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Unilens Vision Inc. Reports FY2012 Operating Results
Published: Oct 02, 2012
LARGO, FL--(Marketwire - September 28, 2012) - Unilens Vision Inc. (OTCQB: UVIC) (TSX VENTURE: UVI), which develops, licenses, manufactures, distributes and markets specialty contact lenses, today reported its operating results for FY2012.
FY2012 Highlights:
- Product sales increase 1.7% to $6.2 million
- Royalty income declines 6.0% to $2.5 million
- Custom soft lens sales rise 31.2% from FY2011 levels
- Company earns $1.1 million, or $0.48 per diluted share
- Term loan and credit line refinanced with Hancock Bank on more favorable terms
- Borrowing reduced by $1.2 million during fiscal year
- Quarterly cash dividends paid at annual rate of $0.18 per share
- Current cash dividend provides shareholders with 5.3% annualized yield
"While a continuation of sluggish U.S. economic conditions and increased competition caused sales in our disposable lens category to decline by 5.0%, a strong 31.2% sales improvement in our custom soft lens category of specialty lenses allowed total product sales to increase slightly during Fiscal 2012," stated Michael Pecora, Chief Executive Officer of Unilens Vision Inc. "We have been particularly pleased with the continued growth in demand for our C-VUE Advanced® HydraVUE™ line of completely customizable silicone hydrogel contact lenses for monthly replacement, and we look forward to the anticipated launch of a new silicone hydrogel disposable multifocal lens that embodies our C-VUE Advanced technology during the next 12 months. Longer-term, we believe that specialty contact lenses will continue to be the fastest-growing segment of the contact lens market, and our new product development activities will target opportunities that are consistent with this outlook. We further believe that demand for our custom soft specialty lenses, including our C-Vue custom toric lens for correcting astigmatism and our C-Vue Advanced toric multifocal lens, will grow over time due to the market demographics favoring specialty lenses."
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (FY2012), total revenue including royalty income declined less than 1% to $8,721,145, compared with $8,779,356 in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011 (FY2011). Sales of the Company's specialty contact lenses increased 1.7% to $6,181,449 in FY2012, versus $6,077,032 in FY2011. The sales increase was entirely attributable to an improvement of 31.2% in sales of custom soft lenses, primarily due to increased demand for the Company's new C-VUE Advanced® HydraVUE™ line of customizable silicone hydrogel contact lenses for monthly replacement.
Royalty income from Bausch & Lomb declined 6.0% to $2,539,696 in the most recent fiscal year, compared with $2,702,324 in the previous fiscal year.
Gross profit margins decreased to 39.0% of sales in the twelve months ended June 30, 2012, versus 44.1% in FY2011, due primarily to a one-time price correction that increased FY2011 gross margins by $261,000, along with slightly lower gross margin due to sales mix changes away from higher margin products. The gross profit margin during FY2011, excluding the one-time price correction, would have approximated 39.8% of sales.
Operating expenses increased 3.6%, or $101,656, in FY2012, primarily due to slightly higher sales, marketing and administrative expenses, coupled with a 12.5% increase in research and development spending.
The Company also incurred one-time charges totaling $105,000 related to the refinancing of its bank credit facilities with Hancock Bank during the fourth quarter of FY2012.
Pretax income decreased 26.1% to $1,654,520 in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012, compared with $2,237,979 in the previous fiscal year. The Company reported a 23.3% reduction in net income, which totaled $1,143,938 in FY2012, versus $1,491,774 in FY2011. Diluted earnings per share declined to $0.48 in FY2012, compared with $0.63 in FY2011.
Fourth quarter revenue including royalty income declined 5.7% to $2,177,631, compared with $2,309,431 in the fourth quarter of FY2011. Sales of the Company's specialty contact lenses decreased 3.5% to $1,558,567 in the most recent quarter, versus $1,614,809 in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. The sales decline was attributable to decreases in all our lens categories except our custom lens category, which posted an improvement of 17.9% in sales relative to the comparable FY2011 period.
Royalty income from Bausch & Lomb declined 10.9% to $619,064 in the three months ended June 30, 2012, compared with $694,622 in the three months ended June 30, 2011.
Gross profit margins declined to 38.8% of sales in the fourth quarter of FY2012, versus 57.1% in the FY2011 period, due to a one-time price correction benefit of $261,000 in the FY2011 quarter and sales mix changes away from higher-margin products. Excluding the one-time price correction benefit, the gross profit margin in the fourth quarter of FY2011 would have approximated 40.9% of sales.
Pretax income declined 60.0% to $312,675 in the final three months of FY2012, compared with $781,979 in the prior-year period. Approximately 78% of the year-over-year decrease in fourth quarter pretax income was attributable to the price correction benefit in the fourth quarter of FY2011 and one-time charges related to the Hancock Bank refinancing in FY2012. The Company reported a 53.4% decrease in fourth quarter net income, which totaled $238,803 in the three months ended June 30, 2012, versus $512,896 in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Diluted earnings per share of $0.10 in the fourth quarter of FY2012 compared with $0.22 in diluted EPS in the fourth quarter of FY2011.
"The declines in net income during the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 were primarily attributable to a one-time price correction totaling $261,000 that benefited gross margin in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2011 and did not repeat during any of the Fiscal 2012 quarters," continued Pecora. "In addition, we incurred one-time charges totaling $105,000 related to the Hancock Bank refinancing in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2012. If the one-time price correction is excluded from Fiscal 2011 operating results and the $105,000 in one-time bank refinancing charges is excluded from Fiscal 2012 operating results, our pretax income would have declined less than $104,000 during the fourth quarter of the most recent year, rather than the $469,304 decline actually reported."
"We began our current fiscal year with a stronger balance sheet, having reduced our borrowings during Fiscal 2012 by 25%, or approximately $1.2 million. In addition, with the new credit agreements we entered into during Fiscal 2012 with Hancock Bank, we have lowered our interest costs while providing greater flexibility than with our previous bank credit facilities. During the past fiscal year, we have invested in new state-of-the-art production equipment that should increase operating efficiencies and gross profit margins in the current fiscal year and beyond. While we expect Fiscal 2013 to be another year of solid profitability and further improvement in our balance sheet, production operating efficiency benefits may be offset somewhat if the economic recovery does not accelerate and we continue to experience softness in demand for our legacy disposable lenses, prior to the introduction of our new silicone hydrogel disposable multifocal lens that embodies our C-VUE Advanced technology."
"We are pleased to have recently paid our 24th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, which provides an annualized current yield of 5.3% to Unilens shareholders based upon our recent stock price of $3.40 per share. Our goal is to pursue the long-term enhancement of shareholder value through our cash dividend policy and share price appreciation. The amount and frequency of future dividends will depend upon earnings, cash flow, and other aspects of the Company's business as determined and declared by the Board of Directors," concluded Pecora.
About Unilens Vision Inc. - "The Independent Eye Care Professionals' Contact Lens Company"
Established in 1989, Unilens Vision Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary Unilens Corp., USA, located in Largo, Florida and its wholly owned subsidiary Unilens Vision Sciences Inc. develops, licenses, manufactures, distributes and markets contact lenses primarily under the C-Vue® brand directly to Independent Eye Care Professionals. Additional information on the Company may be accessed on the Internet at www.unilens.com. The Company's common stock is listed on the OTCQB under the symbol "UVIC" and on the Canadian TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "UVI".
The information contained in this news release, other than historical information, consists of forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. For a discussion of certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's most recent filings with the SEC and the TSX Venture Exchange. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
UNILENS VISION INC. FOURTH QUARTER AND TWELVE MONTHS - FISCAL 2012 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION (All figures in U.S. Dollars) RESULTS OF OPERATIONS Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended ----------------------- ----------------------- June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, 2012 2011 2012 2011 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Revenues: Sales $ 1,558,567 $ 1,614,809 $ 6,181,449 $ 6,077,032 Royalty income 619,064 694,622 2,539,696 2,702,324 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total revenue 2,177,631 2,309,431 8,721,145 8,779,356 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Operating costs and expenses: Cost of sales 953,665 692,617 3,772,414 3,397,073 Expenses 760,072 754,462 2,944,876 2,843,220 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total operating costs and expenses 1,713,737 1,447,079 6,717,290 6,240,293 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Operating income 463,894 862,352 2,003,855 2,539,063 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Other non-operating items: Other expense (52,368) (8,025) (50,250) (20,314) Interest expense (98,851) (72,348) (299,085) (280,770) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total other non- operating items (151,219) (80,373) (349,335) (301,084) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Income before income tax expense 312,675 781,979 1,654,520 2,237,979 Income tax expense 73,872 269,083 510,582 746,205 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Net income for the period $ 238,803 $ 512,896 $ 1,143,938 $ 1,491,774 ========== ========== ========== ========== Net income per common share: Basic $ 0.10 $ 0.22 $ 0.48 $ 0.63 Diluted $ 0.10 $ 0.22 $ 0.48 $ 0.63 Weighted average shares outstanding 2,369,354 2,369,354 2,369,354 2,369,354 ========== ========== ========== ========== CASH FLOWS Provided (used) by: Operating activities $ 1,996,581 $ 1,506,743 Investing activities (544,611) (157,587) Financing activities (1,678,353) (1,828,336) ---------- ---------- Decrease in cash $ (226,383) $ (479,180) ========== ========== BALANCE SHEET June 30, June 30, 2012 2011 ---------- ---------- Cash and cash equivalents $ 374,977 $ 601,360 Total assets 3,824,344 4,407,261 Current liabilities 1,772,583 1,994,933 Total liabilities 4,712,847 6,043,215 Stockholders' deficit $ (888,503) $(1,635,954) ========== ==========
For more information, please contact:
Leonard F. Barker
Unilens Vision Inc.
(727) 544-2531
RJ Falkner & Company, Inc.
Investor Relations Counsel
(800) 377-9893


