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Welcome to the International Space Station
The fully assembled International Space Station is a wonder of engineering. It has a mass of nearly a million pounds (420,000 kg) and can host six astronauts at a time in the equivalent habitable space of a six-bedroom house, according to NASA. More than 230 people from 18 countries have visited the station, and it has been occupied continuously since November 2000. But its current, fully-completed form — seen here from a picture taken earlier in 2018 — only occurred after a series of assembly flights from multiple countries. Here, we'll take you on a brief tour of the space station elements.
Japan's Kibo laboratory (center left) includes three modules that were launched and assembled during three space shuttle missions between 2008 and 2009. While Kibo's primary focus is scientific research and activity, the module can also support activities for education, culture or commercial enterprises, according to NASA. Kibo is also known for its Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System, a pair of arms that perform robotic work outside the station (including occasionally launching small satellites.) Kibo receives its power, data, air and cooling from the U.S. segment of the station.
Zvezda from the inside
Here's a glimpse of the inside of Zvezda. Pictured is Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, a flight engineer aboard Expedition 30. Here, he is using a video camera to record activities while his crewmates get ready to open a hatch. The hatch connected to the newly arrived Automated Transfer Vehicle-3, called Edoardo Amaldi, which brought a fresh batch of cargo to the space station on March 28, 2012.
Zarya, also known as the Functional Cargo Block, was the very first space station component launched. It reached space on Nov. 20, 1998 aboard a Russian Proton rocket. While the module was built and launched by Russia, it is actually a U.S. component. Initially, Zarya provided electrical power and navigational guidance to the station, but since many other modules have been added, it now also serves as storage for the long-term crews that stay aboard the station.
Zarya's interior
In the early days of the space station program, before Zarya was used for storage, the quarters were a little roomier for visiting astronauts and cosmonauts. This October 2001 picture shows cosmonaut Vladimir N. Dezhurov, a flight engineer aboard Expedition 3. Traditionally, a mix of American, Russian and international astronauts and cosmonauts work aboard the ISS, although different parts of the station belong to different countries.
The U.S. Unity node is the first space station module launched by the United States. It's one of three connecting nodes on board the station and flew into space aboard space shuttle Endeavour on Dec. 4, 1998. Unity mated with Zarya (which had already been in space for a couple of weeks) on Dec. 6, 1998, inside of the space shuttle's payload bay. Unity temporarily berthed the Harmony connecting node during space shuttle mission STS-120, while Tranquility (the last connecting node) was attached during STS-130. Currently, Unity connects to several other modules on the station, and even an airlock.
Being a node, Unity does get a lot of traffic as astronauts move to different areas of the space station. It's even a good spot to prepare some food, as NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer demonstrates here during Expedition 23 in May 2010. Astronauts tend to eat a lot of non-perishable and freeze-dried foods in space, to minimize the space needed for refrigeration and cooking. Occasionally, however, a supply ship full of fresh fruit will arrive at the station to give astronauts a bit of variety in their diet.
The U.S. Tranquility Node (also known as Node 3) is famous for hosting the Cupola, a window that provides astronauts with an excellent view of Earth for planetary observation activities. It also is a location where crew members can relax; more than one has been known to play guitar while floating in this module. NASA says the newer module (which launched aboard space station Endeavour in February 2010) not only gives additional room for crew members, but also hosts support systems for the station such as water recycling and oxygen generation. Tranquility also has a treadmill and a waste and hygiene compartment.
Tranquility interior
Expedition 33 commander Sunita Williams is shown floating here in the inside of Tranquility, a module that is a one-stop shop for a lot of astronaut activities, including using the bathroom, exercising and relaxing near the attached Cupola.
The Russian-built Rassvet flew into space aboard space shuttle Atlantis (pictured here) as part of STS-132 in May 2010. It's an important multi-purpose module on station: astronauts tend to use it for cargo storage and also to perform some payload operations, according to NASA. It also includes a docking port for Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. Rassvet is attached to the rest of the station on the Earth-facing port of the Zarya module.
