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Now Nau: Beer tycoon pays Dragas' Hill + Knowlton bills
56 comments
Come on Linwood don't give that dump a dime!
How much IS the bill, how much has been previously paid out of the endowment, and is the Hill and Knowlton propanganda firm still generating billable hours?
Nau says to a reporter "Lets talk alout that, but not now" on one day and just walks away the next?
To he** with him and his checkbook.
LOL.....THIS IS SO TRANSPARENT.......this says it all and the BoV is so corrupt that they actually think this will make all feel it's above board now. LOLOLOL....
What are these people smoking?????? Please share it!
Yeah, so you dupes thought that big money got what?
UVa is so fat with staff and admin is has to be supported outside.
Where do you thing UVa would be if big money stopped donating?
Do you pay attention to the real world instead of dancing to pixie dust?
Honest to god, you critize " staff and admin" when Dragas pi$$es hundreds of thousands of dollars away on a dip$hit propanganda firm?
What planet are you from?
Do you pay attention to the real world instead of dancing to pixie dust?
Crony capitalism?
Why not just change the name to Jones University and the Nau School of Philanthropy?
Whether anyone likes it or not, weight has become an issue in our society at all levels. The weight issue arose during the UVA travails this summer. And so, it was not off-the-wall to raise the issue at this point, particularly because it appears Sullivan has lost some weight over the summer. As a public figure, Sullivan avails herself of scrutiny of all types. particularly by the media, and she handled the issue with deftness at her news conference. For that, she should be applauded.
Interesting report and some more investigating will help. One question I would ask is, "did Nau pay the H+K bills in a manner that yielded a possible tax-deduction for charitable giving?"
My comments were misplaced. They have found their way to the proper story.
A faculty seat on the BOV? Where are they going to find a faculty member who is still connected to the real world, not isolated on The Magic Mountain? How could anyone imagine these seats were not for sale after Patricia K got hers.
@JH: "Do you pay attention to the real world instead of dancing to pixie dust?"
Translation: Who needs honor when you've got big bucks!?
Who authorized the expenditure of these funds to the propaganda firm in the first place? Is there no system of checks and balances in place. We are dealing with state funds here, are we not? I think the matter needs to be looked into very closely. Replacing misappropriated funds may not be the end of it.
What is Nau's relationship with the Curry School?
Yes, what IS Nau's relationship with Curry? And with other Curry Board members (like Hansen)?
Also, I heard the H&N folks were living it up at Clifton Inn and Boar's Head -- this true, Hawes?
I mean H & K, sorry.
I would love to know what these people pay in taxes . I work hard, am not wealthy, and pay over 20% in taxes . The rich are writing the tax laws and taking deductions for their good deeds , I too
want to know if Nau took this as a tax deduction .
I think a family member attended Curry. Seems unfair to pile on Nau. There was uproar about the PR bill so he stepped in so UVA wouldnt have to pay it. Dragas is the rector and should answer for her failure of leadership. Was there pressure from top donors to remove Sullivan? Seems so but SHE should have managed it appropriately. The governor is equally at fault in my view.
There is an unconfirmed report that Dragas volunteered to resign at the board retreat. Why didn't Nau and others accept her offer ? My guess, they were firmly behind removing Sullivan and still are. As long as Dragas and those board members who supported the coup remain, distrust will reign at UVa .
If you want to see how corrupt BOVs can be across the country, do a little research on Penn State Trustee (recently elected) Anthony Lubrano. An unapologetic supporter of Joe Paterno and the whole PSU football culture, he actually ran TV ads to campaign for a seat on the Board.
BTW, I am glad Nau has made his fortune in something so close to UVa's upstanding culture.
R.I.P.: Steve van Buren
Money corrupts. Power corrupts. Nothing new there. In the good old USA, the one percenters, or maybe the .1 percenters control EVERYTHING, and everyone else is subjected to their whims...
I think there needs to be an investigation as to who authorized the expenditures, what is the amount of the bill and what detailed services are charged and are the charges even valid.
If I use my corporate credit card to buy my kid a $60,000 car and then get his uncle to pay the bill before it is overdue doesn't mean I shouldn't be fired for extremely poor judgement.
This is all very concerning. If Mr. Nau made the $100,000 donation to the University, he doesn't have the right to determine the use of the gift or it is not a tax deductible gift. And if it was restricted to pay the H&K bill, there must be proof that the University and not Mrs. Dragas ordered the services. If the services were used to support her personally, the tax deduction is highly questionable.
Time for a lot of people to leave the BOV and time for Gov. McD to start looking for a real job. His days in politics are OVER!
Hmmm...I see I made two comments to the board while I was not online. Very interesting!
@ non-resident taxpayer - you may have scared off the mighty dozen that control this page.
Personally, I want Dragas removed for reason(s). She attempted to oust a completely gifted President of UVA. Enough is enough. I believe that if the faculty really cared they would seek remedy with their huge voice. Strike if necessary. Seriously. The faculty deserve a place on the board, a voting voice.
Nau has the money to support and remove whatever obstacles come in the way of his singular control of the University of Virginia. This is not education, this is communism. Controlled by NAU. I thought I was in America.
Nau is money deep in the "Curry School" and "Rector Dragas", and Houston entities...
Nau is disgusting, and I am a republican.
Nau is a Republican!!!!!
From the Richmond Times Dispatch, August 24, 2012:
"U.Va. spokeswoman Carol Wood said the university never received a copy of the invoice and that she does not know the amount. She also said she did not know whether the board is still using the firm's services.
A Hill+Knowlton spokeswoman declined to say whether the board is still a client, citing company policy.
Nau and Dragas did not respond to requests for comment."
This is corporate-speak on the part of Hill and Knowlton and Nau and Dragas that says:"Why yes,the back-stabbing continues apace! Did you expect anything less?"
This story just reinforces the narrative that the BOV is dominated by uber-wealthy corporate types who cover each others rears. They use their wealth in the Citizens United mode to distort democratic public bodies and processes.
Someone above asked what is Nau's relationship with the Curry School. Its a good question worth investigation by someone like Dave McNair. Let's not forget that the elites include deans and former deans and other administrators who have direct connections with the corporate ruling elites. Taking alcohol industry money like taking student loan industry money does not phase these people. They take money from anyone willing to give. despite the taint of the money, perhaps this type of philanthropic relationship is the oldest profession. I wish Dave McNair would do a story looking at a place like the Curry School Foundation and trace where all the money comes from and who is giving and what their motivations are and who makes up those types of boards. It not just the BOVs that is dominated by corporate and wealthy interests, its all of these networks pervading the University.
Forced reliance on corporate and private donors is THE problem for UVa. The system of funding public Universities is rotten to the core. I realize this would be anathema to University Administrators. If we actually cared about where the money was coming from, that well might have to be made up by the State actually supporting public universities through revenue generation. The exposure of Nau's funding the bill for H & K really shows the sickness of the entire system.
The story, also brings back the idea of responsibility and accountability for all those involved in the Sullivan ouster. Remind me again, which BOV members still on were really behind the attempted coup. It was not just Drags and Kington.
@George and the Richmond Times Dispatch, August 24, 2012:
If the BOV did not authorize a contact with H + K, then what were H + K personnel doing in the BOV meetings discussing things like personnel actions? This would seem to expose the BOV to legal actions as well void claims of confidentiality and privilege in terms of FOIA.
That's my immediate reaction. I am sure there are few good lawyers and other high thinkers here who could ponder for a mere few minutes and describe the manifold problems of the interaction between Nau, Dragas, the BOV, and H+K.
Who is H+K's client?!
From the Hook story:
"University spokesperson Carol Wood notes that some people simply type "Re:" into their email subject line."
I have never done this nor have I ever heard of anyone doing this. It beggars belief.
Carol Wood was close to Michael Strine. If you find out the real reason Strine was fired that will highlight another scandal. Please don't say it was because Strine was disloyal to Sullivan as that list is a page long.
Carol Wood has a very close relationship with NAU as well. No surprise. Connect the dots. Carol Wood plays stupid when convenient.
@ Carol Wood: The subject line of an email that is of great significance NEVER reads Re: The Subject line is always an attention grabber. Carol, please look into facts and stop your non-sense. Carol, you represent Nau and have undermined Dr. Sullivan as well.
Carol Wood and Nau were completely behind President Sullivan's ouster. The facts will prove Carol Wood's statements are based on what Hill & Knowlton offered as a counter to valid questions. Carol Wood must be fired and Dragas must resign. Nau can stay if he is reduced to a non-voting member of UVA.
What utter nonsense. Carol, do you think you are dealing with 8th grade minds?
What would be the consequence if UVa were not in compliance with the FOIA?
How would that be proved, by whom, et cetera?
all you care to know about the Virginia FOIA
§ 2.2-3714. Violations and penalties.
In a proceeding commenced against any officer, employee, or member of a public body under § 2.2-3713 for a violation of §§ 2.2-3704, 2.2-3705.1 through 2.2-3705.8, 2.2-3706, 2.2-3707, 2.2-3708, 2.2-3708.1, 2.2-3710, 2.2-3711 or § 2.2-3712, the court, if it finds that a violation was willfully and knowingly made, shall impose upon such officer, employee, or member in his individual capacity, whether a writ of mandamus or injunctive relief is awarded or not, a civil penalty of not less than $500 nor more than $2,000, which amount shall be paid into the State Literary Fund. For a second or subsequent violation, such civil penalty shall be not less than $2,000 nor more than $5,000.
"What would be the consequence if UVa were not in compliance with the FOIA?
How would that be proved, by whom, et cetera?"
People die in UVA land and these folks go unchecked. When you own the system of checks and balances who is going to check if you are in compliance. They own/influence the entire legal system in Cville and you're worried about an FOIA. I'll guarantee they didn't fully release everything hiding behind the terminology of the request. One wrong word and they use it as an excuse not to release certain info. It's called parsing words and meanings.
I cannot believe what I am reading on these posts. If UVA is out of compliance; NAU seems to be the one who should be the fall _person...
I would hope Dr. Sullivan would direct UVa's accountants and lawyers to look into the circumstances of the University hiring this propanganda firm and see if the charges are ongoing. I believe she has an obligation to the greater University community do so in any event.
If it turns out that it is an obligation incurred by Dragas that is being paid by Nau, then I think Dragas would be liable for paying income taxes on the "benefit" she is receiving. Also the amount paid would not be a total tax write-off for Nau. Unless the tax rules are just for the "little people".
I really would not want Dragas or Nau to get in trouble with the IRS .
"From the Hook story:
"University spokesperson Carol Wood notes that some people simply type "Re:" into their email subject line."
I have never done this nor have I ever heard of anyone doing this. It beggars belief."
You've really never heard of anyone doing this? Seriously dude? You are aware that all "Re:" means is "regarding" right?
I get many emails, especially from lawyers, that start out "Re:" They don't refer to any email that I've sent previously,
Just for the record, I'd be very happy if Ms Dragas found other interests to pursue, but some of you seem to be looking for a commie under every bed.
Re does usually mean "in regards to" or "about". It is derived from the Latin phrase "in re" which means "in reality".
Latin scholars and students please chime in.
There is huge relevance to a subject line. Re, RE, re suggests spam which is automatically deleted.
Anyone who uses RE in the Subject line of an email is playing games. This is a fact. If the subject line had a subject that was significant to readers; obviously, the subject line would have been something other than RE. Something of importance. Most intelligent individuals have RE screened from their emails and deleted as spam.
Who are you people suggesting that there is no relevance to the Subject line?
I have emails with RE sent to my trash immediately.
Disgusted with George et al who support this nonsense.
UVA should be ashamed at Dragas and Nau platitudes. Their ill attempt at covertly assigning blame to others makes me want to seek more truth. What is the truth Dragas and Nau. What is truth beyond your monies? I will not let this rest.
Completely disgusted by Nau and Dragas. They should both resign.
In my admittedly dysfunctional corner of the world I use "Re" and "Ref" in the headings of electronic and handwritten messages that refer to earlier discussions with my supervisor and coworkers, not necessarily in
reply to another written or electronic message.
Shoot me if you must, but it seems thin gruel with which to implicate Helen Woods in this train wreck. With so many villains trying to wash the blood off their hands, what is the point?
What's going on here:
Should we be talking about rehiring Michael Mann?
"@ non-resident taxpayer - you may have scared off the mighty dozen that control this page."
I don't believe I scared anyone off...I just found it very interesting that someone decided to use my "handle" to make comments. The management kindly agreed to remove them when I contacted them, and I have 'registered' so it won't happen again. I didn't necessarily disagree with them, but I also think it's interesting that more than H&K are playing at misdirection. The comments made in my name asserted that only seating a voting member of the faculty on the board would fix things; I do agree that someone selected by the faculty senate ought to have a voting seat on the board. One vote isn't enough, certainly, to veto a board majority, but it is enough to provide a watchdog function to improve transparency. Clearly - based on Ms. Hurd's performance - a student seat doesn't do the trick.
I had the opportunity this weekend to have a relatively long chat with a former two term BOV member who was incensed at the goings on over the summer, and asserted that this feeling was common among former BOV members.
I asked about a what they thought of the political theories and they asserted that this really did not start in Richmond, at least from what they heard (on their quite well connected grapevine), and that it was no political. Their sense, based on the chatter among the very-well-connected alumni and former board members, was that this was entirely a personality clash between Dragas and Sullivan, coupled with out of control ego of people like Paul Jones. Their sense was that the Board had, in some sense, become captive to the highest bidders. They were not as optimistic as I've been, but I also sense that this is far from over.
That's a pile of gossip hearsay, so take it as such, but that's at least as good as the wacky tea-leaf-reading and conspiracy theories that have been bouncing around the echo chamber. Their thesis was persuasive in that it had Occam's razor in it's favor: simple venality and egoism are more than enough to produce the mess we saw.
Can't buy the personality disorder theory. Whenever something goes bad like the OK bombing or the Tech shootings, or the Morrissey suicide, the media always reduce it to a personality or psychological disorder rather than an ideological-organizational issue.
I have a hard time looking at the evidence believing that this was just an interpersonal squabble between Dragas and Sullivan but about corporate/privatization agenda channeled by a few BOV members. Heard an interesting story on NPR this morning abut Gov. Bob's work trying to get the Port Authority privatized, e.g., his firing of the previous Port Authority and his staking of the new Port Authority with privatization market fanatics. There is a real serious agenda to privatize everything including higher education and didn't Gov. Bob recently spend time at a Koch Brother retreat?
While I whole heartedly agree that venality and egoism played a significant role as well as corporate hubris, behind every interpersonal squabble is a set of societal ideological issues getting worked out. Occam's doesn't always apply to large scale social issues these days. I would think twice before tossing this off to personality differences.
Need to keep digging on the real reasons behind this and in the end the real reasons may not matter as much as making changes in the BOV members and structure. Come to the FAculty Senate meeting tomorrow at Darden and look for a Town Hall meeting sponsored by legislators coming up.
I don't call this a "personality disorder" issue - just a clash of personalities. Neither party has to be a pathological or clinical head case to get into a nasty clash.
I do believe there is an ideological tilt towards "privatizing" government - the quicker and better to asset-strip it for $$$ - but in this case, the shoot-from-the-hip quality, very much unlike the attempt to privatize the ABC stores and the Port Authority, suggests that this is less planned out.
Unlike the Northrop-Grumman and VITA fiasco, I don't think UVa is a juicy state budget target to pluck and plunder.
@ Non-Resident
Not to get all conspiracy theory nutty on you but the personality explanation probably is related to multiple social agendas. Beg to differ, education and higher education is a significant market target, hence Goldman-Sachs' recent e-learning acquisition. And on the other end it is a juicy state budget target to underfund and starve with no taxation policies, efficiency and accountability attacks. Tenure is being attacked by the right as well.
Not sure on the less planned out argument. This privatization lust is in the water, the air, and in the retreats that the Koch Brothers plan as well as their policy efforts. The BOV members and politicians float around in a rarefied atmosphere where these corporate ideologies and schemes are talked about at cocktail parties, policy briefings, retreats all funded by corporate types with similar ACTA agendas. The planning for such private transformations is just not transparent as the Dragas cabal's work was done where the cockroaches hide.
If Gov. Bob did it to the Port Authority, what's to make you think he didn't either approve it in the UVA case (as suggested by Kiernan) or at least turn a blind eye to its agenda because it fits with his agenda in every other area of public policy?
No me thinks its more than a petty personality ego squabble. In any event, it has brought up larger issues and questions like who owns public higher education and what is the relationship between that ownership and governance? If it was merely a personality squabble it has opened up Pandora's box on large issues, hence Sullivan's recent comments about how this is a national issue and we will be watched by many around the country not to mention our accrediting body and the AAUP.
@non-resident - one cannot privatize government entities and hope to benefit beyond 5 years. Take a look at all the cases of State Prisons being privatized and then at the 5 year mark - they are no longer profitable. And, dying to revert to the public domain.
At the 5 year mark, private prisons want to be bought back by the tax payers once again. What a mess. This is not what are for-father's had in mind.
Our country has privatized entities, and profited via Wall Street, and this is a shambles. In the long run, all this "capitalism" will be our failure as a nation.
No other country has capitalized on the physical health of a nation. It will take time but in the long run, our Wall Street run health care system is UNHEALTHY. Any Wall Street actuary will prove this is true.
The same is going on with the online, privatization of Education. Education will be run by communists banking on the fact that America is asleep at the wheels. Punn intended via smart car by Sebastian Thrun.
The USA is an utter disgrace for buying into this Sebastian method.
I believe we need a separate United States of American Internet that controls access to our learning process; particularly if it's offered for FREE!
Come on USA!
Today's economy is so up-side-down that no one knows what is true and proven. No one understands the longer term consequences of actions, and no one cares.
Dismayed at best by the UVA BoV. Dragas is not who I want representing me as a tenured faculty member...
Money will buy anything these days at UVA. NOT my credentials. Not my tenure. I will be moving on to greener pastures since there is no voice for the faculty here at UVA.
Thanks a lot, Mr. Nau! Lot of money spent on defending Dragas; not one dollar spent on profs. When will the huge donors have a minimal voice and not one of ...losing faith in UVA.
I will be talking with one of these gazillion head hunters; makes sense now that I know UVA faculty have no voice on the Board of Visitors. Unbelievable.
Good riddance faculty 101. Your sinecure will pass to some other drone.
Faculty 101,
Exit is not the only option. Join the AAUP and get organized there at UVA. That's the only way faculty are going to get voice by organizing and demanding it. Don't panic, organize.
If public action could bring Sullivan back, so can it block Dragas' appointment by the legislature and it can change the make up of the BOV appointment process and include faculty and staff representation.
Don't leave, we need you here.
Please reconsider. Place your energies into helping us make the necessary changes at our University. We need everyone to close rank and take a stand for changes at UVA. All eyes are upon us and if we stick together we can make a difference.
If the General Assembly gives Dragas a "pass" THEN, and only then, look at your option of looking elsewhere. January is not that far off and we could use your help in blocking this appointment.
I love quotes and the situation at UVA reminds me of the following quote:
"What I didn't know was that if I didn't stand with my back to the wall, Hollywood people would unscrew my ass and sell it down the river. "
Joseph Wambaugh
@Weekend Reader - you are preaching to the choir - I am hardly a fan of privatization. However, as big as higher education budgets are, research institutions, unlike secondary education, not nearly as easily converted into widget factories. The public school sector is an enormous tax revenue stream from which the private sector would love to skim - so see charter schools (deregulation), and for-profit operators (Edison Schools, etc) pushed by shills like Michelle Rhee. As has frequently been pointed out during this summer's debacle: UVa gets well under 10% of it's budget from state coffers - there's neither a revenue stream to be tapped, nor any great 'savings' to be had.
The ABC stores, however, operate quite profitably, even owning their own real estate and having government workers with defined benefit pensions - purportedly the very thing that is destroying America. In fact, as study after study demonstrated, they earned the state far more as they are than any private scheme would. UVa just doesn't do anything like that, under either scenario - privatized or not.
I don't doubt that there are people like the Kochs who wish to 'capture' intellectual institutions - mainly to give berths to second-stringers of the same stripe as Glen Hubbard or Greg Mankiw - "intellectual" shills for the 1% - since places like Cato, Hoover, Heritage or AEI have become so discredited. But they've got that with George Mason - Mercatus - just check out the constant stream of policy spin pieces put out by people like Tyler Cowen, Russell Roberts, Todd Zywicki, Larry J. White and Arnold Kling. And Mercatus has a huge 'faculty', enough to be a push-piece paper mill, much more than traditional Econ/Business Schools. But these are not direct profit centers for the likes of the Kochs - they're an investment in agit-prop and building a 'movement'...straight up disinformation. Heaven help us if Romney wins and Mankiw and Hubbard - the two "economists" who oversaw the Bush-II Economy (and brought us the trainwreck of the credit and housing bubbles) get their hands back on the levers of the economy. We ought to declare open season on "Austrian" and "Chicago School" shills and stick with the empirical guys from Princeton, but I digress....
I only want to point out that he simplest solution, thesis or hypothesis which solves or explains any phenomenon is the most probable one, and in this case, lacking the juicy funding target to plunder - and UVa's budget is unsustainable right now - I'm skeptical of ideological or financial (privatization) theories. Group think idiocy by a bunch of people who mistake their own luck (of birth in most cases, timing in others) for business genius does seem much simpler and therefore more likely. It doesn't excuse it and it doesn't mean there aren't real threats from extremists with agendas.
I'm a lefty, but I am a capitalist American. The difference between my view and the Dragas (I inherited my Daddy's established business during the largest bubble in history) is this: I don't believe in the Horatio Alger myths - I think successful people are successful for three reasons: 1) they get lucky and get an opportunity, 2) they are lucky enough to have the means to capitalize on the opportunity and 3) they actually recognize and work hard to capitalize on it.
Most of this group - Dragas, Nau, Tudor-Jones - likes to pretend they did it all themselves, and parts 1 & 2 had nothing to do with it. Randal Kirk might come closest to being truly self-made, but he also had good accidents of friendly timing (our medical expenditures bubble) as well, though he clearly built his companies.
@ non-resident ta... - You have raised some interesting points, and I agree with you.
Seems the republican right have attempted to control education, state resource, and women's right. Well. Governor McDonnell, you bear a child via raping a woman and then have a say...ok? How dare Gov. McDonnell pretend that womens rights are not in jeopardy via this Romney position.
WOMEN HAVE RIGHTS; and Mcd...is a disgrace. Women have rights to their bodies and those POST MENOPAUSAL CHRISTIAN right woman should not be given a voice in our position. What a disgrace.
Loss for words -- all of you? Why isn't there any commentary here?
Because women should have rights? Absolutely!
Women should have HAD rights as long as men in America.
History proves otherwise.
I believe that reparations are in order for women in America just as the Japanese!
Women in America who can prove they are US citizens should demand reparations 100 times that of the Japanese. After all, we were born here.