text: Geysir Records Geysir Records Reykjavík Geysir Records is an independent underground Techno label, and is the brainchild of Ricardo Gomez. Since it's founding in 2010, it has steadily gained respect and support from all over the globe. Situated in Reykjavik, Iceland, Geysir HQ has been host to numerous club nights in the capital's downtown area and collaborated with local promoters and others related to the scene. Our goal is to not only release material from established producers and musicians, but to support the new generation as well. We are proud to provide a platform for young ambitious talents to shine. Artists on the Label A.Paul Alex Okrazo Alex Scherz Balrock D Nemesis DJ Ze Mig Dkult Dubtechie Goncalo M Grieche H-kvich Hefty Hiab Joaco Cabrin Kamara Karl Johan Konvert Kevin Wesp Kontra Meiko Microvibez Monktec Ninna V Paul Edge Pavilion Peterr Pan Proper Good Boy Q Wave Robert Schrank Shaun Mauren Tex-Rec The Nutty Producer Twist3d Voodoopriester Xhei Please be sure that your music fits the label before you send us your demos. email@example.com Be patient and we will get back at you as soon as possible . REMEMBER ITS ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC For Booking information contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com Geysir Records's tracks ChromNoise - Gray EP (GSR021) Out Soon by Geysir Records published on 2013/12/23 23:01:01 +0000 Zombie In Progress - Detox Ep (GSR020) Out Soon by Geysir Records published on 2013/12/23 22:51:58 +0000 Paul Edge - Neuro Toxin EP (Geysir018) by Geysir Records published on 2013/08/01 23:03:46 +0000 Monktec - Elements EP (Geysir017) by Geysir Records published on 2013/07/30 00:11:59 +0000 Alex Okrazo - Deformation Ep (Geysir016) by Geysir Records published on 2013/07/11 04:43:40 +0000 D Nemesis - Alter Ego EP (Geysir013) by Geysir Records published on 2013/06/17 20:05:28 +0000 Twist3d - Ghost Walker Ep (Geysir015) by Geysir Records published on 2013/06/17 19:52:47 +0000 DKult & Voodoopriester - Begin The Footnote EP (Geysir014 ) by Geysir Records published on 2013/05/24 22:57:30 +0000 Shaun Mauren - Its So Early Ep by Geysir Records published on 2012/10/24 20:08:18 +0000 Alex Scherz - Screwdriver Ep (Out on the 17th December) by Geysir Records published on 2012/10/24 19:27:14 +0000

subset: commoncrawl


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Research News: Number 32
FaHCSIA Research News is a periodic newsletter that provides an overview of and update on research within FaHCSIA, focusing on key findings and outcomes, updates on new departmental publications and promotion of forthcoming events/conferences.
Pension Review
On 15 May 2008, the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP, announced that the Secretary of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), Dr Jeff Harmer, would lead a review into measures to strengthen the financial security of seniors, carers and people with disability. A report is due by 28 February 2009 on the three key terms of reference:
- appropriate levels of income support and allowances, including the base rate of the pension, with reference to the stated purpose of the payment
- frequency of payments, including the efficacy of lump-sum versus ongoing support
- structure and payment of concessions or other entitlements that would improve the financial circumstances and security of carers and older Australians.
Last updated:


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Just got back from showing my townhouse at 6 - 9111 No 3 Road. They remembered...tonight is Earth Hour. It is always fun when you can use your decor to advertise how you feel about things! Earth Hour is celebrated at 8:30pm local time around the world. It initially began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when an estimated 2 million homes turned off their lights for an hour. The global campaign was created by the World Wildlife Fund as a way for individuals to show their support for action on climate change. So tonight at 8:30pm turn off your lights!
Sign In
Save and Track Your Favourite Properties


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Men's Volleyball
Concordia University (California) at USC
Thu., Apr 3
Los Angeles, CA
Galen Center
Galen Center
Galen Center, 3400 S Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Watch Info
Not Available
Not Available
Not Available on App
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More: Concordia University (California) at USC - Men's Volleyball
No. 7 BYU Men's Volleyball Defeats No. 14 USC
Brenden Sander had 23 kills and 5 aces to lead the No. 7-ranked BYU men's volleyball team to a 25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 27-25 win over No. 14 USC in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Saturday (Feb. 10) at USC's Galen Center.
Jack Wyett on his 2-year hiatus from USC men's volleyball: 'I'm happy to be back'
Pac-12 Networks' Kevin Barnett speaks with USC men's volleyball's Jack Wyett after USC downed Stanford in five sets. Wyett tallied 22 kills on a .439 hitting percentage.
No. 14 USC Men's Volleyball Beats Stanford In MPSF Opener
Jack Wyett had a match-high 22 kills and 8 digs to help the No. 14-ranked USC men's volleyball team snap a 7-match losing streak and defeat unranked Stanford, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 21-25, 15-10, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both teams on Thursday (Feb. 8) at USC's Galen Center.
No. 14 USC Men's Volleyball Opens MPSF Play With Home Matches Against Stanford, No. 6 BYU
The No. 14-ranked USC men's volleyball team plays just its second and third home contests of 2018 when it begins MPSF play by hosting Stanford on Thursday (Feb. 8) and No. 7 BYU on Saturday (Feb. 10).
No. 13 USC Men's Volleyball Falls In 4 Sets At No. 7 Loyola-Chicago
The No. 7-ranked Loyola-Chicago men's volleyball team came back to defeat No. 13 USC, 20-25, 25-21, 25-14, 31-29, in a non-conference match on Saturday (Feb. 3) in Chicago.
No. 8 Lewis Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 13 USC
The No. 8-ranked Lewis men's volleyball team swept No. 13 USC, 42-40, 25-17, 25-16, in a non-conference match on Friday (Feb. 2) in Romeoville, Ill.


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Featured Blog Post
October 19, 2015 By Doug Goodrich
Do Good
At Hunters for Good, our supporters experience that thrill of "doing good" because they are combining the sport they love with this desire to do good unto others. And those who hunt with us – our buddies and our family – they get to join us in doing good long after hunting season is over. For those of us who are parents, we love to see our kids [Read More]
Approximately 150 timeless recipes to make the most of the deer you harvest! Your purchase helps to support a better quality of life for struggling individuals and families that have to make hard choices between food and the basic necessities of life.
Donate Wild Game
We offer a variety of ways to donate wild game. Hunters For Good estimates a typical Texas deer yielding 50-pounds of processed venison will make approximately 200 servings of lean protein. This program supports a long-term solution to food [Read More]