Rassvet interior
Rassvet's location on the Russian side of the station provides a handy place for cargo for Russian cosmonauts. Pictured here is Russian cosmonaut Elena Serova in September 2014, who was a flight engineer aboard Expedition 41. Serova is one of just a few female cosmonauts who have ever flown in the Russian space program.


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In recent musings* about synchronicity, I am re-committing to paying attention. In my journal, I will now mark noted repetitions, no matter how odd or seemingly unimportant, in the margins.
To pay attention, is to enlarge the energy field, is to create deeper connections.
So, here's a recent example (I am considering a threesome of 'hits' to be a hint that maybe there is something worth mining):
#1 — FRINGE episode this week, where the WHITE TULIP is a very important part of the story, and (without spoiling anything) a symbol of Forgiveness, or as I see it, Grace (come to think of it, are forgiveness and grace all that different? HOW are they different?)
#2 — Coffee with K. in 'our seats' near the windows overlooking the backyard the next morning, I look out and lo and behold the ONLY flower visible in our long perennial bed is a single WHITE TULIP (you see it above in its petal-drooping phase).
#3 — Dinner with family and friends the next evening, the first thing I see upon arriving is a large bouquet of silk flowers — a half dozen WHITE TULIPS.
So, I don't care how ridiculous I might seem in asserting this — I am taking this to mean that I am forgiven, as the crazy scientist in Fringe was forgiven, as we all are forgiven, really, but perhaps forget, and need reminded, sometimes, by WHITE TULIPS.
* Recent reading — skipping through sections of Brugh Joy's book, "Joy's Way", re-reading Deepak Chopra's Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and continuing to slog through the CDs Bill Harris provides when you buy Holosync materials.


text: Arcade Publishing is an independent trade publishing company that started in 1988 in New York, USA. They are publishers of American and world fiction and non-fiction.The company was started and run by Richard Seaver and his wife Jeannette. Following Seaver's death in 2009, Arcade was acquired by Skyhorse Publishing in 2010. They continue doing incredible work discovering, publishing, and promoting new and brilliant voices in literature from around the world. Arcade has published literary giants such as Samuel Beckett, E. M. Cioran, and Leo Tolstoy, alongside new voices such as Andreï Makine and Ismail Kadare. In 2012, Chinese novelist Mo Yan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, an extremely exciting achievement.


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ESPN is giving Stephen A. Smith a little timeout.
The "First Take" host will be off the air until next Wednesday following his comments Friday about women's responsibility not to "provoke" domestic violence, while discussing the NFL's two-game suspension of Ray Rice.
"ESPN announced today that Stephen A. Smith will not appear on 'First Take' or ESPN Radio for the next week. He will return to ESPN next Wednesday," network spokesman Josh Krulewitz told media outlets in a statement.
ESPN did not term Smith's time off a suspension, but regardless, he won't be heard from over the next week.
Smith delivered a taped apology at the opening of Monday's show and appeared normally on Tuesday morning before the announcement was made. Smith said his statements were poorly phrased and misinterpreted.


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With its record number of participants - 123 boats all classes combined – the Route du Rhum 2018 is already shaping up to be a red-letter edition. In the star class of Ultimes, this vintage could be a lot bigger and there are even whisperings that it heralds a turning point in offshore racing. In fact, it is the first confrontation on an oceanic playing field for these latest generation maxi-multihulls, racing steeds ultimately designed to speed around the planet in record time. Here, the flying giants are making their grand entrance onto the solo stage, among them the pioneer Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, launched in July 2017.
Flight: how does it work?
When we talk about flight, it's hard not to get a bit technical! The foil is a submerged appendage, which shares a great many similarities with the wing of a plane. Made of monolithic carbon, this part resembles a massive curved blade, has one profile, one surface, one chord, one leading edge and one trailing edge. "On a foiler, you roughly end up with one wing in the water. And as water is a thousand times denser than air, you don't need to go very fast to generate strong vertical lift. What happens next also depends on the surface and the form of the foil", explains Guillaume Verdier, the naval architect responsible for Edmond de Rothschild.
