many years of wandering, settling down will seem staid?
"I get bored very fast," he said, laughing. "The solution is to open a new concept."
A new concept such as a high-end fried chicken eatery, for example. Perhaps as soon as next year


text:
The Bird Wire System from Bird-B-Gone is a low profile bird deterrent used to keep large birds off ledges, parapet walls, rooflines, handrails and more. Bird Wire consists of a nylon-coated stainless steel wire that is suspended between a series of poles. The wire is attached to springs, when birds land on the wire; the springs make an unstable landing surface.
♦ Keep Pest Birds from Landing & Roosting
♦ 5-Year Guarantee!
♦ Affordable...Low Profile...Low Visibility
♦ Industry Leading 5-Year Guarantee
♦ #1 Bird Wire System Specified by Architects
♦ Approved for use on Federal / State Government Structures
♦ Low Maintenance
♦ Safe / Humane


text:
Main Site - :: Why Won't God Heal Amputees? ::
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Religions need books because they don't have gods.
Yes, this has been going around Facebook. Many are calling for boycotts of the Olympics, and I support that.
I wonder if gay citizens are okay?-Nam
Quote from: Nam on July 14, 2013, 12:44:05 AMI wonder if gay citizens are okay?No, they're not. The new law is simply an extension of the existing laws, making them applicable to visitors in addition to citizens.
I wonder if gay citizens are okay?
Russia isn't exactly a hotspot for tourism.
Doesn't Russia have the same right to outlaw homosexuality as the USA does to outlaw...whatever?
Iran has a dress code? I know women in most Islamic countries have a dress code but overall, and just Iran?-Nam
I always say what I mean. But sometimes I'm a sarcastic prick whose tone can't be properly communicated via text.
Funny, I saw a recent news video from Iran where, though the woman was wearing a colorful scarf around her hair, she was wearing a loose blouse and jeans. I don't think it's "strictly" enforced in Iran as you seem to think it is. Saudi Arabia, well, that place is the epitome of conservativity.-Nam


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Corporations and special interests should not be able to buy favors from Congress. All too often, spending bills passed by Congress put public funds to work for specific projects that reward the businesses and individuals that give the most money to congressional campaigns. These specific appropriations – called earmarks – should be limited to projects that serve the public interest, not doled out to enrich private interests at the public's expense.
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Mountains, rivers, and beaches challenge golfers who play Alabama's extensive trail of championship golf courses designed by eminent American golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. Join us at noon on May 15 as James R. Hansen presents "The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail." This ArchiTreats: Food for Thought presentation will be held at the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
Hansen will use a handsomely illustrated slide presentation to examine the major architectural design principles built into the Trail. This array of courses built since the late 1980s at 11 sites across the state are part of a massive financial investment and economic development project sponsored by the Retirement Systems of Alabama. Hansen will discuss the Trail courses as reflections of Jones' personal philosophy, and review the extraordinary golf courses that are as demanding as they are picturesque.
Dr. James R. Hansen
Hansen is Professor of History and director of the Honors College at Auburn University. An expert in aerospace history for the past 26 years, he has written books and articles about the history of science and technology. His most recent book, First Man (Simon & Schuster, 2005), the first and only authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, has won numerous awards. Although most of his scholarly work has dealt with aerospace history, Hansen has also made his mark on the field of golf course history. He is currently working on the authorized biography of Robert Trent Jones, as well as a book on golf in Alabama.
This ArchiTreats presentation is one in a series of monthly third-Thursday free lectures presented by the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The public is invited to bring a sack lunch and enjoy a bit of Alabama history. Coffee and tea will be provided by the Friends of the Alabama Archives. For more information call (334) 353-4712 or go to www.archives.alabama.gov.
Updated: April 24, 2008
Alabama Department of Archives & History
624 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36130-0100
Phone: (334) 242-4435


text:
On my last trip down to London, I visited the Mary Quant shop where I spotted the matching lipstick and nail polishes!
Now – not every lipstick (there are about 36 shades) has a matching polish but a lot of them do. That means you can get all matchy-matchy, if you want!
I won't lie – I find this concept kinda fun!
I chose the lipstick first – the ones I had my eye on originally were far too nude in person so I went for P-07 (known as Angel Cake):
Here they are! They come in this silver, steel like packaging.
Off the top of my head, the polish was around £7 and the lipstick was dearer at around £16.
The packaging:
I hate the packaging for the lipstick; what is that stupid lid? It looks unfinished, like it's just a tester.
The texture of the lipstick is what I'd call firm. The lipstick requires a bit of warming to get it soft. Once it is soft, it is a sheer to medium in terms of pigmentation.
The nail polish is in a simple bottle design. The polish is quite thin so you need 2 coats and a top coat to protet it!


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Key Facts
Common Names
Dhole, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, red dog
Scientific Name
Cuon alpinus
Endangered (C2A(i)) CITES Appendix II
Fewer than 2,500 mature individuals
The dhole is 90cm in length, 50cm in shoulder height and has a tail of up to 45cm. It weighs between 12 and 20kg.
Ecology & Habitat
The dhole is found in a wide variety of habitat types, including deciduous and evergreen forests and alpine steppe.
Population & Distribtion
The declining population trend is expected to continue, and the range of the dhole is much fragmented and reduced.
Although its range in Cambodia is still unclear, this species has been photographed recently in Srepok wilderness area, Virachey National Park and Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary.
Moreover, the survey team of WWF Cambodia's AREAS project also confirmed the fact that it is widespread in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary.
Main threats to the species include ongoing habitat loss, depletion of prey base, persecution and possibly disease transfer from domestic and feral dogs.
The main prey for the dhole are ungulates, which have also suffered high depletion of their population across the dhole's range. Many ungulate species are now extinct in the region and others are extremely rare, mostly due to excessive hunting and habitat loss.
Range States
What is WWF doing?
How you can help
- Donate funds to help protect these magical areas - see how you can help the Srepok Wilderness Area
- Spread the word! Click on the button to share this information with others via email or your favourite social networking service.


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Uploaded: Saturday, May 26th 2018 05:36:44 AM under Form by Dalia Gomez.
Dimension: 791x1024 pixels.
Resolution: High Resolution.
Category: Form.
Total: 46 image Form Ideas.
Customise response boxes to reflect required answers and reduce completion errors. If asking for a persons date of birth, it makes sense to provide a box with the exact number of required digits and an example or guidance note to explain the format that the date should be entered in (DD/MM/YYYY). People from different cultures have different conventions for answering seemingly innocuous questions like this.
When implemented well, progressive revealing gives interactive forms a head start over traditional paper forms. When asked a particular question in a form it may be the case that, depending a users response, they are asked a set of specific sub-questions, or alternatively routed to the next appropriate section of the form. In paper forms the specific sub-questions cannot be hidden from the user when they are not relevant to them - but in interactive forms this is relatively easy to do. Use progressive revealing as much as possible in your form design to shield your users from questions they do not need to see.