text:
My current WebGL-App does run fine under Firefox. Currently I'm trying to get it to run on Chrome/Webkit. For some strange reason it's just crashing the JS-Tread:
http://www-users.rwth-aachen.de/martin. … quest.html
I have absolute no idea what's causing this. Chrome seems to have some kind of build in JS-Debugger which could be useful here. The problem is: Either it does not work or I'm to stupid to use it. Breakpoints do not have any effect? Could anyone help me trying to find the line causing the problem? (The sourcecode is generated by GoogleWebToolkit with style "PRETTY")
Actually there is NO demo I get to run with the current Chrome build I got here. In all demos I tried I got an error that function getShaderi does not exist. That's why I'm executing the following compatibility code:
if (!gl.getShaderi) {
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if (!gl.getProgrami) {
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
A tip from an auto body shop helped police locate and charge an 83-year-old woman with a hit-and-run crash that killed a 6-year-old boy in Illinois last weekend, NBCChicago.com reported.
Veramae C. Phillip, 83, of Woodstock, turned herself in on Thursday after authorities issued a warrant for her arrest and charged her with felony counts of leaving the scene of a fatal traffic crash and failure to report a fatal traffic crash.
She was released after paying $5,000 bail on a $50,000 bond, according to a statement from the McHenry County Sheriff's Office.
The boy was struck just after 9 p.m. Saturday in Seneca Township, between Woodstock and Marengo.
The vehicle, allegedly driven by Phillip, did not stop.
Following a tip from a body shop, the sheriff's department determined the boy was struck by a silver 2001 Chevrolet Malibu.
Alcohol or drugs are not suspected to have played a role in the crash, which remains under investigation by the Traffic Crash Investigation Unit and the McHenry County Coroner's office.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Video: Anti-American protests continue in Egypt
- Americans killed in US consulate attack honored at Andrews
- Slide show: Protests rock Mideast, Asia and northeast Africa
- 'Bucket List Bandit' nabbed in Oklahoma traffic stop
- Man pleads guilty to attempted bigamy after wives' Facebook encounter
- Women face stubborn wage gap as wages fall for everyone
Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