VIDEO 3D - Adjustment of the flaps, the angle of inclination of the foils, the hydraulics circuit... from Archimedean format to flight mode, the Gitana Team offers you the instructions for use by dissecting the major phases of take-off via a 3D animation .
Lower surface of a wing, upper surface and the difference in pressure
In order for the boat to take-off and rise up above the surface of the water, you need to be making a certain speed. The latter, together with the increasing flow of water, will lead to a difference in pressure between the lower surface (the underside of the foil) and the upper surface (top side of the foil). "The flow of water running across the lower surface takes less time to get to the trailing edge than the flow of water running across the upper surface, a phenomenon which creates a difference in pressure", explains Guillaume Verdier. "All that has been in existence for a very long time, we haven't invented anything." The lower surface will end up surrounded by extremely high pressure, whilst the upper surface will be in low pressure. The difference in pressure created in this way will lead to vertical lift, enabling the hulls to be sustained, thus 'raising' the boat upwards. This lift pushes the foil upward, which in turn enables the boat to fly. Obviously the form, the surface and the adjustments of the foils have a major influence on how the boat handles and her ability to take-off and then fly in a stable manner.
Logically, the bigger the foil the more significant the lift. However, when you refer to lift, you must also include drag. Indeed, the bigger the foil, the more its progress is slowed in the water. The resulting drag is in fact the resistance created by the water, which conflicts with the movement of the foil. Guillaume Verdier has notably relied on his long collaboration spanning nearly ten years with Team New Zealand, the current America's Cup holder. Responsible for the foil design, he has gained unrivalled experience in this domain, which has translated across to the design of the giant trimaran. "We could have started out with an Archimedean boat(*) and then tried to sustain it, but we opted for the reverse approach: to make the boat fly and make her as stable and seaworthy as possible," explains the most popular naval architect of current times.
(*) The theorem of the great Greek scholar Archimedes of Syracuse, born in 287 BC, stipulates that "the upward buoyant force that is exerted on a body immersed in a fluid, whether fully or partially submerged, is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces and acts in the upward direction at the centre of mass of the displaced fluid. This is Archimedes' principle."
Objective: to fly offshore singlehanded
This is the real nub of the issue for an offshore maxi trimaran compared with a catamaran from the America's Cup or a foiling Moth, which sails on flat water. As soon as there are some waves added to the equation, Edmond de Rothschild must switch back to Archimedes mode as the brutal acceleration, violent deceleration and other impact in the waves at 30 knots could well damage the structure and even injure the skipper. For Guillaume Verdier "it's all about compromise, because we wanted to limit the drag with a small foil whilst in Archimedean mode, and have a bigger foil to improve the flying capabilities."
For the skipper, Sébastien Josse, "in upward of 16 knots of breeze (force 4) on a reach (wind on the beam), the boat takes off and then flies. However, it is actually the sea state and the wave height which colour the flight. If there is 30 knots of breeze and flat seas for example, flying isn't really a problem, and it's an absolute delight, even if it requires total concentration! However, in heavy seas with waves in excess of 2–2.50 metres, we'll switch back to Archimedes mode. Flying isn't as complicated as all that, even sailing singlehanded. You have to increase the angle of inclination on the leeward foil to take off, and that's something which is easy to do and doesn't require any additional energy to be expended in relation to hoisting a headsail for example."