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Wizardry 8— Downloads
Original content
These downloads are original content by myself. If you wish to redistribute these files, that is fine; I would appreciate credit for my work and a link to my homepage (jeffludwig.com).
The Christian Coder's Wizardry 8 Mod version 2.0 (11.2 MB) — This version of the mod adds a few items and spells for the sake of balance, and also modifies the characters and races a fair bit. Downloaded 6101 times
» More info
- The Christian Coder's Wizardry 8 Mod version 1.0 (466 KB) — This is my contribution to the Wizardry 8 modding community. If you would like a fresh Wizardry 8 experience, and have version 1.24, then please install this and enjoy! Downloaded 1113 times
» More info
- Wizardry 8 Info Spreadsheet (3.75 MB) — I have compiled all of the equipment info and maps into a printable spreadsheet (it is roughly 30 pages when printed). Sorry, no spell info is currently listed. It is formatted for print. Downloaded 1515 times
Wizardry 8 Mod- Log of modifications
March 2nd, 2012
- I decided to do away with patching altogether for this mod. Make sure you've got v1.24, and then extract away, and Wiz8.exe will be updated to my modded version.
December 21st, 2010
- Re-released the mod. The executable patch was buggy, but should be now fixed.
- Edited a few locations to change the placement of a couple of items.
- The Sword of Fire is now 1-handed.
- The power of the Draining Cloud and Firestorm spells have been slightly increased, due to the fact that they are level 6 spells.
- And, due to the fact that I can't leave well enough alone, there are a few subtle changes to the spell system and item list again.
December 2, 2010
- Fixed a bug in version 2.0 where the Ring of Fire spell caused the game to crash.
November 28, 2010
- In the excitement of opening the Wizardry spell book to the Bard, I forgot to give Bards access to the Wizardry spellbooks. This oversight has been fixed.
November 27, 2010
- I managed to figure out how to edit many character-related variables that were hard-coded in the Wizardry 8 executable. There have been changes to class skills, beginning attributes, the experience curve, class-specific perks, and added a spellbook for the Bard (think Wizardry 7)!
- Added a few items.
- Changed the spells a bit. Mostly added a few single attack and cone-based attack spells. The Priest's Lightning spell is now Air-elemental.
August 20, 2007
- Flamestryke pointed out that the Stinger sword was part of a special script, and that near the end of the game it could be given to the party. My mod would have had defeated the purpose of that exchange. Therefore, the Stinger has been taken away from Drazic, but Tantris still wields it. However, if you find out how to receive it late in the game, it is powered up for late game players. You can't just take it from Tantris as he wields it!
April 28, 2007
- It has been pointed out to me that I should allow Slings to be combined into a Doubleshot Sling. The new version of my mod now available includes this change. To do this, a character must have 30 Artifacts.
March 15, 2007
- Many item pictures were changed. I utilized many custom pictures from Stu's Mod.
- Vendors' wares have changed. Perhaps most notably, Bela sells Wizardry 7 items and Fuzzfas sells trinkets and wards. Throwing weapons are more common at stores and arrows and other ammo is less common.
- There are a number of new weapons and armor (something like forty new items). Many of the new weapons are crafted to do double damage against varying types of enemies.
- Created some more wandering creatures to drop little items here and there. These include insane Higardi monks, macemen and desperados, and five flavors of independently violent Umpani and T'Rang. This offsets the fact that there are more items to buy, and those items tend to be a bit more expensive.
- Speaking of more expensive, most of the items that can be invoked for magical effects (excluding the Stone of Life, potions and scrolls) are now imbued with unlimited charges. These items are either *much* more expensive, or they cast their spell at a lower power level, or both.
- The first level Alchemy spell "Poison" has been added (it's back from Wizardry 7).
- Many spells have had their effects changed. Most Direct Damage spells, especially those after the first 3 levels, are augmented, with increasing benefits in each spell level. Their minimum damage especially has been increased (Concussion went from 2-48 dmg/lvl to 20-50 dmg/lvl, Firestorm went from 2-8/lvl to 4-16/lvl, etc) This is to balance the end game where it seemed the only spells my casters could get anywhere with were debuff and instant death attacks (with 100+ in their school and 80+ in the corresponding element). Otherwise, why not just take six bashers who you know will do guaranteed damage with a chance to critical their opponent?
- Heal Wounds, Heal All and Restoration heal slightly fewer HP/lvl, and Stamina and Rest All cost 1 SP/lvl less (since you can't earn Water skill for casting them).
- Ascension peak creatures have slight chances to drop uber treasure (mostly the very strong demonic creatures and savant behemoths).
- Priests and Gadgeteers can wear better armor (up to Plate Mail +3)! Bards are restricted from chain mail.
- Priests and Monks are allowed to use short bows and some arrows (not Viper Arrows). Rogues are restricted from crossbows. Alchemists can use many light polearms. Psionics can use better daggers and whips. Gadgeteers can use some axes and light maces. (known issue... I cannot modify the actual character info to open those skills for your party... i'm waiting until that feature is implemented in the Cosmic Forge!)
- Tantris T'Rang and Drazic have been given the Stinger Katana (as I think was intended)
- The components for the Electroshocker, Demon-in-a-Box, and Watchdog Alarm can be found now.
- The Doublestrike dagger can be created with a character who has Artifacts 20.
- The Doubleshot Crossbow requires Artifacts 35 to create; and the Tripleshot Crossbow needs Artifacts 70. These items used to be only crafted via the Gadgeteer's Engineering skill.
- A number of unique and boss-like opponents and allies have had their stats bolstered.
Monster reclassifications
- Android - Dummies, Savant Guards and Orbs
- Beast - Bats, Diremares, Frogs, Hogars, Juggernauts, Picuses, Rats, Swallowers and Unicorns
- Demon - includes Djinn, Imps, and all Rapax
- Dragon - Bela, Gazers and Scorchers
- Elemental - any embodied element
- Giant - Many bosses, Golems
- Insect - Apuses, Beetles, Crabs, Mosquitos, Pedes, Spiders, Sprites and Wasps
- Plant - Vines and Saplings/Guardians
- Reptile - Crocs, Rynjin, Seekers and Snakes
- Sea Monster - Depth Dweller and a well known mythological creature
- Swimmer - Fish, Rays, Sharks and Squids
- Undead - including Ghosts, Moraxes, floating Heads and Death Lords
- Vapor - Slimes
Praise and Feedback for Wizardry 8 Christian Coder's mod
Admittedly, the only mods I've ever used were the Christian Coder mod for Wizardry 8 and Brawl Minus, so I'm somewhat inexperienced...but the former added a lot to the game, and the latter is an absolute blast.
— NeutralDrow, Answering "Does modding cheapen games? [ Link » ]
The only ones I've done so far are the faster monster movement and the Christian Coder mod. The first one is fine if you prefer phased combat. The second, I've never had problems with, and enjoy immensely.
— NeutralDrow [ Link » ]
OMG ur using christian coder's mod, arent u?
— HugoLuman [ Link » ]
There isn't much that I can contribute to your mod or the wizardry legacy other than my thanks and gratitude for a job well done.
I have played the Wizardry series for many years, from Wizardry 1 through to the trilogy of Wizardry 6, 7 and 8.
The game play of Wiz 8 was great, and I played it through many times before, but the mod that I have installed from your site, and efforts, has introduced another level of play and excitement that has renewed the game for me. I truly enjoy this Moded creation of the Wizardry world.
As I saw this mod and read the changes....the thought suddenly occurred to me.....Can I take it!?!? OHHH, this is so pretty!!!! *proclaims Sgt Sparkles*
Thank you for sharing this with the fans of Wizardry!
— Tasoan Steel
I love your mod.
— Troy Thomas
Jeff, thank you for the mod for Wizardry 8. I've just started experimenting with it, and most of the changes that you've documented (or I've noticed) are welcome. I've been playing Wiz8 for a long time, and have completed multiple games. I even have a web page offering import parties from Wiz7...
Since I wrote, I've had more time to use your mod, and I like it even more.
— Rich Franzen
Hello. Just wanted to say I downloaded your mod a few days ago, and I must say, so far it is quite enjoyable. The new spells are a blast! I almost wanted to create a party of four pure casters just to see them all, but decided on foregoing the Psionic. Having a five member team makes levelling easier, and the sixth character isn't really missed at all. So, they consist of a Fighter, Rogue, Valkyrie, Alchemist, and Mage. Throughout the Monastery area, my Mage kicked the most ass with Burning Hands. He had about 80 kills, all while my poor Fighter and Valk had around 15 or so. My team is currently at level 10 right now, and have just finished the Monastery and Arnika, so I'm still fairly at the start of the game. Deadly Poison is my favorite spell so far. I cast power level 1 on a foe in the distance, have everyone attack someone else, and let the poison do the work. The enemy is killed rapidly without a single swing from my characters. Love it! I like the updated item appearances too, my fav being the IUF Access Cards. I see a lot have been taken from the Might and Magic series. Having beaten the unmodified version of Wizardry 8 at least 10 times with just about every combo of party imaginable, this mod is quite different, and, overall, far more fun. The spells are the strongest point, so far, imo.
— Dawson Riler
Hiya Jeff, I'm a huge fan of Wizardry 8, having played through it several times. Dug it out the other day, (spur of the moment kinda thing) and remembered that last time I had played it I had used the CC Mod. I had great fun. That was almost two years ago, and since then I've got a new PC and I needed to re-install the Mod. Came back to your site where I got it from last time (never forget a quality website) and noticed that the 2.0 had been released...
— Jack Bennett
Hi Jeff, I really like what you've done with your mod, I also have long felt that the game was a little bit unbalanced for a long time. I think your changes to damage spells were especially well deserved, direct damage magic just didn't hold up at all in the late game, especially on expert difficulty.
— Jacob
Hosted resources that I did not create
This patch is the latest (and final) official patch from Sirtech- Canada. It is only offered here because the company is out of business. All credit for the patch is due to Sirtech-Canada.
- Wizardry 8 v1.24 patch (3.71 MB) — A list of updates and bug fixes is included in the .zip file. Unzip the patch to your Wizardry 8 directory, overwriting any files. Downloaded 2515 times
- Wizardry 8 Combat Accelerator (5.86 KB) — This little piece of software is supposed to increase the speed at which the AI thinks in combat. I have never used this, so I can't vouch for it. Go to Wolfie's info page to learn more. Credits are due to the unknown author who created this. Downloaded 600 times
External Links
These are links to download pages hosted elsewhere. I include these for the sake of convenience (yours, so you don't have to look elsewhere, and mine, so I don't have to deal with copyright and intellectual property issues!)
- Madgod's Wizardry 6-7-8 editor— For those of you who wish to mastermind your own Wizardry reality, Madgod offers his editor free of charge. This link will take you to the editor's info page.
- Wizardry Vault— This link will take you to the Wizardry Vault... it is a repository of resources for Wizardry 8, including other mods, save game editors, and more. Enjoy!


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Affluent Lifestyle Guide
"I have received hostile voice mail messages and e-mails. They are often anonymous, I'm sad to say, as anonymous messages are delivered only by very low forms of human life, in my opinion. I have been denounced in various public forums ... The columnist Liz Smith once proposed in print that I be lynched in Shubert Alley, which was one of the more thrilling moments of my career."
The New York Times 12/06/12


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Last month, the kind folks at Naturebox contacted me to see if I'd be interested in receiving a box of healthy snacks to enjoy. Have you heard of Naturebox? Each month they put together a box full of healthy, delicious snacks that show up on your doorstep- for just $19.95/month! The snacks change each month, but are always good for you and taste great. When my box arrived, I eagerly tore it open to find out what was inside:
The "December" box included Pistachio Power Clusters, Dried Pears, Masa Crisps, Wild Blueberry Flax Granola and Lemon Pucker Pistachios. I immediately sampled each one of the snacks…. and I loved them all! Especially the masa crisps. And the pistachio clusters. And the granola…. and, yeah, I can't pick a favorite.
(Photos from the December box. Are you drooling yet?)
The thing that I like the most about this service is that it introduces me to healthy snacks that I may have not heard about otherwise (like Masa Crisps!). All of the snacks are made with ingredients that I approve of (and are nutritionist approved) and they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can also cancel your membership at any time (but, I have a feeling that you won't want to). Please note that Naturebox is not currently able to customize boxes specific to dietary needs.
If you're interested in trying out Naturebox yourself, you can use the code PISTACHIO for 25% off your first month's subscription (please note that the 25% discount is only applicable to the month-to-month subscription. 6 month subscriptions receive 1 month free and 12 month subscriptions receive 3 months free!).
Pay attention here:
Naturebox has offered to give one very lucky reader a free box of goodies to enjoy! Keep in mind that you will not be receiving the same box of snacks that I got in December, as the contents change each month. All you have to do to enter is a leave a comment below letting me know about a "unique" healthy snack that you've recently discovered. It doesn't have to be anything completely off the wall- just something new to you!I'm always looking for new ideas.:)
You can earn an additional entry by tweeting about the giveaway and cutting/pasting the following text: Enter to win a box of healthy snacks from @naturebox via @oatmealLauren: http://bit.ly/SMwbBu
(If you tweet, leave a comment below letting me know that you have done so!)
One more thing- my lovely friend Kelly is also doing a Naturebox giveaway. Head on over to her site to have an additional chance to win!
The giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only. I will be choosing a winner on Tuesday, January 29th at 8pm EST. Good luck!
* Naturebox provided me with a box of healthy snacks to review. Opinions are my own.


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I missed this two days ago but the MLA for South Belfast, Fearghal McKinney will be challenging the sitting Deputy Leader Dolores Kelly for the deputy leadership of the SDLP.
McKinney is an ally of the current leader, Alasdair McDonnell. He first ran for the party in 2010 for the Fermanagh/South Tyrone constituency and was selected to replace Conall McDevitt as the MLA for South Belfast in 2013. He sits on the Health Committee at Stormont.


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How to say yacht in Spanish yɒt
Would you like to know how to translate yacht to Spanish? This page provides all possible translations of the word yacht in the Spanish language.
- [[ir]] [[en]] [[yate]], yateSpanish
Discuss this yacht Spanish translation with the community:
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
"yacht." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2018. Web. 22 Feb. 2018. </translate/yacht/ES>.