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Training my mapmaking skill
Lakeside Hill Zone by Dails - 2/10
This map is still like beginner's map.. I know it's good already a little bit, however I can beat this faster than GFZ1... Hint: Putting crawlas in random obvious places and in groups are.. somewhat stupid ... IMO only that is...
Outerspace Threat Zone by Miles Knuckle Prower - 1/10
Why thank you, you have successfully EYERAPED ME!
I'll elaborate more later after I successfuly get my revenge back on Eggman... At first I thought the red barrier was TEXTURE FAIL ! >.>'
Come on, you know you can do better than this!
I'll check this pretty soon.
Now playing more with Sonic
Lakeside Hill Zone by Dails (CAN'T RATE)
Crap, I knew I could've put a little more effort in it. But it's supposed to be a simple and short map, and no, this is not my first level.
Outerspace Threat Zone (1/10)
It took me a few minutes to find out that this map was a boss map. The boss is very difficult to defeat, especially when you play as Sonic, because there's no platforms you can stand into. I died in my first try.
Formerly known as 'Neo'
Okay wow guys. Can I still submit my half-done, devoid of objects map? I think it would still win!
---Single Player---
Lakeside Hill Zone by Dails - 1/10
Hey, Dails (whoever you are), try making bigger maps. I know you feel all proud of yourself for making a map and submitting it, but it's not really something you should be proud of. It took me under 30 seconds, and there was a huge cluster of Crawlas. Why exactly was there a checkered floor under the checkpoint, again...?
Outerspace Threat by Miles Knuckle Power - 1/10
Sorry, Miles, but that was probably one of the worst Boss levels I've ever played. It was bad enough that Eggy was too high up for me to hit with his missiles, but having a laser shield and turrets, too? Not my idea of a good boss.
I'm most active on Twitter!
The single player category has gotten poor in variety of maps again, and it seems the quality has gotten poor too evaluating from the reviews/rates. I'll enter my feedback soon...
EDIT: Okay here we go.
Lakeside Hill by Dails: 1/10
"There isn't any replay value for this map. There isn't anything fun to do in this map. There's barely anything TO do in this map. These are some requirements you need to think about when making a map Dails. Try adding in stuff that you think is really fun into your next time. Something fun that makes even you, yourself play this map over and over again.
There are flaws with this map as well. What's with the pointless lake? There's nothing to benefit the player enough to get out of the water except that blue spring which leads you back to from where you started. At the finish goal there are pits that you can't escape from. There's an open extra life monitor you can reach without even having to jump upon those 30 platforms you created in the sky which serves nothing basically. This map could have been created better."
Outerspace Threat Zone by Miles Knuckle Power: 1/10
"Come on now Miles... This wasn't any fun at all either. I didn't like the boss even though it was challenging, but it was a bit too challenging. There's nothing much for me to say for this map.
I didn't know boss maps are now counted as single player maps. I mean, single player maps with a little bit to go through as regular levels and a boss at the end of them I agree and understand, but just arena boss maps... doesn't seem to fit as singleplayer maps in my personal opinon."
Sorry I couldn't enter my map in this contest at least everyone. Sparkling Icecap Zone still hasn't been finished, and I want to polish it up some more. I didn't want to end up entering a rush map as of almost like everyone that did in this contest.
Solar Egglipse in progress.
Last edited by Thompson; 05-01-2011 at 09:28 PM.
Hello everyone.
Honestly, it's a contest plea. I agree that there are work days, but a little time on the levels would not be asking too much. Admittedly, this is a video game, but ... when talking about competition, it gets a little more than a game . It's starting to become slightly a sort of question of honor.
If I mention this is that it can rest on your seriousness in general.
Here, notice that you are rated by your work. By the advice of other people worldwide.
Anyway ... some can not possibly show their potential by certain conditions (they have no access to the computer often, he did not have time, etc ...)
Well, if I can give you some advice, feel free to spend more than 2 months. You are not necessarily obliged to participate in all competitions.
As the saying goes that I invented :
Better to skip a competition and make a level who can win that do two in a row with two levels bad.
For those who want the notes, here.
Lakeside Hill Zone by Dail : 2 / 10
... I have not seen much. Platforms fly may suggest a good job ... but it's copy and paste. I even managed to run without falling over so it was close.
The variation of texture is bad. GFZ and textures of those HPZ rocks are not suitable . It might be a little practice before the contest. The style of nature can be as effective as mechanical theme, you just know the maneuver !
Outerspace Threat Zone by Miles Prower Knuckle : 2 / 10
Well? What happened? Why am I dealing with an impossible boss?
I put 2 points for changing the game (SOC),but not more because unfortunately, you haven't spent any time here.
I hope Mobius Armaggedon will show what you can do, because ...it's isn't good, here.
Frozen Destruction Zone by Scizor300 : 5 / 10
Well ... that's not bad. The sectors are well placed, except in the bases ... it's a funny whirlwind I've seen here. I had a little trouble to come up with Knuckles. Especially when I have the flag ... I can not climb, so I can not bring the flag to the base. It's bad, that.
Now the items ... then ... the rings : 90% copy and paste. Star rings ... you should occasionally create straights of rings. Groups of rings are not very good.
The items ... um, yes, a little improvement in the side where they aren't everywhere. They are placed in the right places.
Oh, and boxes of rings, the wiki said to put a lot of rings, but not at the point to have thirty boxes...
The majority of the note is positive on the sector, because I love the way you've constructed.
Angle Forest Zone by Katmint : 3 / 10
Katmint ... I seem to see my first level design. Only for that, I was a nice bit on the note. Reminds me of the little paths that I put in Boogie Palace ...
Be careful, this is a small handicap that I have, too, and that is hard to cure. Creating a balanced level is more difficult than it seems.
... First, please, forget me this stupid idea springs blue .. it's a challenge that is difficult but mostly lazy and bad.
Then ... I bumping on a lot of wall (that's too small areas, and it's bad in multiplayer levels), I took about 40 seconds to get the flag ... but I fell into a hole near the blue springs. There would have been a guy with a rail, I'll be in the background .
Perhaps you should read a little wiki on level design. It can surely help you make better levels.
Mossy Mushroom Area by RedEchidna : 8 / 10
I saw quite a few times this idea bouncing on mushrooms in the multiplayer, it's strange. But it's a good idea. Unless if I'm in the viewfinder of a type that handles well the Rail.
Except that it's a great arena , there are walls to protect themselves, I like. It's a very good field of war.
I have nothing else to say ... it's a level that I liked, and ... that's all.
The fact that there are easy ways to access to enemy flag...even Tails and Knuckles can access their bases without their special abilities (if they come to steal the enemy flag)
Well ! Good work.
Forst Rush Zone by Zon Scizor300 : 5 / 10
Ah, it's the same creator as Frozen Destruction! It's weird, I did notice the same style!
The first thing I noticed ... is ... simply an little arena!
It's a beautiful room but with some flaws. First, let me say that I do once turn and I found myself with all items !
You should put some items in the aerial platforms.
.. Then it's a small arena. This defect caused the biggests problems and cause the bad items placement. .. And your level look like at a symmetry. Avoid this in MATCH.
In fact, if you could have combined the beauty of this level with the size of Frozen Destruction (you will see that the items will be located well naturally), I could have a very beautiful work that can reach on my esteem 7-8 minimum.
Sandstorm by Dail Area: 7 / 10
Dail ... eh ? Whoever has done Lakeside Hill? It may not be possible! How can you make a level ... as old in 1 player and do something with much more work here?
It is a theme that strange ... but I immediately loved it. Sort of like "sand rock" with "industrial rock" ... hmm, it's hard to explain but I like it.
The items are well placed throughout. Except I saw two panels of scatter, but that's all. I think it rings and rings banks are well placed. About towers, me, I would rather put access to the top of the towers through the central Rocky Mountains. I removed the spring, if you prefer. But hey, it's not too serious. A little more work on some basics such as the size of the level, and I think increase the score. Work a little more general, simply. It's good for me.
Zero Effort Flower Zone Act 12 by D00D64: 6 / 10
Aha, I know this one well. .... Original themes.
I think a good thing to have been a little bit of gravity. There are many platforms higher and higher. Easily go on it would be good. But it is mainly to stay in the logical space ... um ...
In addition, it will be funny to see blue balls flying in the sky ! Rail Rail Rail ! Gwaaah! * Returns to the earth *.
Good. There should be a little more room to run. About items .. um, yes, I have nothing to say.
Be careful when you try new themes. It is not easy to find logical and quality. I know your levels like Cloud Cradle, I often see funny things (change the game ==> SOC)
I'm sure you have the potential to make very good levels, while remaining simple.
AccursedDonut wad by Charybdizs: 6 / 10
Hmm ... yummy yummy.
Jumping on the red and white candy while swinging missiles and the ennemies slide on the chocolate.
Even if I did not understand what is the water (the sauce, perhaps?), It remains a work appetizing. I saw there FOF on donuts (colors FOF) ! There is a bit of work, actually!
But ... back to the official rules of the MATCH.
An attractive theme. Items placed .. medium.
I did not like gravity!
Perhaps we need platforms that players can climb up . It's some other way than bouncing. And without gravity, of course.
... Yes, Meadow Match is also very simple to make, but it was done in a strategic manner ....
Hanger Egg Zone by KO.T.E. and Spherallic: 8 / 10
The duo KO.TE Spherallic and returns once again with the expert level ... you know the class, no doubt.
Your ideas are very impressive (like a rocket I saw somewhere, or walls that turn ... it's beautiful!)
But do not lose sight of the rules of the Match !
I found a lot of bounce, you must reduce this, but for other items, it should.
Then do not put TOO wall, tell you that people must fight! They must have their enemies in their sights! Especially since this topic Egg Rock + Space is dark.
I saw small yellow bars going up and down repeatedly. If someone is hiding behind this and if his enemy and has no Explosive .. it will be difficult to hurt him !
However, your ideas you both deserve to be studied. I can inspire me greatly, especially that theme ERZ, I'm rotten. My thing is more fantasy theme.
Expanded areas for running, give some freedom to your players, they will thank you with the maximum score. Keep some of the logic of MATCH.
Lost Feelings Island...by me.
Too bad I could not bring personalized music.
I have nothing to say.
Mystic Desert Area Burned by Miles Prower Knuckle: 3 / 10
If you work on Mobius, I understand you and I will forgive. Finally, you have already won the contest, it's not that serious.
I saw the same style of racing in the other toxic level.
Out of pity, ZOOM TUBE : REMOVED ME THIS.
Especially since I bump against the wall. Wicked tube.
Hmm ... The middle is a little too dark. This could have been avoided if the area would be less dangerous.
I prefer the "Temple".
Also be careful with the springs. They have been through ...average used here. To jump the player above the sand ..
In summary, remove the tube, and... practice. Maybe high platforms to change a bit ... there's not much to do in a race ...
Thank you to participants.
It's alright, go on, you'll never know anything if you don't try
Now playing more with Sonic
Oh, and my name is Dails, not Dail.
My multiplayer votes. I won't be voting on SP this contest, so this is my only vote post.
Forst Rush Zon Zone by Scizor300 - 1/10
Too small, barely enough room for 2 players, if even that. Also a bad rush job, etc. etc., you already know this. :P
Sandstorm Zone by Dails - 3/10
The colored sands clash with the black and white theme of the map. The map could use more content, and the gaps in the rock platform at the top of the map were annoying, although it did help prevent camping of the monitors.
Zero Effort Flower Zone Act 12 by D00D64 - 5/10
Came out pretty fun despite being a rush job, although it could use less pits.
AccursedDonut wad by Charybdizs - 1/10
Very empty. I like the concept, but it doesn't play well. The severe lag is what hurts the stage most, as I can't hit anyone much less see them with the horrible framerate.
Fun, but flawed. It feels kind of rushed, and the damaging electric grids kind of come out of nowhere. I also thought that you could walk on the lasers at first since there were goodies placed on the end of them. The pillars that move up and down really fast are fun to try and shoot people on. Also, tone down the sound effects please. :P
Frozen Destruction Zone by Scizor300 - 2/10
The base design is decent, but can be annoying if the control lag is bad. And there's pretty much nothing in the map aside from the bases.
Angle Forest Zone by Katmint - N/A
2 hour rush job, most of which was spent on the thing placement. Anyway, people complained that Cold Sea was too small and open, so I made this one bigger and less open. But I overdid it and it came out a little too big. On a side note, I don't see how it's mazelike, it's pretty much as linear as you can get. Which isn't a good thing either, but still, it's not a maze. :P
Mossy Mushroom Zone by RedEchidna - 4/10
Decent, but the mushrooms get in the way more than they help, since I kept accidentally hitting them on the side and getting knocked away. The base design could also use some work. Try placing the flag on top of the ledge instead of behind it, or something. :P
Lost Feelings Island by Internet Explorer - 6/10
This is your best map yet. The visuals feel just right for a race map. But I suggest getting rid of the route at the start that leads to a dead end, I missed the main path and was lost at the dead end for a while. It's also a little long, but it really doesn't hurt the map. On a closing note, the speed boosting river toward the end was fun. :P
Burned Mystic Desert Zone by Miles Knuckle Power - 1/10
Well, the only good thing is that you didn't use the crumbling platforms again. The rest of the flaws from Acid Valley are still here, including the atrocious zoom tube that is impossible to enter unless you are exactly lined up with the small hole.
Last edited by Katmint; 05-03-2011 at 08:11 PM.
Not to mention that the map is absurdly long (not "a little too big") and narrow and those springs must be a bad joke. I have no idea how you could consider this a remotely passable map.
For shame, people. If y'all cannot do better than tossing in filler maps just for content next time, we prolly deserve to have the OLDC taken away from us until 2.1 (which I suspect is being discussed already).
Forst Rush Zon Zone (...) by Scizor300 - 2/10
- Semi-entertaining thanks to the chaoticness and the red springs, but you and I both know this is essentially a non-entry
Sandstorm Zone by Dails - 4/10
- Reminds me of Volcanic Desolation from the first 2.0 contest. That wasn't terribly good either.
- You can engage in some cute mind games on the towers, but beyond that there is not really anything noteworthy
Zero Effort Flower Zone Act 12 by D00D64 - 4/10
- Ironically a claustrophobic nightmare. Good effort though, now make real match stages again :p
- I once managed to achieve a monstrous spring launch at that little waterfall, caught at/over 5 seconds of air time, and stuck the landing on top of that steel tower. F'n sweet. Trying using a gimmick like that on something.
AccursedDonut.wad by Charybdizs - 4/10
- This one gave me a laugh when it loaded. I might have been tempted to score it a touch higher if there weren't so much other crap submitted
- There's some salvagable content here I think - bouncing across platforms floating on water was neat (though it makes you rail bait), and sorry Mystic but it was awesome using the donut sprinkles as cover to duck around and kick your ass with ;)
(I will probably never win a round with Mystic in it ever again)
- "Can't see shit" colormap
- The layout and texture useage is just kind of a cluttered, unmemorable mess, though it at least plays competently. Still, i'd consider throwing out/remodeling some of these rooms completely
- Remove some bounce ammo
- You appear to have rowdy neighbors hiding in this map. Tell them to stop making that shrill fucking racket at random intervals
Frozen Destruction Zone by Scizor300 - 3/10
- Take the base layout, un-break it for Knux, refine it and make something of it in a different map. Scrap everything else.
Angle Forest Zone by Katmint - 1/10
- Oh god, what?
- Seriously, one of the most unplayable CTF maps i've seen. Consists entirely of one narrow maze (with about 3 textures), with blind corners everywhere to instill paranoia, and the place apparently winds through the twilight zone. Takes forever to finish, even if one team really sucks, because camping is about the only way to play - I know I was ready to beat my head on a wall at about the 15 minute mark. Unsalvagable.
Mossy Mushroom Zone by RedEchidna - 6/10
- Fun if generic when the mushrooms are not considered
- Suffers from a little of the "blind corner paranoia" of the previous map
- Scrap the bases for the above reason
- One-way mushroom bouncing over a deathpit is a little cruel to ask when there's lag. Tone that down somewhat.
Lost Feelings Island by Internet Explorer - 5/10
- Previously known as "Isle of Software Renderer Errors (Shield your eyes o visitors)"
- Very flashy, but lacks the finesse to not be a near-total thokfest
- Occasionally unclear where to turn
- Not that I have a problem with marathon circuit maps per se, but i'd do something about the length, seeing as if you're a lap behind when the leader finishes, you're all but guaranteed to time over.
Burned Mystic Desert Zone by Miles Knuckle Power - 1/10
- Congratulations, you made Acid Valley again except with every shred of redeeming value vaccuumed (burnt?) out. There is nothing here.
Oh, so THAT'S who "Yes, that guy" was.
Also, I did terrible on that server. D:
Not sure what to put here.
Add me on Steam!
Emblem Radar Ready
With how the OLDC is going, I might want to return to the oldc. At least then we won't have completely horrid levels.
Welcome to my Dimension
footure semen
...just saying.
it's lamp for supper, kids
At least Icicle Warehouse showed effort! I imagine he's capable of good stuff.
Planning ahead is for ninnies who think they can predict every possible outcome. The future is mutable! Go with the flow!
Graphic & Sprite Modder.
I am disappointed with this Single Player Contest that's for sure...