The stability of the boat when flying, doesn't just come from the shape of the foil, but also the combination of four appendages – the two rudders, the leeward foil and the 'skate wing', which was initially designed and validated on the Multi70 Edmond de Rothschild. "We created this stability in flight thanks to these four elements", explains Guillaume Verdier in more depth. "The trimaran is essentially supported on the foil and the skate wing, which stabilises the boat's roll, whilst the T-foil rudders stabilise the trim. The idea is also to have robust, reliable foils, which don't have to be adjusted too much when you're sailing singlehanded, given how much is required of the sailor already on a machine like this." Sébastien Josse backs up this statement. "Today, we know how to sail under autopilot on flat seas, but in flight mode in the sea and the waves offshore, as the foils aren't operated with a servomotor, (it's currently forbidden by the measurement rule), the pilot doesn't yet know enough about how to handle this type of situation, and admittedly no Ultime is capable of this feat so far… though the time will come for this. When you're singlehanded, in a solid breeze with very ordered seas, you fly under autopilot, the boat is on 80–90% of her foil, but ten centimetres above the water. It's certainly not about gaining in altitude or risking a wipe-out. The foil sustains the hulls and relieves the pressure on the platform. As a result, you fly very low, which doesn't prevent you from going fast! We call that 'skimming'. We aren't allowed to use servo control, so we're trying to fly like this. When the time comes where we're able to adjust our four appendages in one second, we'll be able to fly higher."


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Adjusting to life with a prosthetic leg can be challenging and rewarding. Orthopedic Appliance Company has been serving the mountains and foothills of North Carolina with the highest quality lower and upper leg prosthetic devices since 1960. We are here to help you through the process of developing and adjusting to life with your lower or upper artificial leg.
Our prosthetic staff can help you best by being involved with your rehabilitation team as soon as possible. We are board-certified professionals and bring considerable knowledge and experience to the amputation and restoration decision-making process. In our interactions with patients and their families, we are available to answer questions and help relieve any anxiety they might have.
There is no one-size-fits-all for a prosthetic device, so the first step for developing your lower leg artificial limb involved thorough preparation for your specific needs. Then we develop the definitive prosthesis utilizing the highest quality materials. Several factors are considered for the design and fabrication of your artificial leg and knee device:
Once the device has been developed, we help make sure that it is properly aligned and fits the patient's needs. For children and teenagers who are still growing, they will likely go through this process a few times.
If you or your loved one is preparing for life with an artificial lower leg, Orthopedic Appliance Company is here to help you every step of the way. For the highest quality prosthetic device, contact us.


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Heat Waves May Lead to Birth Defects, Low Birth Weight Babies
M Swiet Productions / Moment / Getty Images
We have long known that children and the elderly need to be checked on during prolonged and intense heat waves. Now, new research has found another group at acute risk from extreme heat: pregnant women.
Researchers from the University of California in San Diego found that longer and hotter heat waves, exactly the type that is commensurate with the climate crisis, might increase preterm births. As temperatures climbed higher and stayed that way for more and more days, the risk of preterm birth increased, according to the new study that was published in the journal Environment International, as The New York Times reported.
"We looked at acute exposure to extreme heat during the week before birth, to see if it triggered an earlier delivery," said first author Sindana Ilango, a Ph.D. student in the joint doctoral program in public health at UC San Diego and San Diego State University, in a statement. "We found a consistent pattern: exposure to extreme heat does increase risk. And, importantly, we found that this was true for several definitions of 'heatwave.'"
The senior author on the paper Tarik Benmarhnia, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine, added that this was the first study to look what particular factors of a heatwave increased the risk of preterm birth. "[N]o one had tried to figure out exactly what kinds of conditions could trigger preterm births," he said in the statement. "Is it the temperature? Is it the combination of the temperature and the humidity? Is it the duration of the heatwave? It's important to ask these questions to know when we need to intervene and inform pregnant people to stay inside and stay cool."
Birth before 37 weeks of gestation is a leading cause of infant death and illness. The World Health Organization has also said that preterm birth rates are increasing around the world. To examine how heat contributes, the researchers looked at California birth records from 2005 to 2013, comparing gestation length to heat records from 2005 to 2013, as The New York Times reported.
The scientists found a striking pattern — the rate of preterm deaths tracked right alongside increases in temperature or length of a heat wave. The New York Times provided an example: at an average a temperature of 88 degrees for two days 6.63 percent of births were preterm. However, at four days of 98-degree temperature, the rate was 7.46 percent.