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Jessica Chastain Ain't Got No Beef With Jennifer Lawrence
Rumors have been floating around about an Oscar race rivalry between Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence since Lawrence made jokes about Chastain when hosting SNL. No matter how adorable it would be to see the young actresses take swipes at one another, these are merely rumors. Chastain herself has heard the bogus reports and has eloquently put them to bed via her Facebook page:
Amy Adams, on the other hand, had better watch her back.
I find it very sad that media makes up bogus stories about women fighting in this industry. Filming The Help was the most amazing experience and yet, that is the film Im most asked about in regards to "fighting on set". Why do we support the myth that women are competitive and cannot get along?
I think all of the actresses recognized this year have given incredible performances. But more important, they've all shown themselves to be filled with generosity and kindness. I've done two photo shoots with Jennifer Lawrence over the years and have found her to be utterly charming and a great talent. I've told her how beautiful her film work is.
Please don't allow the media to perpetuate the myth that women arent supportive of each other. Everytime an actress is celebrated for her great work, I cheer. For the more brilliant their performance, the more the audience demands stories about women. With support and encouragement, we help to inspire this industry to create opportunities for women. And as we all know: a great year for women in film, is just a great year for film xxjes
Amy Adams, on the other hand, had better watch her back.


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A levmar variant that uses Automatic Differentiation to automatically compute the Jacobian.
For additional documentation see the documentation of the levmar C library which this library is based on: http://www.ics.forth.gr/~lourakis/levmar/
A functional relation describing measurements represented as a function from a list of parameters to a list of expected measurements.
For example:
hatfldc :: Model Double hatfldc [p0, p1, p2, p3] = [ p0 - 1.0 , p0 - sqrt p1 , p1 - sqrt p2 , p3 - 1.0 ]
The jacobian of the Model function. Expressed as a function from a list of parameters to a list of lists which for each expected measurement describes the partial derivatives of the parameters.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobian_matrix_and_determinant
For example the jacobian of the above hatfldc model is:
hatfldc_jac :: Jacobian Double hatfldc_jac _ p1 p2 _ = [ [1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0] , [1.0, -0.5 / sqrt p1, 0.0, 0.0] , [0.0, 1.0, -0.5 / sqrt p2, 0.0] , [0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0] ]
|Compute the Jacobian of the Model using Automatic Differentiation.
|Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm.
|Linear constraints consisting of a constraints matrix, kxm and a right hand constraints vector, kx1 where m is the number of parameters and k is the number of constraints.
|Minimization options.
|Default minimization options
|Covariance matrix corresponding to LS solution.
|Produced by Haddock version 2.4.2


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I'm wondering if you can recommend good books/resources on running a business?
There is a backlog of questions in my Monday Mailbag folder, so I'm going to incorporate some of them into posts throughout the week. I love learning and studying about business issues, so here are a few suggestions:
One of my all-time favorite books is Proverbs in the Bible. It is full of practical advice that is very relevant to business and life in general.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don't by Jim Collins – read a full review on my post 2009 Year of Reading in Review.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath – this one is also included in my 2009 Year of Reading in Review. I loved this book! It is applicable to so many areas of life and is an incredible resource for anyone who wants to improve their ability to plan and implement creative ideas. I just discovered that the Heath brothers also have a blog! It's been duly added to my feed reader, and I look forward to keeping up with it.
Business Opportunities Blog by Dane Carlson – This contains a wide variety of ideas, links, bits of information, and more. I subscribe to the feed for it and enjoy skimming each of the posts and exploring the ones that grab my attention.
The New Venture Lab website, blog, and newsletter is a great resource for those with an entrepreneurial bent. They have tons of great resources, case studies, inspirational stories, tips, and links to encourage and equip you in your business endeavors.
Another thing that has been very helpful to me over the years is to meet with others who have common interests in business, finances, and leadership development. For several years, I met weekly with a business study group, and we researched a wide variety of topics. This multiplies your learning because you have the benefit of learning from the research and experiences of others. I highly recommend this approach!
Does anyone have any other recommended books/resources on business that they'd like to share?


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- Details
Modern big wall climbing sometimes finds you out of the aiders as much as in them. The Titan is designed with this in mind, comfortable and supportive enough for long days hanging by daisy chains, and yet light and flexible for stepping out of the aiders and into some hard free climbing. The Titan is designed with a double buckle swami for a wide range of adjustment, allowing the gear loops to be centered and symmetrical throughout the size range.
With six big gear loops, the Titan provides plenty of on-harness racking, and the cambered shape prevents slippage. The tie-in points are reinforced with abrasion resistant nylon tubular webbing, and the 6,000 lb. belay/rappel loop is wide for easy access.
Padded with bilayer foam, the Titan has wide inner layers which distribute forces over 3 times more surface area. Leg loops are adjustable and removeable, helping you to sleep securely and comfortably on a ledge while still anchored in. For comfort of mind and body on big walls, the Titan is King.
- Weight: 23.1 oz./655 gr.
- Reviews
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Traffic signs warn of climate change in Brookline maze
Climate change activists are encouraging Brookline residents to get lost in a new maze set up outside Town Hall that uses re-purposed traffic signs to raise awareness about environmental issues.
Climate Action Brookline has built the maze between Town Hall and Brookline's Main Library as one of 50 events and displays for the third annual Brookline Climate Week, which will run from Saturday, Jan. 26 to Sunday, Feb. 3.
The maze is a new addition to the climate week and was built by Coni Porter and Mary Dewart, the campaign director for Climate Action Brookline, in an effort to get people to think more about the environment.
"You have to make a big show sometimes to get people's attention," said Porter, who teaches graphic design at the New England Institute of Art in Brookline.
While people wander through the straw maze, they will encounter old traffic signs that have been altered to deliver environmental messages. A hazard sign warns of an oil spill ahead, a stop sign says "we must stop releasing CO2" and a caution sign warns of crazy weather ahead.
Dewart said the maze is supposed to serve as a metaphor for the confounding state of the environment and how people can get lost in their attempts to address climate change.
The maze was assembled last week and will be open through the end of Brookline Climate Week. It was funded in part from a grant from the Brookline Commission for the Arts.
More information about the maze and other events during the climate week can be found at www.brooklineclimateweek.org.