~Single Player~
Level: Lakeside Hill Zone
Name: Dail
Rating: 2
This level felt like a rush job or a 1st level, I was being careful because going through a map your not familier with can lead to problems, but this map ended so quickly that I forgot that I even played it, it begs to have more effect put into this, really.
Level: Outerspace Threat Zone
Name: Miles Prower Knuckle
Rating: 1
[19:03.38] <SonicX8000> What the f... [19:03.47] <SonicX8000> 1 second into the level, BAM!, dead
Oh wait... he's a smaller target to hit with Missiles so pretty much it's almost impossible to ram a Missile into him because you have to be close just to line up your shots correctly, but by then he would of moved out of the way and thus you have to wait even longer to get another Missile. I only managed to hit him twice before I gave up because the level dragged on too long.
Hopefully I didn't post pass the deadline like last time...
Currently thinking of something to put here.
Last edited by SonicX8000; 05-10-2011 at 04:25 AM.
it's lamp for supper, kids
Okay, vote time.
This time, due to the complaints I received last time, I won't use big bold text at all. I'm going to go the extra mile for you hard to please people, and make it extra small.
Forst Rush Zon [AKA Copypasta "Zon"] Zone by Scizor300
Rating: 4/10 - Mediocre
Well, this wasn't the first time I ever played the map, as you played it with me once before. Heck, it was sitting in my Downloads folder, I should have taken it and submitted it as my work. Oh wait, why would I do that? Ha, anyways, I gave this a 4, because although it wasn't anything remarkable, it was admittedly fun to play on. Obviously a lot copy and pasting, but still... It's fun to rail someone going off one of the springs, and see them fall the long way back to earth. [WARNING: FROM HERE ON TO THE END OF THIS POST THERE IS NOTHING RELEVANT TO YOUR MAP IN THE LEAST] Hmm, someone should make a really good forest match map one of these times. Maybe me. After I finish Peaceful Past Zone. And my mod. Crap, too much to work on. If only I had 3 lives, one for social life and hobbies, one for SRB2, and one for... I dunno, maybe I could get into WoW or something just to use it up.
Sandstorm Zone [AKA I just randomly made lots of sectors Zone] by Dails
Rating: 3/10 - Bad
I'm looking at this one in Doom Builder right now, and it looks like you just hit the linedef button and stretched it in all different directions. All at once. Then, you randomly plopped things down in random places, regardless of quantity. To top it all off, you added floating rocks for a ceiling, and a few towers of poor texture choice. And sand. Nevertheless, it wasn't absolutely horrid, and there was a few good ideas, like the sand fall and the bustable block with the grenade ring inside. It needs moar sandstorms though. Oh, and what's with the sand, did you pee in it or something?
Zero Effort Flower Zone IIIIIIIN SPAAAAAAACE Act 12 [AKA Awsum Greenflower Zone] by D00D64
Rating: 7/10 - Good
I wish I lived here, it has everything I would ever want. A nice red brick cottage. A tower with a circle of glass on top. A plateau to picnic on. Multiple escape craft to fly away in case of an emergency. And curves, lots of curves. They look nice with a Greenflower texture. They give the whole place a rather chiq flair.
AccursedDonut.wad [AKA Dyabeetus Zone] by Charybdizs + Colson
Rating: Over 9000/10 - Good! Great! Awesome! Outstanding! Amazing!
Cheers to all those who took this seriously. In case anyone didn't get this... This was a response to the level "AccursedShip.wad" that was going around a lot on the MS a while. It was made by Jaice/DeathMau5/Fud, and was actually a big fail of a level. It consisted of a big pit of [non colormapped] water, and a translucent ship. And, did I mention, only one spring to get out of the water? And only Rail rings. Anyways, my map is quite a lot better, although it still [intentionally] stinks. I got the idea to it one time after seeing the Accursedship.wad server way too many times. Then, it morphed into this, and I submitted it to the OLDC. Why? Clearly it stinks. I submitted it solely to make people laugh. Everyone loves a good joke, and I know I cracked some of you up. Mission accomplished.
Apparently there is a few people who didn't get the joke, so I just need to clear this up. I knew what was wrong with this map the moment I made it. In fact, I made it that way on purpose, for the reasons stated above. Don't you think I know how to design a serious level? Well, it's true that Misty Mire may have had an unforeseen error in it, but still. I've clearly made better than this, and am capable of more. In fact, the only reason I didn't have a serious entry this contest, was because they are taking more time, and weren't ready yet.
Oh, and something about the name... I just happened to notice that everyone calls every dumb wad by its complete filename. e.g. House21.wad, HMS1123211.wad, stuff like that, so I thought it was only appropriate to name this the same way. XD
Ah, how mean I am to associate Colson with this pile of dung when all he did was scatter some things around and give me a few ideas. You hear that Colson? I'm soiling your name bigtime!
Egg Hanger Zone [AKA Deathtrap Loudnoise Zone] by KO.T.E. and Spherallic
Rating: 6/10 - Decent
I was seriously expecting something GREAT here, and I was sorely disappointed. I started on the outside area, and immediately saw the cool dropping blocks. As, they say, curiosity killed the fox. I just jumped out, flew around a little, flapped my tails around, and flapflapflapflapflapMEOWsquish. And then, I was dead. For the first time of many times. From there I proceeded to run and flap around the level, enjoying the exhilarating feel of stepping on electrity grids placed in narrow halls, and excessive bounce rings flying in every direction. And then, when I thought it couldn't get any better, a sound 3 times as loud as the normal sound effects blasted out of my speakers, thrilling me to the bone. Then I went to walk out on a laser platform to grab some convenient ammo, and I fried my furry little toes off, and died.
It's like you guys just tried to make this place a living hell. I can honestly say that I enjoyed Forst Rush Zon better than this. Sure, it's beautiful, but as our very own Mystic says in similar words, decoration isn't everything, and I have to say I agree with him in this case. The level is terribly cramped, with jutting structures to stop your every move, and obstacles meant to harm you every other step. Almost all the points I'm giving you are for creating a level that is really cool to look at.
Oh, and well I'm at it, whats with the lasers and the arrows that beckon you to enter into a trap? I thought there'd be a cool teleporter or something, but no, I just lost all my hard
Capture the Flag:
Frozen Destruction Zone [AKA Unoriginal Freeze Zone] by Scizor300
Rating: 4/10 - Mediocre
Huh, I can't say I absolutely hate this map, but it sure didn't strike me as being great. For one thing, the ice theme is SO overused, can't you PLEASE think of something else next time? There's so much room for imagination with all the textures, music, skies, and linedefs.
At least the bases were unique though. I liked the series of steps up to them, and how you could just go flying out as soon as you grabbed the flag. That's all that is really good about it though. The rest consisted of a bunch of bland trails above a giant sky pit.
Angle Forest Zone [AKA Long Fun Road Zone] by Katmint
Rating: 7/10 - Good
Well, I've seen a lot of hate for this zone, and I can't say I understand it. Sure, it has it's glaring flaws, such as the thok barrier sky walls, and the lack of texture variation. A lot of people complained about how long it was, and how it felt like a big obstacle course. I can't say I find that a bad thing. The long obstacle course feel of it made it an actual accomplishment to capture the flag, and it was a heck of a lot of fun to sail down the hallways full speed avoiding fire. And then, careening out into space in the giant lake room to bounce off the springs and go flying through the air. It had a flair that I've never seen in any other CTF level, and it was the funnest one of all of them to play. In fact, so fun that I made a special request to play it on Red-er, Rainbow Dash's server today. And really, I don't see why everyone freaks about the spring panels. Sure, it's a relatively cheap gimmick, but it's not that hard. I didn't die once on them, until I got cocky and started taking them 3 at a time, and falling short. They also gave a HECK YEAH feeling when you bounced across them fast while being pursued.
This level definitely could use some polishing though, style wise. It seems rather slapped together. Sure it's a rush job, but still, I've noticed that in all your levels. Fun anyways though, and if people hate it, it's probably just because they're spoiled by ridiculously easy Lime Forest captures. *smirk*
Mossy Mushroom Zone [AKA Needs Moar Ponies Zone] by Rainbow Dash
Rating: 8/10 - Great
What is this I don't even...
This is so pathetically disappointing.
I wanted some magic.
Or some castles.
Or at least a freaking apple orchard.
But no, all I get is a bunch of mushrooms.
Thanks for nothing.
Lost Feelings Island [AKA Beyond Words Zone] by Internet Explorer
Rating: 10/10 - Epic
Definitely the best race level I've seen. There is so much to praise in this level I'm not not even going to bother with the things other people said. The level fits the name perfectly. It's almost as if the level is composed of people's shattered and discarded memories, as evidenced by the unexpected holes in the floor, and the chunks of flying sod. I can tell you put so much love into this level, it's wonderful. You've progressed very fast in level making...
A few tricks I love in this level, too. First to come to mind is the white moving FOF to represent wind. That was just a really innovative way to do it.
The only problem with this level is that it is sometimes easy to stray from the path, especially in the beginning. That alone does not stop it from being worthy of it's Epic rating though.
Oh, and I SO want to play H&S on this level. I have yet to check if it supports it yet though. Personally I think it should just be standard for people to make their race/match levels support H&S, because it can be feasibly played about anywhere but giant Single Player levels.
Burned Mystic Desert Zone [AKA Recolored Acid Valley Zone] by Miles Knuckle Prower
Rating: 2/10 - Awful
Huh, what is this? It suffers all the same faults of Acid Valley, although not to the same extent. I think you need to take some lessons from the other good race levels. Not such huge areas, cheap decorations, wide obstacles, and please no zoom tubes to loop back to the start.
Wasn't the greatest OLDC, but it definitely had it's enjoyable moments, and it's laughing moments. I would hate to see it stop altogether, but perhaps it might be a good idea to do it less frequently? perhaps 4 or 3 a year instead of 6?
Anyways, whatever the case, I hope to finish Peaceful Past Zone, which I've mentioned so much, for the next one or two, who knows. It's a fairly in depth project, but I assure you I'm not cutting any corners. :D
Planning ahead is for ninnies who think they can predict every possible outcome. The future is mutable! Go with the flow!
Last edited by Charybdizs; 05-11-2011 at 01:35 AM.
So here's my voting post. Just SP for now. I will try to do multiplayer even if I might not get to play it in a netgame. In that case, I will just comment on whatever I can and not give out valid scores. If I do get to play, well, then I will give out scores obviously.
Spoiler: Single Player
So one of you two gets the golden user title for this, huh? I think we should make an exception and not give out one at all for Single Player this time.
Lakeside Hill Zone by Dails - 2/10
Don't you think that 40 sectors aren't exactly many for a single player map? In fact, they're usually too few for a Match map, and those are much smaller than single player maps. Not only that, but you lost interest halfway through. You've made some attempts to flesh out the design of the first half by adding some decorations, but once I've reached the checkpoint, the rest of the level is just a U-turn and an end sign tucked away in a corner. I <i>know</i> that it probably took a while to make this, so it's understandable if you lost patience, but making a single player level is not just a matter of hours. It's a matter of weeks, if not months, usually.
There were a few technical problems here: The Crawlas all face the same direction, so if the player comes around the bend, they face away from him and stand still. You can rotate them in the Things menu. The spikes need the "Solid" flag checked, in the Things menu too (also, Glaber, it's called Ambush flag now, and even if it was still the deaf flag, it wouldn't be the "def" flag ;) ). The fans in the water aren't strong enough. Increase the Angle value to the height that you need, which should be 472 plus a bit of leeway, so ideally around 500. The exit has two unescapable holes. Either put springs there or just don't make any holes there. Also, you put the rows of bushes, sunflowers and the group of Crawlas so close together that their sprites overlap each other. That looks weird, so move them apart a bit.
The "secret area" was pretty easy to get to (and could also be abused to finish the map in under 10 seconds, which shouldn't be happening). I don't know why there were springs leading up the tree because there was nothing on it. I also don't know why you made so many platforms to lead to the 1-up if I could just jump on the last one and take. Not to mention that a 1-up seems a pretty powerful item for such an easy-to-find spot. And while I'm at it, trees look nicer when their trunks are round.
All in all, you grasped most of the basics of mapping, but you really need to make more out of that knowledge. Even a "short and simple" map should be about a minute long, probably. GFZ1 is an exception because it introduces players to the game, but if you make a custom stage this short, chances are it'll be pretty boring.
Outerspace Threat Zone by Miles Knuckle Prower - 2/10
I have no idea why you submitted a boss map to the OLDC, but whatever, at least it's SOCced. I give you one point because it's theoretically playable and one because you at least had a concept for the boss. Otherwise, what is this shit? The laser walls are irritating enough to give people seizures, not to mention that because the boss was enshrined in them, it was pathetically hard to actually steer the missile in Eggman's direction AND have enough luck that he doesn't move away after you've jumped off. Most of the time, I couldn't even grab the missile at all, because once they reached me, Eggman was already shooting a Bomb ring after it. I can't GRAB the fucking missile if this thing shoots at me. The pop-up turrets also served no purpose; I always killed them right away and then I attacked the boss. Which, I might add, I did not bother defeating.
Oh, and Charybdizs: I think you overdid it with the small text, it's a bit annoying to read. Normal text should be just fine, although if you think your reviews take up too much space, put them in spoiler tags like I did.
Last edited by MascaraSnake; 05-06-2011 at 09:28 PM.
Lost Feelings Island [AKA Beyond Words Zone] by Internet Explorer
Rating: 10/10 - Epic
Definitely the best race level I've seen. There is so much to praise in this level I'm not not even going to bother with the things other people said. The level fits the name perfectly. It's almost as if the level is composed of people's shattered and discarded memories, as evidenced by the unexpected holes in the floor, and the chunks of flying sod. I can tell you put so much love into this level, it's wonderful. You've progressed very fast in level making...
- Make a heart attack -
I thought not of arriving here ! Thank you very much.
He would have been better if I shall have been able to put a personalized music. The music of Colision Chaos (MIDI) has no report with the theme...
But " the best race that I saw" should be a stroke of luck. In 1-PLAYER, I think that my level design is "correct", but without more.
I have to train again a lot.
It's alright, go on, you'll never know anything if you don't try
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We consider it critically important to keep each project's build green (i.e. successful) at all times. A build is the heartbeat of the project: if it's green, everything is healthy; if it turns red (i.e. fails), the team is encouraged to jump on the problem and get it back to green right away. We want red builds to go away quickly; the longer a build stays red, the longer it takes to track down the problem and the more likely it is that additional tests will be broken (the "broken windows effect").
In order to facilitate this level of discipline, we've learned over the years that making the status of our CI environments obvious and visible to the team is critical. If a team isn't acutely aware of the status of its build, it's unlikely that a red build will get noticed and fixed quickly. You can have the CI server email the team, but that doesn't work very well when the whole team is pairing all day: it might be a few hours before someone notices the email. You can install plugins in your browser or system tray that show build status, which helps, but still, they're not always obvious enough. The best way we've found to keep the team informed is to display the status of the build high on a wall near the team as a big red or green indicator. That way, even when you're busy coding, it's easy to notice the build going red. These days we use 2 wide screen TVs, positioned in the office so that one is easily seen from any developer station.
When there's only a single project going on, we've found that a screen that's simply all red or all green is effective. At Pivotal Labs, though, we have many projects going on at once. Rather than putting numerous TVs up on the wall, we've created an application that aggregates each project's CI status into one page. It's only visible internally, of course. It displays the build status of each of our projects – all the client projects, internal projects, and open source projects that Pivotal Labs is involved with.
Recently we decided to bring up an external instance of the aggregator that shows the status of our open source projects. We've also pulled in the status of some of the open source projects that Pivotal depends on (e.g. Rails, CCrb). It's available at ci.pivotallabs.com. The idea is to provide the same level of visibility into build status for open source developers, or teams that rely on their products, as we have internally at Pivotal Labs. Feel free to display the page on a monitor/TV/projector in your office! It refreshes itself every 30 seconds.
If you have an open source project and you'd like us to run your build and display its status, or if you already have a build and you'd like us to add it to the page, there's no charge – just let us know (email email@example.com).
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text: Hi Everybody, I am a software developer and I got to know about this site from an existing member lionaneesh, I have good knowledge about C/C++, TCP/IP protocols and Linux operating system. I am also studying about the in depth details of about how Linux kernel works. Also, I have good experience on linux system level programming. I hope at this platform I can share my knowledge and can get my doubts and querries solved.