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Diverse, exciting and inspiring - just few words that describe the wide-ranging activities showcased by schools on, or around, St Andrew's Day in 2006. Here are some examples:
Aberuthven Primary (Perth & Kinross)
Celebrated success by organising writing competitions based on a Scottish theme. P1 wrote and drew pictures about 'The Wee Wifie', P2/3 wrote about Nessie and P4-7 wrote recipes for the perfect Scottish celebration. Winners received certificates on St Andrew's Day.
Acharacle Primary (Highland)
Held an afternoon in the village hall during which pupils showcased skills and talents ranging from singing and sports skill to presentations of art. Those not performing took on roles such as photographer, greeter and poster designer so everyone was involved.
Alness Academy (Highland)
Hosted a coffee morning to raise funds for the Highland Hospice. There was a lunchtime ceilidh, with everyone tartan-attired. In the evening the school hosted a 'You are what you Ready Steady Cook' event for pupils, staff, parents and community members.
Ardnamurchan High (Highland)
Held a 'dress down in tartan' day to raise money for Children in Need. Pupils attended a lunchtime ceilidh and an afternoon Scottish film show. There was also Scottish music, food and themed displays.
Armadale Primary (West Lothian)
Pupils - decked out in tartan, saltires or heather - took part in activities which focused on Scotland's achievements, culture and accomplishments. Shortbread and Irn Bru were provided as a treat.
Auchenharvie Academy (North Ayrshire)
Asked pupils to write about their proudest achievements and these are now being displayed for all to see in the school foyer.
Auchtertool Primary (Fife)
Hosted a community concert with children singing Scottish, French and English songs. There was also Scottish country dancing, Scottish poetry and Scottish tunes on clarinets, recorders, accordian and piano - all performed by pupils.
Badcaul Primary's (Highland)
The whole community was invited to Celebration Assembly. The school planned a 'Tartan Week' with pupils learning dances and songs to perform at a ceilidh.
Baldragon (Dundee City)
As well as organising the school's 10th annual Scots Night, senior pupils held 'success' assemblies which centred on a powerpoint presentation of 100 things the school is most proud of and included musical performances by pupils.
Banavie Primary (Highland)
Held an afternoon of Scottish singing, dancing and poetry.
Bellquarry Primary (West Lothian)
Invited parents to join them for a multi-cultural celebration organised by P5. P3 and P7 also helped to create this event to celebrate diversity and what it means to be Scottish today.
Blackridge Primary (West Lothian)
P5/6 pupils held a Poland/Scotland celebration with songs, dance and tasting sessions as part of their comparative study of the two countries.
Boghall Primary (West Lothian)
Held an open afternoon for family and friends. It started with a special musical assembly that included songs, fiddle and violin music, highland dancing and maybe a piper. Older pupils gave visitors a tour of the school and items made by enterprising pupils were sold.
Bonnytoun Nursery (West Lothian)
Children dressed up and danced to Scottish music and learnt Scottish songs. There was also a Scottish display and a traditional snack of haggis, neeps and tatties.
Burnhouse (West Lothian)
Pupils cooked a a traditional Scottish meal for the whole school. Staff and pupils then took part in a mini Highland games followed by a Scottish version of Family Fortunes.
Caledonia Primary (Glasgow)
Pupils and staff at were asked to wear something Scottish to school and to donate 50p to the school's Africa Project - the aim is to help build a school in Africa. The school meal had a Scottish flavour.
Cradlehall Primary (Highland)
Cradlehall Primary held a Quiz Night.
Craighill Primary (Highland)
Parents and community members were invited to join Craighill Primary for a ceilidh.
Culloden Academy (Highland)
Hosted a family supper ceilidh. The school ceilidh band provided entertainment along with vocal solos in both Gaelic and English, pipes and highland dancing. Some of the school's MOD 2006 winners and participants also performed.
Dallas Primary (Moray)
Last February 34 pupils from Dallas Primary took part in fossil activity days at the Falconer museum in Forres.
Deans Primary (West Lothian).
Residents from Restodene Home came to a special assembly held by pupils at Deans Primary. The Saltire was flying all day.
Dochgarroch Primary (Highland)
The senior class produced a newsletter reporting on successes and achievements within the school this term.
Dunblane High School (Stirling)
Showcased their gardening club, where S1 and S2 pupils grow plants in their lunch hour. With an expanded greenhouse, the school aims to grow vegetables to use in Home Economics. A PTA quiz also took place.
Easdale Primary (Argyll & Bute)
Held a ceilidh with pupils singing, dancing and playing instruments.
East Fulton Primary (Renfrewshire)
P6 pupils at were involved in a 'Let's Make the Music and Dance' workshop at which they performed the songs and dances they have created to parents and friends. They also made tartan bags to sell as part of an enterprise topic.
Elgol Primary (Highland)
Parents and friends joined the 16 pupils and teachers to share things that they take pride in. This included poetry recitals, playing the clarsach, penny whistle and fiddle, skipping and hula hooping, making pancakes and showcasing artwork.
Fordbank Primary (Renfrewshire)
Pupils added a 'Touch of Tartan' to their uniforms for the day. Their assembly kicked off with a pupil powerpoint presentation on the life and work of St Andrew and included poetry and dancing.
Forgandenny Primary (Perth and Kinross)
Ventured beyond the school gates to hold their ceilidh in the local village hall. Pupils staged an evening of poetry, song and dance for parents/carers and members of the local community.
Foulford Primary (Fife)
Parents and friends came along to their annual 'Scottish Afternooon' to see a display of Scottish Country Dancing. Pupils wore tartan and be treated to Irn Bru and shortbread after the dancing.
Glenbervie School (Aberdeenshire)
Parents and community members were invited to an informal event celebrating success. Pupils shared success, ambitions and opinions on a 'Wall of Achievement'. A local author will visit to work with classes and poetry by the pupils was also be showcased.
Glengowan Primary (South Lanarkshire)
Held a 'Wear Tartan' day with pupils entering and leaving the school to Scottish music. Throughout the day pupils shared Scottish songs, stories and poems
Gretna Primary
A series of activities and workshops took place at. Themes were diverse - healthy lifestyles and road safety to name two.
Hamilton School for the Deaf (South Lanarkshire)
Pupils from P5/6/7 organised a special celebration as part of their Enterprise project. They arranged a food tasting event with food from all around the world as well as Scotland. There were also presentations about famous Scottish people, places and events and demonstrations of indoor golf and curling. They hope to make this an annual event.
Hazlehead Primary (Aberdeen City)
Everyone learnt a song written for them by their music specialist. On St Andrew's Day they wore 'a touch of tartan' and performed the songs.
Highdykes Primary (West Dunbartonshire)
Pupils performed songs, poetry and dancing at their annual St Andrew's Day assembly.
Hill of Beath Primary (Fife)
P5/6 hosted a 'Scottish Afternoon' for parents and friends which included a comedy sketch of Matthew Fitt's 'The Eejits', art inspired by Charles Rennie McIntosh and lots of songs and dance. P7 hosted their own 'Scottish Evening' in January to celebrate the life and works of Rabbie Burns.
Hilton of Cadboll Primary (Highland)
Younger classes have been investigating the life and work of famous Scots in history whilst P6/7 have been studying famous living Scots. On St Andrew's Day pupils were encouraged to wear tartan and each class presented their work to the others. This was followed by a ceilidh and a Scottish themed lunch.
Hopefield Nursery (West Lothian)
Children were invited to come dressed in tartan for a Scottish themed day that included songs, dancing, music, stories, a traditional snack and making tartan pictures.
Kelty Primary's (Fife)
Their Scottish week celebrated the Scottish dimension of expressive arts. The theme was 'One Scotland, Many Cultures'. Parents attended an open morning and were entertained by performances from the pupils
Kersland School (Renfrewshire)
Held its annual ceilidh with every class performing. Musicians from RSAMD and singers from a local secondary school were joined by parents.
Killin Primary (Stirling)
Hosted a St Andrew's Day Concert. Pupils performed a variety of songs and dances to parents and friends who were invited to join in the fun.
Kilmarnock Academy (East Ayrshire)
Held an award ceremony to celebrate success. The proceeds of a sponsored walk for Yorkhill Hospital were also presented.
Kingswell Primary (Aberdeen)
Pupils celebrated under the banner of 'One Scotland, Many Cultures'. They were encouraged to come to school in national dress or clothes that represent a country they have visited. Each year group presented what they have learnt about either their own or another culture and they were joined on stage by highland dancers and a piper.
Kinlochbervie Primary (Highland)
Had an open day with S1-3 putting on displays and activities related to school work that parents could watch and join in with.
Kinlochleven High (Highland)
Staff and pupils showcased a National Dress Day, involving a parade of outfits with prizes for the best awarded during a whole school ceilidh in the afternoon.
Kirkhill Primary (Highland)
Supported the Highland Hospice with a 'Wear Tartan to School Day'. A themed quiz sheet was sent to families, shortbread was served and a whole school Orcadian style 'Strip the Willow' staged.
Kirknewton Primary (West Lothian)
P4 pupils hosted a special assembly at which parents and other pupils heard all about Scotland's history.
Lady Lovat Primary (Highland)
Pupils worked hard to learn Scottish dances in preparation for a dance festival
Lawside RC Academy (Dundee City)
Hosted two ceilidhs to celebrate St Andrew's Day, one for the community's senior citizens and one for staff and senior pupils. Classes made a Scottish themed contribution to the curriculum throughout the week and everyone took part in a Scottish quiz.
Letham Primary (West Lothian)
They invited parents to a special whole school assembly. Pupils donated a pound 'to wear blue for shortbread and Irn Bru' and held a book sale to raise money for a school in Malawi. P7 has also worked with the author Matthew Fitt in a Literacy for Learning project in Scots.
Littlemill Primary (East Ayrshire)
Pupils wore tartan and displayed the Saltire on the school fence. Lunch had a Scottish theme and was eaten with Scottish music in the background. Throughout the day, there was a range of Scottish themed activities taking place.
Longforgan Primary (Perth & Kinross)
Marked the end of a two year project with the opening of their Bogle Burn Trail. Pupils created a trail around their local area with help from many members of their community. They also designed leaflets and signs highlighting points of interest.
Low Port Primary (West Lothian)
Planned a Talent Show and staff and pupils came dressed in tartan. There was a shortbread treat for the children and a slide show from a previous Scottish Week was shown to everyone.
Lumsden School , Towie Primary and Strathdon Primary (Aberdeenshire)
Lumsden School, Towie Primary and Strathdon Primary joined forces for a "day of dance" in Lumsden village hall. Pupils learned traditional country dances and a storyteller ran workshops with the children in the afternoon.
Macmerry Primary (East Lothian)
Celebrated success by raising their recently achieved Eco flag. They entertained the guests with Scottish songs, dances and poetry before serving tea and shortbread.
Mearns Primary (East Renfrewshire)
Working in small teams, pupils used their PSD session to design a flag about their school. The flags will be displayed to let everyone see what they are proud of.
Mid Calder Primary (West Lothian)
Celebrated with a day of music, involving the school choir. Teachers performed Gaelic songs and Highland dances. A local policeman who plays the pipes also attended.
Mossgiel Primary (Dundee City).
Scottish country dancing and games with a Scottish theme took centre stage. Pupils also learnt about St Andrew's story and other aspects of Scottish heritage.
Mossvale Primary (Renfrewshire)
The theme was traditional, with a St Andrew's Day concert in their local community centre.
Murrayfield Primary (West Lothian)
Murrayfield Primary's P6 class held a special assembly for the rest of the school.
Nethermains Primary (Falkirk)
All pupils performed a song or poem in the Assembly, with parents in attendance. A Scottish storyteller visited the school and told each class a tale with a moral theme.
Newburgh Primary (Fife)
P2 pupils asked everyone in school to decorate a Christmas bauble and write on it something they were proud to have achieved that month. P2 judged the best decorated and most outstanding achievements and awarded prizes at a special assembly.
New Machar School (Aberdeenshire)
Pupils raised almost £1000 for Shelterbox. They created displays about how they raised the money and the positive impact their work will have on others.
Our Lady's RC Primary (West Lothian)
Held a church service followed by an assembly lead by P3/4/5. They also enjoyed traditional songs and food.
Our Lady and St Joseph's Primary (North Lanarkshire)
Staged a whole-school ceilidh where Scottish fare - tablet, shortbread and Irn Bru - could be sampled.
Paisley Grammar School (Renfrewshire)
Held two ceremonies to celebrate achievement and recognise positive behaviour amongst S1 and 2. The S6 Charities Group also organised a Charity Gig to raise money whilst showcasing the school's musical talent.
Park Mains High (Renfrewshire)
Celebrated the success of The Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Parents and local councillors joined pupils in the festivities.
Pennyland Primary (Highland)
Held a Celebrating Success assembly, which included Scottish successes and pupil performances of Highland dancing, bagpipes and much else besides.
Petersburn Primary (North Lanarkshire)
Pupils from P3, 4 and 7 held a special assembly for parents, carers and the rest of their school. The programme included songs, dance, poetry, powerpoint presentations about St Andrew, facts about Scotland and reasons why they love living here.
Pitteuchar East Primary (Fife)
The songwriter and musician Gifford Lind joined to take part in their afternoon of celebrations. Pupils performed dances, songs, sword dances, and poetry.
Queensferry High School (Edinburgh)
The Home Economics department displayed quilts made by S5 pupils alongside T-shirts made by Modern Language classes and poetry written by S3. Visitors were served oatcakes, cheese and homemade soup.
Renfrew High (Renfrewshire)
Pupils wore a piece of tartan to raise money for Yorkhill Hospital. There was a lunchtime concert with pupil bands and pipers, a food tasting and a Scottish quiz. The school also planned a series of assemblies celebrating the success of pupils past and present.
Riverside Primary (West Lothian)
Their P6 class has been learning about St Andrew in Religious & Moral Education. They had been challenged to plan and prepare their own St Andrew's Day celebration.
Roslin Primary (Midlothian)
Held a series of assemblies throughout November celebrating pupils success in areas such as music and sport.
Smithfield School (Aberdeen)
Showcased a variety of activities planned for the week. Several agencies visited and worked with classes. These included the National Trust for Scotland, Scottish National Heritage and the Aberdeen Music School amongst others. Activities ranged from storytelling to Highland Games and concluded with a whole school ceilidh.
St Brendan's Primary (North Lanarkshire).
A coffee morning featuring Scottish produce was followed by a Scottish music extravaganza.
St Brides RC Primary (Fife)
Pupils raised money by wearing Scottish attire for the day. Classes performed Scottish songs, poetry and dances and there was a Scottish menu for lunch.
St Cadoc's Primary (South Lanarkshire)
Celebrated by making a presentation about St Andrew at a church service in their local parish and hosting an open morning. Pupils acted as tour guides, the after school cheerleaders performed and the school website was showcased.
St Charles ' Primary (Renfrewshire).
Making saltires, designing tartan, dancing, poems and music were just some of the activities showcased.
St Columba's Primary (Argyll and Bute)
Held their 10th annual mass and ceilidh. Each class performed a Scottish poem or song for the school community. The school choir also performed.
St James's Primary Paisley (Renfrewshire)
Pupils participated in a variety of activities including Scottish playground games, designing flags, food tasting and listening to a piper. The day ended with everyone singing Scottish songs together.
St John the Baptist Primary (West Lothian)
Pupils celebrated with songs, poetry and stories. On St Andrew's Day itself, they wore tartan and put on work with a Scottish theme whilst the nursery make clay models of Nessie.
St Lucy's Primary's (North Lanarkshire)
A pantomime and an open afternoon formed the centrepiece of St Lucy's Primary's activities. Pupils exhibited a wide range of work, (e.g. eco developments, art, health promotion).
St Mary's Primary (West Lothian)
St Mary's Primary held a special St Andrew's Day concert for parents.
St Paul 's RC Primary (West Lothian)
P6 class held a special assembly about the life and times of St Andrew based on knowledge they learnt during a P5 topic on Scotland.
St Paul 's High School (Glasgow City)
Planned a cross-curricular programme of activities. Participative maths (singing and dancing to sums!), Scottish inspired artwork, a whole school 'Strip the Willow', and walking the lengths of Scottish islands were just a few of the activities.
St Peter's Primary (South Lanarkshire
Their annual St Andrew's Day assembly featured Scottish country dancing.
St Peter's Primary (Edinburgh)
As part of their annual St Andrew's Day celebrations, children dressed in tartan, the school hall was decorated and a whole school assembly was held. Parish priests, PTA Committee and school board were invited. In January, P4-7 will entertain families with a Scottish concert.
St Stephen's Primary (Perth & Kinross)
Parents, carers and friends were invited to join St Stephen's Primary for an afternoon of Scottish entertainment. Dancing, poetry recitals and singing were the order of the day and Mr Stuart Wilkie played the bagpipes!
South Primary (Renfrewshire)
P4/5 pupils dramatised the story of St Andrew in an assembly held for parents and rest of school. They also performed Scottish poetry, songs and dances.
Teanassie Primary (Highland)
Children and staff wore tartan, blue and white or national dress from another country. Morning assembly focused on St Andrew and the Head Teacher was rumoured to have played the bagpipes!
Tulloch Primary (Perth & Kinross)
Hosted a joint community celebration with Tulloch Partnership Groups. This included songs, art and craft displays, dancing, poetry and writing.
Uphall Primary (West Lothian)
P5 pupils put on an assembly for the whole school which included country dancing and the story of St Andrew.
Waid Academy (Fife)
Students put on a show of traditional and modern songs, plus poetry and dance. Funds raised are going to the Royal British Legion Scotland to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
Wellhouse Primary (Glasgow City)
Hosted an open morning with Scottish-themed entertainment from pupils including songs, dance & recitals. P6/7 wrote to local dignitaries with tickets & designed flyers. Mums prepared tea and tartan sashes for performers.
Wester Overton Primary (South Lanarkshire)
Pupils designed flags to represent what they like about their school. Prizes were awarded to the best and they will all be displayed in a flag trail around the school.
Whithorn Primary and Nursery (Dumfries & Galloway)
Pupils and staff took part in a 'Dress Scottish Day' which included activities such as designing tartan on the computer, dancing, singing and games. Activities were linked to classwork about diversity.
Whitletts Primary's (South Ayrshire)
Parents and community members were invited to a Celebrating Success assembly which reflected on Scottish heritage and diversity.
Windyknowe Primary (West Lothian)
Their St Andrew's Day event started with a piper and whole school sing-a-long. P1-3 danced to Scottish music, House Captains hosted a P4-7 quiz and everyone enjoyed a lunch with a Scottish flavour.
Wigtown Primary (Dumfries & Galloway)
They organised an activity, based on an expressive art that celebrates Scottish culture. The children 'rotated' around these activities throughout the day.
Woodlands Primary (Renfrewshire)
Invited parents and guests to their annual sponsored ceilidh. P7 boys organised themselves into 'The Linwood Laddies' enterprise group worked hard to organise a raffle. Local stores have made donations and they'll receive displays of photos and artwork in return.
Page updated: Monday, August 25, 2008