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The Qatari Armed Forces today announced deals with US weapons manufactures worth US $7.6 billion, including Apache helicopters, Javelin missiles and PAC 3 Patriot systems.
The deals, announced at the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition (DIMDEX), came in a string of announcements publicized on the last day of the show totaling 87 billion Qatar rials (US$23.9 billion), which included 17 Turkish fast patrol vessels and German tankers.
Boeing announced the sale of three 737 airborne early warning and control aircraft, and France's Defence Ministry said Qatar had agreed to buy 22 NH90 military helicopters from a unit of Airbus for €2 billion euros ($2.76 billion) and two Airbus A330 MRTT refueling tankers.
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon will provide Patriot configuration-3 modernized fire units and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support, according to a request to Congress presented by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Nov. 6, 2012.
The PAC 3 systems include radar sets, engagement control systems, antenna mast groups, launching stations, missiles and test missiles, multifunctional information distribution systems/low volume terminals, communications equipment, training, spares and related logistical support.
According to the DSCA, the Patriot systems will improve Qatar's missile defense capability, strengthen homeland defense and deter regional threats. The sale also will enhance Qatar's interoperability with the US and its allies.
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Raytheon were awarded a deal for the acquisition of AH-64D Apache Block III Longbow attack helicopters and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support at the cost of $2.4 billion.
According to a DSCA notification to Congress presented on July 10, 2012, the government of Qatar requested the sale of 24 Apaches, 56 engines, 27 target acquisition and designation sights, 27 night vision sensors, fire control radars, missile warning systems, radars and other equipment.
The request included 60 Hellfire missile launchers, 576 Hellfire II missiles, 295 Stinger Block I missiles, 50 Stinger air-to-air launchers, Hydra rockets and 90 Apache aviator integrated helmets.
Other equipment includes countermeasure flares, training devices, helmets, simulators, and other support, test and logistical equipment.
According to the DSCA, this sale will aid US foreign policy and national security by helping improve the security of a friendly country that is host to the US Central Command forces and serves as a critical forward-deployed location in the region.
The agency added in its notification to Congress that acquisition of these helicopters will allow for integration with US forces for training exercises.
The Qatari Armed Forces need to replace aging airframes with multimission attack helicopters capable of meeting requirements for close air support, armed reconnaissance and anti-tank warfare missions.
According to a senior officer in Qatar's National Security Shield Project, the helicopters will provide a long-term defensive and offensive capability and enhance the protection of key oil and gas infrastructure.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin were awarded contracts to supply 500 Javelin missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $122 million. On March 28 last year, Qatar requested 500 Javelins, 50 command launch units, and associated equipment, spares, support and training.
Lockheed also was awarded a five-year training contract for the Qatar Emiri Air Force Academy. (Defensenews)