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The Program has been very successful with all children accessing the range of activities available. We hope that this will give them a life-long love of learning that will benefit them throughout their school days.
Every Friday morning is Enrichment. We have special lessons in Music, Drama, Art, French and Forest Schools. Mr Newton is our Music teacher. He is very clever and has taught us lots about singing and how music works. Miss Hobbs is our Drama teacher. Her lessons are great fun. We sometimes have to get in character and think about expression and feelings. Mrs Carter is our Art teacher. We love art, especially painting and have been painting in the style of Van Gogh, Rene Magritte and Claude Monet already this year. Miss Southwell teaches us French whilst Senor Savage teaches us Spanish, hola! We have made our own books in French, wow! Forest Schools is also included in our Enrichment Program. Miss Keating, Mrs Perks and Miss Sambell lead these sessions and they are always really exciting. We find lots of interesting things in Forest School. Computing was introduced last year and so far this term we have been working on Blogging and coding. It is led by Miss Western. We are so lucky to have our Enrichment Program.
15 January 2018
12 January 2018
12 January 2018


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There are many different reasons to have service dogs. Service dogs are a type of assistance dog that are used for people who have disabilities besides hearing and sight impairment, or other medical response dogs. Service dogs do not need to be pedigreed dogs, because for these types of dogs, there are different things to look for. A dog's temperament, character traits, and health are all far more important things to consider when looking for a such a dog. There are two different ways to train these important and critical dogs. The first way is through a program. There are several different private programs, and there are also programs to have inmates raise and train puppies to be service dogs. The use of inmates to raise and train the puppies has been high successful, as it produces more trained dogs, gives the inmates something to do with their time and a valuable skill, and provides a certain amount of therapy for the inmates.
The other way to train these dogs is to do it yourself. This is becoming more popular for service dogs because people have very unique needs for their dogs. These dogs can come from many different places. They could be dogs from shelters, from pounds, from private breeders, and from pet stores. As long as you have the proper temperament, characteristics, and health in the dog, then you can train the dog to be a good, loyal service dog. You should look into professional trainers or books to learn how you can train the dog yourself.
Related Information
Assistance DogsProper breeding, temperament and training create fine assistance dogs.
Dog TrainingDog training is incredibly important if you want a well behaved dog.
Dog Training TipsDog training tips are necessary for training dogs in the home.
K9 Dog TrainingK9 dog training can be done by professional K9 dog trainings.
Rescue Dog TrainingRescue dog training is very important in search and rescue missions.
Service Dog RequirementsService dog requirements are lax compared to other requirements but still strict.
Service Dog TrainingService dog training is critical for the proper use of dogs for assistance.
Service Dog VestsService dog vests are vests that fit snugly but not too tightly on dogs.


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Coultershaw Beam Pump
Station Road, Petworth, West Sussex , GU28 0AE
Telephone: 01798 865774
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
A restored working waterwheel-driven pump built in 1782 to supply water to Petworth. Also recently installed Archimedes Screw water turbine generating electricity from a renewable source.
Group Pre-booking required. Max No 30.
Open: 11am - 5pm 1st and 3rd Sun and BHol Mon. April - September and 13th May and 9th Sept. Other times by arrangement.
Price: Adult £2.00, Child free. Minimum charge £20 for special opening.


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While I was working wirelessly at Parklands School today we were trying to do a little viewing of a Flickr video and it was all buffering annoyingly so I decided to do a speed test from Speedtest.net. When I got home I tried it again. I have what is supposed to be a very fast domestic broadband account- I was surprised at the difference. Parklands is on the Loop. Can't wait to get back to my class next year and use The Loop and put it through its paces. Click on the graphic for a close up.
The other interesting thing that happened was that our Prime Minister, Helen Clark, was visiting while on the campaign trail for our forthcoming election. I thought I would wander over the road and have a bit of a look. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of people about so pulled out my trusty video recorder and fired off a few seconds of video. "Our Helen" is the lady in pink.


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In my previous article about StarCraft I talked about why we rebooted the project and changed it from a follow-on to Warcraft — derisively called "Orcs in space" in 1996 — into the award-winning game that we were finally able to deliver after two more years of hardship. But one noteworthy source of inspiration didn't make it into my previous article, and that's what I'm going to write about today.
Blizzard first brought StarCraft to the attention of the gaming public at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June of 1996. At that point the game had only been in development for a few months so it was no surprise to the development team and other staff members that it wasn't markedly different from its immediate antecedent, Warcraft II.
With the success of previous Warcraft titles and of Command and Conquer from Westwood Studios, the RTS genre attracted competitors. The race to build the next great RTS was on, and consequently Blizzard was about to be publicly embarrassed by its choice to show so early in the development lifecycle. Just a short walk away from the Blizzard booth was that of another game which appeared to be better than StarCraft in every respect: Dominion: Storm over Gift 3, from Ion Storm.
"Maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events, but we just got our asses kicked" — Private Hudson from Aliens
It's 1996 and you want to buy an RTS game. Would you pay money for this?
Or this?
Trade show espionage
During the early years of Blizzard — back before the company was even called that — the entire development team would attend trade shows like the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and E3. We'd spread out over the show floor and "research" (that is, play) products at our competitors' booths, getting an early look at what other game studios would be launching over the next year. It was an opportunity to analyze gaming trends, learn about technological advances, evaluate new user interface techniques, and review gameplay. Even better, our competitors would facilitate this learning by demoing the games and answering our questions, and of course we'd do the same for them back at our booth. This is one reason game publishers have a love/hate relationship with trade shows, along with high costs (tens of thousands of dollars for a few feet of floor space) and excessive distractions for the dev teams, is that other studios are like hungry wolves looking for prey to devour.
In the early years, when our games were programmed for 16-bit game consoles, our programming staff would review soon-to-be-launched Super Nintendo (SNES) titles, and would crowd around games trying to puzzle out how their developers had accomplished some feat of technical magic and derring-do. The SNES was an odd combination of a glacially slow 2.58 megahertz (not gigahertz) processor with a tiny 64 kilobytes (not megabytes or gigabytes) of memory coupled with exotic microchips designed to rapidly blast bits onto the screen — if you could figure out the right incantations to make it all work.
We'd stand staring at a game talking in phrases that only a few thousand folks in the whole world — most of them working for Nintendo — knew anything about. Someone would toss off an idea like "perhaps they're using the hblank interrupt to set the scroll register to adjust the view distance in mode 7", and we'd all do our best to wrap our heads around that idea, learning a great deal in the process. Our artists and designers would be similarly wowed by their own show-floor discoveries.
It was an exciting experience to see so many new ideas in just a few days, and we'd come back from the shows both energized by our findings and exhausted by the brilliance and audacity of our competitors.
Better yet, these trade shows were held in exotic venues like Las Vegas where we'd get to stay out late drinking and gambling before dragging our hung-over selves back to the trade-show floor. Staffing the booth during the early mornings was always challenging, and required a careful evaluation of who would be the best advocates for the game after nights of excess — would it be the hardy-partiers, with their higher alcohol tolerance, or the more abstemious members of the team — the lightweights? While it might seem that the lightweights (myself included) were a better bet, just a few drinks more than usual might cause us to miss a morning event due to a catastrophic hangover.
For the privilege of getting access to the insights to be found on the show floor our dev team staff would be stacked like cordwood in cheap motel rooms far from the convention centers to save the company money. We stayed in a hotel so far into the rotting core of Chicago that several on the team felt the necessity to carry steak-knives as protection against the perceived threat of muggers. And who could forget when one of the two elevators caught fire and was put out of service, necessitating fourteen-floor hikes morning and evening.
Back on the show floor after these escapades, Blizzard staff members would discover great games on the show floor and would — like honeybees returning to the nest — communicate their findings so other devs could seek them out to harvest insights.
As the Ion Storm booth was next but one over from our booth it was no surprise that we quickly discovered in Dominion Storm a stunningly better entrant into the real-time strategy (RTS) genre than our company's paltry efforts, which was all the more humiliating given that StarCraft represented our third foray into the genre.
Like the Battle of Hoth, only interactive
While we didn't have the opportunity to play Dominion Storm because it was a hands-off affair, it didn't seem necessary. The Ion Storm staff members who demonstrated the game had a remarkable event that showed great-looking game units, including a signature unit that moved like the AT-AT walkers first seen in "The Empire Strikes Back" during the Battle of Hoth. With other impressive units of all sizes and forms, electric fences that could be chained together to create impenetrable barriers, and isometric-perspective artwork that showed the game units from a more compelling angle than did our nearly top-down perspective, Ion Storm's game was kicking our ass in every regard.
It was a glum crew that made the drive back to Orange County to lick our wounds and plan for the future. The fundamental problem was that StarCraft wasn't envisioned as a triple-A game; it was intended to fill a hole in Blizzard's development schedule so that the company would ship a game in 1996 and thereby continue to generate revenues.
In retrospect that decision was a mistake of the first order, and it behooves me try to explain why we, and by that I mean Blizzard's leadership team, could have allowed that to happen. But first some caveats: these events occurred in 1996 so reasoning about that events is clouded by time. I haven't talked about these issues with Blizzard folks since before 2000, when I split off with a couple of buddies to start ArenaNet. Moreover, I doubt that the Blizzard folks would talk to me about these issues if I did ask. In the intervening years we became competitors, and in any event they're notoriously close-mouthed about their business for good reason — they'd prefer to avoid talking about any missteps and put their efforts towards more positive news. But I have no such compunctions, so you're getting my assuredly biased views, which I'm sharing as a form of therapy, I guess. Perhaps some of the other folks who participated in these events will step forward to share their thoughts about these long-ago happenings.
Wherefore Orcs in Space?
Blizzard's business strategy was driven by Allen Adham, the company's president. Allen was a student of both gaming and business, and under the tutelage of Bob Davidson (CEO of Davidson & Associates, the educational software company that first acquired Blizzard), they planned the company's development pipeline with a keen eye towards maximizing the revenue and profit of our studio, as would any corporate leader. Whereas the development team was driven by a desire to make awesome games, Allen endeavored to build a pipeline with predictable game releases, and that included projects that didn't engender excitement on the part of the devs.
Some projects were pushed onto unwilling dev team members, including projects like Games People Play (a crossword puzzle game that died because the team lead was so unmotivated), Warcraft Adventures (a Sierra-style point-n-click adventure that — no matter how good an adventure it might be — would never be a capital-B Blizzard game), Diablo Hellfire (an expansion to Diablo developed by an external team selected for their availability rather than expertise), and Crixa (an updated clone of Virgin Games' SubSpace that would have been too shallow and arcade-like to meet with the approval of most of Blizzard's fans). When there was greater consensus against an idea by the dev team, Allen's strategies would be ruthlessly shot down, as when the team revolted against creating a mini-golf game franchise.
In the period immediately after the launch of Warcraft II, Allen's goal was to ensure another product launch in 1996. Since the Shattered Nations project (a turn-based game in the style of XCOM) had failed, there was a gap in the schedule, and putting together a project to fill that void was a top priority. Seen in that light, Allen's choice to make a moderately scoped game might be considered reasonable in foresight, though it was rapidly overtaken by events.
During that period, the game industry was undergoing a massive sea-change. With the advent of CDROM-based distribution in place of floppy disks and game cartridges, studios competed to build massive games to fill the available space and team-sizes shot upwards meet the demands; consequently development budgets skyrocketed.
State of the art projects conceived in an earlier time would drag on for years as the projects lagged behind ever more advanced competitors' products, necessitating scope creep, redesigns, reboots and ever larger expenditures to play catch-up. StarCraft was to be Blizzard's poster-child for this type of development process.
For many on the team, myself included, the efforts of building two RTS games back to back in just two years was exhausting. The crunch-time we endured to ship these titles was physically wearing and, immediately following the game launches, many would become fall sick due to the fatigue.
I later learned that sleep deprivation leads to other ill effects like memory loss because sleep is required for "memory consolidation". And extensive sleep loss can also lead to depression, which is less about being "sad", as I first thought as a naive youth, and more about changes in brain-chemistry that lead to an inability to function.
While I don't believe that anyone on the dev team was clinically depressed, during the post-launch period for our games we were notably lacking in energy for weeks or months depending upon the duration of the crunch effort. Work output suffered, but more relevant to this article is the changes in attitude the fatigue caused. Disagreements in direction and strategy that might have occasioned fierce arguments in earlier times would get more apathetic treatment after a product launch.
For my own part, I very much remember being disagreeable to the idea of rushing StarCraft out the door with a one year development effort. I had been similarly disagreeable at the beginning of the Warcraft II project, which was another one-year project right on the heels of the initial launch. In retrospect, getting Warcraft II done in one year, even at great personal cost for myself and many of the team members, was what kept Blizzard at the head of the pack, so perhaps it was worth the effort.
But when disagreeing about the short schedule for StarCraft, I wasn't as vocal. I was moving on to other duties, and — in my profound exhaustion — absolved myself of the responsibility for the project because I wasn't going to have to work on its development. In reality, I didn't accomplish much for several months after the end of Warcraft II; I was just too burned out. My failure to push for a different course turned out to be a poor personal choice because it was eventually necessary for me to take over a StarCraft rescue effort, but only after taking on a similar effort to rescue Diablo.
Another issue which arose that we didn't fully take into account was the pain of developing more than one game at a time. Blizzard was attempting to grow from being a one-game studio to a multi-game studio. We'd started an effort to build more than one game internally, and the immediate problem that cropped up was the necessity to split a strong team to create two middling-strong teams. A team which was able to develop a great game, even when augmented with experienced new staff members, is going to have to take chances on promoting many staff members into positions they've not done before, and that's a risky proposition.
Given the complexity of bringing one game to market, it's not surprising that the team failed to perform adequately when trying to bring multiple games to market without increasing time, training and budget — options we weren't given. So obvious in retrospect, but at the time the pressure to ship games was ever-present. Ultimately the event that changed the equation was less that the studio changed directly than that our later games sold so many copies that we could afford to spend more time on each new game.
When my new partners and I headed off to start ArenaNet, you can bet that many of these lessons echoed in our heads, and we endeavored to do a better job building a company having experienced these travails.
What became of Dominion Storm
Blizzard — after an arduous development process and fourteen months of crunch time (more details here) — eventually released StarCraft in May, 1998. Dominion Storm released shortly afterwards in June, according to Wikipedia.
But why did Dominion Storm, a game that showed so well that it necessitated a reboot of the StarCraft development effort, take longer to develop? And why did the game do so poorly when it eventually released? If you haven't read the Dallas Observer's story about the internal chaos of Ion Storm you will be amazed; it is the most appalling story about game development I've ever read, and its author deserves kudos. If you read it I expect you'll have a pretty clear idea why the development team struggled. To give you a taste of the article here is my favorite quote: "You better be fucking glad we wrote off your car and house, you fucking rat-faced bitch".
As bad as Ion Storm was internally, there was a dark secret that eventually unraveled. It wasn't until years later, well after the 1996 E3 demo of Dominion Storm, and after StarCraft launched, that we discovered that the Dominion Storm demo was a fake.
As Ion Storm started to disintegrate due to financial and political problems, members of its development teams left to pursue other opportunities. From this crew Blizzard managed to hire Mark Skelton and Patrick Thomas for the burgeoning cinematics team, where they worked to produce some of Blizzard's epic cut-scenes. I spent a lot of time with the cinematics team members (who sat not far from me) and hung out with Mark and Patrick, including during numerous surfing outings to Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach.
At some point I talked with Mark and Patrick about how Dominion Storm knocked us on our heels, and they let us in on Ion Storm's dirty little secret: the entire demo was a pre-rendered movie, and the people who showed the "demo" were just pretending to play the game! It would be an understatement to say that we were gobsmacked; we had been duped into a rebooting StarCraft, which ultimately led it to be considered "the defining game of its genre. It is the standard by which all real-time strategy games are judged" (GameSpot).
It's hard not to look back at those events now without being thankful for the kick in the ass that Dominion Storm gave us. While I and many others worked on what was the longest and most arduous development efforts of our careers, the end result was nothing short of miraculous.
But wait, there's more! (every TV infomercial ever)
I could probably end the story here, but can't resist mentioning another faked demo story that I learned recently. It occurred after I left Blizzard so I can only relate it second-hand.
As every game developer knows, release dates are slippery, but the dates of trade shows are set in stone. If a game studio has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to prepare booth space, purchase long-lead print advertising and arrange press appointments, the development team is going to have to demo something or heads will roll.
And so it came to pass that Warcraft III needed a bit of extra help one year at a trade show. The Warcraft III game engine, written from the ground up with no code shared from previous "craft" titles, was complicated and unintuitive enough that it was disparagingly called "brainfuck" by many on the team, and so the programmers were forced to struggle against these issues to get terrain collision and path-finding working in the run-up to E3.
Given the timing they didn't manage to get those features stabilized prior to the show, so fans and press weren't allowed to get their hands on a playable demo. Instead the demonstration was carefully orchestrated by the game's producers to hide their lack, which necessitated carefully steering game units around terrain features while pitching the product. To its credit Blizzard didn't release the game until the problems were addressed and Warcraft III was an excellent game.
Making games, and especially making games while creating enough visibility so that there is a ready audience, is enormously complicated. I wish every one of you who aspires to make games the best of luck in your endeavors, and hope that you'll never find yourself on the heels of a similar dilemma about what to show.