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States with a heavier dose of firearm laws tend to have the lowest rates of gun deaths, according to a study released Wednesday by Boston-based researchers who argue their findings show "there is a role" in America for more rigid gun-control legislation.
"It seems pretty clear: If you want to know which of the states have the lowest gun-mortality rates just look for those with the greatest number of gun laws," said Dr. Eric W. Fleegler of Boston Children's Hospital who, with colleagues, analyzed firearm-related deaths reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2007 through 2010.
By scoring individual states simply by the sheer volume of gun laws they have on the books, the researchers noted that in states with the highest number of firearms measures, their rate of gun deaths is collectively 42 percent lower when compared to states that have passed the fewest number of gun rules. The study was published online in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
As proof, Fleegler pointed to the firearm-fatality rates in law-laden states such as Massachusetts (where there were 3.4 gun deaths per 100,000 individuals), New Jersey (4.9 per 100,000) and Connecticut (5.1 per 100,000). In states with sparser firearms laws, researchers reported that gun-mortality rates were higher: Louisiana (18.0 per 100,000), Alaska (17.5 per 100,000) and Arizona (13.6 per 100,000).
In Arizona -- just as the new study was released -- former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords returned Wednesday to the grocery store where she was shot and urged Congress to expand background checks for gun purchases. She told the gathered crowd and U.S. lawmakers to: "Be bold. Be courageous. Please support background checks."
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on a bill that would stiffen penalties for people who purchase guns illegally for others, and to make gun trafficking a felony.
Fleegler and his team openly acknowledged they could not prove a definitive "cause-and-effect" link between tighter laws and a lower risk of gun-caused homicides or gun-related suicides. But ahead of the expected Senate vote, the researchers said they did determine this:
In those states that have the most firearm laws, those states also have the lowest rates of household-firearm ownership.
"And states that have the lowest gun-ownership rates also have the lowest gun-mortality rates," Fleegler said. "So states that try to have gun laws that are meant to be meaningful, they seem to be able to actually have an impact. That's an important thing to learn from."
The findings were quickly challenged by two critics, a top gun-rights advocate and a leading expert on the nexus of public health and gun policy, who each questioned the merits of the Boston findings and the rigor of the science behind the study.
It sounds to me like some sort of sleight of hand from a political sense," said Dave Workman, senior editor at Gun Week magazine and director of communications for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, in Bellevue, Wash.
"If they are dancing around this cause and effect, I'm not sure that the public should warm up to that kind of a conclusion because it really doesn't conclude it, it only suggests or intimates something," said Workman, who served three terms on the National Rifle Association board of directors.
"It's presumably the result they wanted to get in order to have the public believe something. Is that fair? Is that good science? Is that good research? I don't know."
Workman further argued that in states or jurisdictions where gun laws "make it difficult for law-abiding citizens" to buy firearms through legal channels, "that does not necessarily translate to lower fatalities."
"And, as proof," he added, "I give you the city of Chicago."
In an accompanying commentary, Dr. Garen J. Wintemute of the University of California, Davis, Sacramento, wrote that the paper's conclusion "would be an important finding — if it were robust and if its meaning were clear."
Ultimately, Wintemute wrote, the new study provides no insights on the key questions facing Congress: "Do the (gun) laws work, or not? If so, which ones?"
"Correlation does not imply causation," Wintemute said in a phone interview. "The plain English way of saying this is: Just because two things exist at the same time, that does not mean one thing caused the other. That's what's being implied here. All they counted in that analysis was the number of laws in each state, not which laws. There's no information in this study on the specifics of the (state) laws and whether they were enforced or not."
"So in a sense, the only conclusion you could draw would be: Pass more more laws but it doesn't matter which ones or what they're intended to do," Wintemute said. "That's just silly."
Fleegler's study was not related to a recent executive order by President Barack Obama lifting a ban on gun violence research funded by federal agencies such as the CDC. Fleegler said he used public data at no cost to conduct his analysis.
Wintemute said the study actually underscores the need for well-funded research into the effects of gun violence on public health.
"Until we revitalize firearm violence research, studies using available data will be the best we have. They are not good enough."
Related stories:
- Guns in America: The weapon of choice for criminals, but also a deterrent?
- Obama plan eases freeze on gun research


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Jesus, Society of
Jesus, Society of, religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Its members are called Jesuits. St. Ignatius of Loyola, its founder, named it Compañia de Jesús [Span.,=(military) company of Jesus]; in Latin it is Societas Jesu (abbr. S.J.). Today the society numbers about 19,000 members; in the United States, where there were approximately 2,900 Jesuits in 2007, there are many Jesuit schools and colleges (e.g., Georgetown, Fordham, and St. Louis universities).
Among the great organizers and theologians of the order are St. Francis Borgia , Claudio Aquaviva , Saint Robert Bellarmine , Luis Molina , and Francisco Suárez . The order has a tradition of learning and science; e.g., the Bollandists are Jesuits, and Jesuits have made a specialty of the study of earthquakes. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is perhaps the most famous Jesuit scientist. The society is also noted for its foreign missionary work.
Sections in this article:
- Introduction
- The Modern Order
- History
- Bibliography
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Roman Catholic Orders and Missions


text:
rats_nest wrote:I can't speak for all Buddhists about the opinion of Jesus but i think it is interesting to compare how different the relationships are between the main teachers of christians and buddhists. I think Buddha is more admired for his words and teachings. That is all that remains (arguably) from him.
Therefore if the person "Siddharta Gautama" should be disproven to exist (at least in the form that we came to understand) this wouldn't subvert Buddhism as the arguments remain valid. As i have understood, christians are more bound to their saviour. What is your take on this?
The Historical Jesus should properly have nothing to do with the Jesus of faith, the god we see depicted in the NT.
I think the OP is specifically asking us about the Historical Jesus, which is a debate about the existence of a specific human being, removed from all of the theology.


text:
The Ilm Valley Cycle Route, awarded four stars for quality by the ADFC, doubles as a tour through Germany's cultural history and is one of the most popular cycling routes in Thuringia.
The first section, starting in the Thuringian Forest, is an easy downhill. Almost all the small towns along the way are worth a stop to visit some of their museums, breweries, mills and churches. The most famous place on the route is Weimar, a UNESCO World Heritage site associated with Goethe, Schiller and the Bauhaus. Other highlights include the Wieland estate in Ossmannstedt, the floating holiday cottages in Eberstedt, the vineyards in Bad Sulza and the bell- making town of Apolda. And all along the route, of course, you can enjoy Thuringian specialities such as bratwurst sausages, beer and wine.
Terrain: predominantly flat, gentle climbs on occasion. The route is not always traffic-free. The paths are mostly asphalt, but some are paved or surfaced with crushed brick/stone.
Scenery: densely wooded hills, vineyards, broad plains with riverbank meadows, plus extensive parks, idyllic villages and the cultural hub of Weimar.
שני צירופי מקשים שימושיים להגדלת/הקטנת התצוגה בדפדפן:
הגדל תצוגה: +
הקטן תצוגה: +
עזרה נוספת ניתן לקבל מספק הדפדפן, באמצעות לחיצה על הסמל:


text:
ObjectPrint 3.0.111025
ObjectPrint is software for comprehensive print management in small and medium-sized companies, schools and organizations.
ObjectPrint enables the control, quota allocation, and restriction of printing and printer usage. This print management system provides centralized administration over all printing resources, printers, paper, and toner.
Features and Benefits:
* Reduces overall printing costs
* Tracks all printing activity by printer, user, computer and group
* Controls printer, user, computer, and group with quotas and restrictions
* Derivative print cost and restrictions for each user, printer, and computer based on the document type (eg color, title, page count, document size)
* ObjectPrint Clients can use prepaid cards to increase user/computer account balance
* Advanced reporting and charts
* Web-based Access. Every feature of ObjectPrint can be used via the web application. End-users dont need to download or install any software on their machines
* High-performance internal database engine
* Compatible with Windows XP/2003/Vista/2008/7
* There are no limits to the number of users/printers/computers
* No additional payments


text:
The complete solution for tunnel volume calculations and geometrical study. Nine years of success work in big underground contructions.
IQ Soft, Inc. is a rapidly growing custom development and software outsourcing company with headquarters in Ioannina, Greece. Our offshore development department is located in Eastern Europe. We specialize in the development of custom software applications and offshore software outsourcing services. Specifically, our company carries out custom programming, database design, client-server and internet/intranet software application development. At every stage of the development process, from conceptual design to product release, the highest quality standards are maintained. Our extensive communication facilities allow us to keep in touch with our customers 24 hours a day.