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Ben Loves Bear by David McPhail {Review}
Ben Loves Bear is an amazing book and I cannot wait to get my hands on Bella Loves Bunny! Ben Loves Bear is a lot of things under these durable covers. It is an early reader that is just right for my budding preschooler. It is a board book with absolutely adorable images that delights my toddler. The sentences are short enough (Ben Loves Bear. Bear Loves Ben.) that my toddler tries to mimic it and soon I think my preschooler will have it memorized. This is wide like a board book, (6×8 dimensions) but a bit taller so it almost fits in the early readers section near the I Can Read! books. I'm totally in love with it and if there were a dozen or so similar I'd race out to get them all. Did I tell you that I cannot wait to get my hands on Bella Loves Bunny?!. . .


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Tag: Survival Games
8 KILLS IN SG – Minecraft Survival Games Ep7 w/ Inf3rnoMC
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Ventrix SMP #1 – BRAIN POWER
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My first day on Ventrix SMP! I surprisingly got a lot done. 9:50 to gain that brain power.
Crafty Couple – LIKE AN OLD MARRIED COUPLE || Episode 5
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I TRY MY HARDEST to complete the house but of course, I don't because I am a huge procrastinator, sorry.
Solo UHC – Pro Bow Strats #2
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#Report. From the amount of diamond I found, I may just report myself, ahaha. Once again, my pro bow skills kick in and I CLEAN UP. LOL, I wish it happened like that...
Crafty Couple – THIS IS MY SWAMP || Episode 4
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Shark and I go on an adventure to find a swamp. It took FOREVER but we finally go one slime ball. ONE. SLIME. BALL. Oh well, haha.
Crazy Walls – DANCE FOR ME #2
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In this video, I'm joined by my friend, Brock. Before we started recording, we won (I SWEAR) but of course... I only record the losing games... Oh well! For two plebs, we still did pretty good.
Minecraft: Skywars Ep. 1 "Mini Donald Trump"
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Today, I play skywars with friends from the roleplay featuring mini Donald Trump aka, iiTimelessKun's sister. This was also my first time playing around with subtitles... I can't decide whether I like them or not.
Minecraft: Survival Games Ep. 2 "I'm Better Than Shark"
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Just playing with the amazing SpottedShark. Hope you enjoy!
Minecraft Survival Games #10 – Protect The Cow Challenge! w/Alvin
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So bascially I upload Minecraft Survivsl games videos,I recently just came back from a long break that took months and that caused me to lose tons of views I getting nearly 100 views per vid I uploaded now and I'm...
Minecraft Survival Games | Episode #4 | DAMN!
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Welcome to my brand new SG episode! if you are new to the channel, please do subscribe for more SG vids and more :p
Katniss Everdeen Plays Minecraft!
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I do dress ups and cosplay videos! In this first one I dress up like Katniss Everdeen and play using only the Bow and Arrow as my weapon! Hope you enjoy, and if you do, please be sure to like comment and subscribe ...
Minecraft: Survival Games | #1 | The beginning of something special…..
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Minecraft: Survival Games | #1 | The beginning of something special... Thanks for watching my first Minecraft Survival Games video. If you would like to see more please subscribe, like and comment. Leave in the com...
Mini Game Mondays I AM HAUNTING YOU OOOOO
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Greetings Assassins ninjalord25 here today with another Mini Game Mondays and today i do it with not my girlfriend this time but with a small time youtuber called TheCuriousCrab i met him from a spotlight video i wa...


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Moderator: Staffers
Atriel wrote:I can't remember all that well, but overall: Ryougi can kill anything. Tohno can not. Also, Ryuogi doesn't suffer any side effects when using them.
It's because Ryougi Shiki can see the "Origin of Living Things" which also includes barriers, and other Mystic Eye powers. While Tohno Shiki can see the "Death of All Things" which means he can pretty much destory almost anything within reason. Also, it explains why he sees many lines not only on living objects, but on non living objects as well.
Kid-Wolf wrote:Wellin the 5th movie she was abile to "kill" the bariers. Also, Touko did mention that if Souren wanted to keep her restrained he should of used concrete instead of magical barriers. I think the part of her "killing" magecraft might have something to do with how magecraft has something to do with the origin. I mean it was created by a magus so that would mean it can be destroyed though.
Chaos Chaud wrote:
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"Outstanding on so many levels"
This is, in its way, a spy story. But it's a lot more than that. It is a timely investigation into the mentalities around the 'terror terror' and the shift from cold war to the war against terror. LeCarre involves you with his characters while still withholding trust. They are people you'll care about so much you (or at least I) forget that something has to happen, that it can't be easily resolved.
Every once in a while the narrator mixes his accents and a German becomes a Brit,e.g., but it's generally an excellent excellent read, excellently read.
"Poor Ending"
When the Audible message came on at the end of the book, I couldn't believe it. The book ended too abruptly, leaving too many unanswered details. I actually went to the book store to confirm how it ended it was so poor. Up until then, I enjoyed it.
"Good story"
Engaging, smart, and modern
I thought this was a well developed and believable story. The plot was in keeping with current events.
Many of the scenes were interesting, from the beginning when Issa arrives in Hamburg to the very end when government interests collide.
"Extreme Disappointment"
Absolutely nothing.
I enjoy the genre, so a poor story and plot will not decrease my interest.
The whole book should have been binned, The storyline was so drawn out that it was difficult to be interested, and the author failed to hold my attention.
I don't think the narrator can be blamed for a story / plot that has little guts
This was my first John Le Carre book and with its recent adaption as a film, and good reviews I expected an interesting and gripping read. I was very disappointed, the plot was thin, dragged out. I can think of no reason why I would revisit Le Carre.
After reading the Publishers Summary I can't think he and I read the same book.
"Too complicated for ears only"
I'll read LeCarre and perhaps listen to a LeCarre read book, but no time soon.
The final scene with the American agents.
I was happy to be done with it.
"failure to launch"
I kept on listening waiting for it to get to the exiting part, just not in Le carre's style.
The end reminds me of the spy that came in from the cold. You don't know what happens to one of the main characters.
It's not a bad book. Pick it up if it's on sale, probably not LeCarre's best
Didn't like the female impersonations
"Ends well"
I would listen to the final 20 minutes again, because the long-awaited climax of the book is fulfilling, and the denouementis even better.
Most of Le Carre's books share elements that are found in this one. Le Carre's gift is to create the unexpectedly complicated inner world of the spy. He has the gift of placing the spy and the people he damages into worlds in which they make meaningful connections with others, while they are deceived by each other, and ultimately betrayed by what they believe in.
The narration was especially good when the focus of the story was on Tommy Brue—his hearty conviviality came through well.
It doesn't match Le Carre's best stories, but it is a satisfactory one to listen too. Sags a bit in the middle.
"Le Carre & Rees a fine blend!"
Le Carre & Rees come up with a winning combination. A brilliant book, with an intriguing plot presented in a superb prose. Le Carre spins another fascinating moral tale about out times. While Rees' ability to create characters and accents are equally commendable. Many people might deplore the story's anti US-CIA tone. Le Carre earlier works did serve American interests. However the world has changed, since the fall of the Evil Empire. It needed to find a new enemy to justify its political pragmatism. The global reality is very different from outside of the USA, then within. Le Carre's newer works hit upon those chords and experiences with formidable accuracy.
"Another Excellent Le Carre'"
Hope he lives forever. This is the first one I listened to instead of reading and was not sure I would catch the nuances, but enjoyed as much as tho I read it. Very good narrator, too.
The plot is a little contrived, which is tolerable. However, the nature of the story takes on a decided change towards the end. It's like the author was moving along at a reasonable pace with the story, then there was a phone call from the Publisher, who said "Jerk, you'd better get this finished in the next week". So the last part of the story shifts gears from "Forward Slowly" to "Breakneck". Now, maybe you argue that's the way it happens in these things, but the care taken in developing the characters and the story was not continued through the ending.