text:
From the AKC breed description wp
Title should be the name of the kennel only.
The description may include a brief statement about the breeder's goals but must also include what is actually on the site, such as pedigrees and kennel history. As well it should include the city, state and country where the breeder is located.


text:
The late summer months in Alaska are breathtaking, with up to 22 hours of daylight illuminating the landscape as animals prepare for the harsh winter ahead. This time of year also brings something else unique—the harvest of the remarkable Wild Alaskan Blueberry. Most fruits and vegetable plants would quickly wither and die in Alaska's long, frigid winters. But the Wild Alaskan Blueberry isn't just any ordinary fruit. It has evolved to protect itself from the brutality of the elements with a rich-colored pigment in its skin called anthocyanin. This phytochemical is the source of the Wild Alaskan Blueberry's nutritional prowess, boasting over 5 times the potency of the common blueberry.
Not only is the Wild Alaskan Blueberry the central ingredient in Kyäni Sunrise, but it is also emblematic of Kyäni's culture and tenacity. Kyäni's founding families began with small businesses that, like the blueberry, might have been easy to overlook. But with hard work and innovation, the Hansens and Taylors achieved enormous business success in a multitude of industries. After learning how the Wild Alaskan Blueberry and other Superfoods can positively impact wellness, the families joined together to form Kyäni. Today, Kyäni's powerful Triangle of Wellness provides nutritional wellness to millions of people, improving lives throughout the world.
© 2015 Kyäni, Inc. All Rights Reserved


text:
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Water SA
On-line version ISSN 1816-7950
Print version ISSN 0378-4738
Water SA vol.37 n.1 Pretoria Jan. 2011
Lloyd (2010) Historical trends in the flows of the Breede River (Water SA 36 (3) 329-333)
Guy Midgley
Chief Director: Climate Change and BioAdaptation, South African National Biodiversity Institute Kirstenbosch, P/Bag x7, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Philip Lloyd makes some useful points in this publication relating to recent changes in Berg River flow, but one key conclusion goes far beyond what can be claimed based on his analyses and discussion. While it is important to validate and criticize the published work of other authors, as he does in this paper, itis also important not to use this as a platform to develop unjustified overarching criticisms of a broader field of study and its policy value. I would like to draw attention to one important omission in his background discussion of General Circulation Models (GCMs), and then question his final conclusion.
As Lloyd highlights, it is well known that General Circulation Models have historically been largely unable to provide credible projections of future climate change at local scales. In the past, in order to derive finer scale projections, several methods were applied that used the outputs of GCMs as a basis for their projections. However, his blanket claim that GCMs are designed to operate only at a coarse spatial scale ignores recent advances in variable scale modeling approaches, and does not acknowledge excellent work being carried out in this country. These approaches, based on an Australian-developed (CSIRO) GCM, allow a fine-scale grid to be applied over a region of interest while modeling global climate (e.g. Park 2010). Development of the new Conformal-Cubic Atmospheric Model (CCAM) enabled simulation of the past season's major rain events (Park, 2010; Engelbrecht et al., 2009). These advances hold much promise for a better understanding of future climates at regional and local scales.
The unjustified conclusion Lloyd reaches is that: 'Above all, [GCMs] must not form the basis for any policy decisions until such time as they can reproduce known climate effects satisfactorily' (p. 329). This overarching suggestion ignores the fact that GCMs have in fact successfully reproduced many aspects of the global climate, and especially have been able to distinguish the role of greenhouse gas emissions from natural forcing factors in recent changes in the earth's global and regional temperature trends, and have even simulated fairly short-term regional changes following significant disturbances such as large volcanic eruptions. To state that no policy decisions can be based on these models is a denial of the value of such a key scientific tool. Furthermore, policy does not need to be based on certain outcomes in fact it very rarely is! Policy can distinguish between those aspects of GCM projections that are more and less certain, and even account for large uncertainties. Future changes in Western Cape climate may well diverge from past climate trends because of the responses of large-scale circulation to global warming this includes possible poleward displacement of westerly frontal systems that currently bring winter rainfall to this region. This is one of the most robust conclusions of GCMs for Mediterranean climate systems around the world. For policy makers to ignore the implications of such a projection would simply be irresponsible.
PARK R (2010) Development of the new Conformal-Cubic Atmospheric Model (CCAM) in capturing the past season's major rain events. CSIR 3rd Biennial Conference 2010. Science Real and Relevant. 30 August - 1 September 2010, CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4309. [ Links ]
ENGELBRECHT FA, McGREGOR JL and ENGELBRECHT CJ (2009) Dynamics of the Conformal-Cubic Atmospheric Model projected climate-change signal over South Africa. Int. J. Climatol. 29 (7) 1013-1033. [ Links ]
Response to comments made by Guy Midgley on
Philip Lloyd
Energy Institute, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, PO Box 532, Cape Town 8000. E-mail: email@example.com
I must thank Dr Midgley for creating the opportunity to explore the predictions of General Circulation Models (GCMs)] further. There is a debate on their predictive capabilities that is probably best summed up by the latest IPCC report (IPCC, 2007: 849):
'Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models remain the primary source of regional information on the range of possible future climates.''
'Advances have been made in developing probabilistic information at regional scales from the AOGCM simulations, but these methods remain in the exploratory phase' (emphasis added).
There have been many tests of the ability of the models to simulate historical information. One of the most thorough was that carried out by National Assessment Synthesis Team of the US Global Change Research Program in 2009 (GCRP, 2009). Over the period 1958-2008, precipitation increased by about 5% across the entire United States. However, the average of 15 different GCMs for 2080-99 did not show the same general increase as was reported over the past 50 years. "- - some areas will experience an increase in precipitation, other areas will experience a decrease, and others will see little discernible change. The difficulty arises in predicting the extent of those areas and the amount of change." Midgley claims that 'possible poleward displacement of westerly frontal systems that currently bring winter rainfall...' make the GCM predictions for such regions 'robust'. As a result, 'Future changes in Western Cape climate may well diverge from past climate trends.' With the United States example to hand, the robustness of the predictions must be questioned.
The IPCC was clearly being conservative when it said the models were still at an exploratory stage. It needs to be recalled that the measurements of global temperatures have shown an increase for at least 100 years. If you need some guide as to what might happen during this century, then the past century is there as a basis. I can find no evidence that the precipitation in the Breede River valley has changed materially over the past century.
Midgley has suggested that there are developments in GCMs that might improve the situation. I regret I could not reference the excellent work by the CSIR in my original paper, as unfortunately the CSIR work was published well after my paper went to press. However, I question the relevance of this to climate change, because Midgley's cited Conformal-Cubic Atmospheric Model was used successfully in short-term weather prediction, not for long-term climate prediction.
Moreover, there are strong criticisms of the GCMs, which cannot be ignored. They fail, for instance, to account for clouds. Between 60ºN and 60ºS, they predict more rapid warming of the upper troposphere than of the surface, but measurements show that, if anything, the upper troposphere is cooling. My personal objection to GCMs stems from the observation that tropical cyclones dissipate enormous energies, yet no GCM takes cyclones into account.
I can only agree with the IPCC that GCMs are still exploratory when used to address regional aspects of climate. Midgley's conclusion, that 'For policy makers to ignore the implications of such a [GCM] projection would be simply irresponsible,' is itself irresponsible when seen in this light.
GCRP (United States Global Change Research Program ) (2009) Global Climate Change Impacts in the US. pp30-31. ISBN 978-0-521-14407-0. URL http://downloads.globalchange.gov/usimpacts/pdfs/climate-impacts-report.pdf, Accessed January 2011.
IPCC (INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE) (2007) Regional Climate Projections. Chapter 11. In: Climate Change 2007 The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.


text:
Tegan & Sara: 'Everything Is Awesome' Exclusive Premiere - Listen Now!
Check out Tegan & Sara's new track "Everything Is Awesome" for The Lego Movie soundtrack, which was exclusively given to JustJared.com!
The twin sisters are joined on the track by Andy Samberg's band The Lonely Island.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Tegan & Sara
"The moment we heard 'Everything Is Awesome' we were on board to be part of The Lego Movie," Tegan shared in a statement. "Getting to sing such a fun song and work with Mark Mothersbaugh and his team was a treat. The addition of The Lonely Island only made things even more awesome, and we can't wait to see the movie!"
WHAT DO YOU THINK of Tegan & Sara's new song "Everything Is Awesome"?
Tegan & Sara – 'Everything Is Awesome'


text: Super Bowl 24 XXIV Wilson Official NFL Game Football. This game was played between the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos. This football is in the original factory box and is brand new, never used. The top of the line leather game ball designed for the highest level of competitve play. Wilson has been the Official Ball of the NFL??¬ since 1941. Patented 3-ply VPU bladder made in the USA to provide the best durability and air retention. Doubled-lacing reinvorces and raises the laces for enhanced grip when passing. Official size and weight.


text:
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