"We were also surprised to note that the duration of the heatwave seems to be more important than the temperature threshold," said Benmarhnia in a statement. "We thought that temperature would matter the most, but it turns out that it has more to do with how long you're stuck with the high temperatures rather than how hot it is outside."
Similar research is looking at how extreme heat is affecting pregnant women, gestation-length and birth-weight in The Gambia, Africa, as Reuters reported. The African tropics are warming up faster than most of the world. Just recently, the mercury passed 108 degrees Fahrenheit during the cold season.
In The Gambia, many pregnant women have to work the fields to help support their family farms. When people are exposed to heat, more blood flows to the skin to allow heat to escape. This means decreased blood flow to the heart and internal organs, including potentially the placenta, said health researcher Ana Bonell, who is leading the study in The Gambia, as Reuters reported.
"I'm definitely seeing changes in the umbilical artery in about 30 percent of women," she said, although she has not analyzed the data yet, to Reuters.
- Pregnant Women Have a Higher Risk of Delivering Early on ...
- 'Black Moms Matter': Increased Heat and Pollution Raise Pregnancy Risks, Especially for Racial Minorities - EcoWatch
- California Sees Record Heat, Rolling Blackouts and a 'Firenado' - EcoWatch


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August 13, 2007
If Sun was a ship, it would look a little like this
The best part is that the captains won't even acknowledge the problem. According to them, it's normal for the ship to take on water and lose cargo and start sinking. Full speed ahead, right Schwartz? I mean, you've only made about 3,000 people walk the plank so far, and your CFO Michael Lehman will only say that "we have to continue lowering our cost structure." See here. Listen, Schwartz. Could Michael say "Shit" even if his mouth was full of it? Because if he can't, and he won't, and he wouldn't even consider saying the word, maybe it's time to make him walk the plank. I dunno. Just seems like you'd want to get rid of the people ripping holes in the hull.
Oh, and another thing. While you've been busy trying to bail out the boat, the open source pirates have made off with all your stuff. Open Office, Solaris, everything Java, etc. It's all gone, bro. You gave away the crown jewels. Which actually raises the question: Is it even worth saving the boat at all? I mean, if there's nothing onboard except a bunch of crappy servers with RISC processors, maybe you should just abandon ship. Or did this dude just take the last lifeboat?
Labels: Fucked Companies, Sun
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|Use this URL to cite or link to this record in EThOS:
|A 'politick engine' : astrology and politics 1678-1715
|Woodcraft, David Robert
|Awarding Body:
|University of Warwick
|Current Institution:
|University of Warwick
|Date of Award:
|Availability of Full Text:
Historians have long been familiar with the link between astrology and politics, especially during the Civil War and Interregnum. By contrast, the link between them during the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries has been neglected by historians. This thesis sets out to bridge an historical gap. It provides a detailed study of astrology and politics between 1678, with the Popish Plot, and 1715. It examines the extent to which astrology was used as political propaganda during these years through a close study of the works published by the leading astrological polemicists, focusing particularly on their annual almanacs. It also examines the role religion played in politics, and the way in which the astrologers' religious outlooks and beliefs shaped their political views. The vitriolic feuds between leading astrologers on opposite sides of the divide are also examined in detail. This thesis is divided into four chapters. The first elucidates the outlook of the astrologers writing in the last years of Charles H's reign, covering the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis, and the period of Tory ascendancy between 1681 and 1685. The second chapter assesses how astrologers reacted to the succession of the Catholic James 111, and his attempts to give Catholic subjects equality with their Protestant counterparts. Chapter three examines reactions to the Glorious Revolution and the reign of William 111, and chronicles astrologers' attitudes toward the succession, war and the Church. The final chapter deals with the reign of Anne, focusing on the ferocious party battles for which it is notorious. It assesses the extent to which these were reflected in the works of the astrologers and examines their arguments as the battle lines were drawn. The thesis argues that the stormy nature of politics between 1678 and 1715 ensured that the link between astrology and politics, which had become much weaker following the Restoration, was reforged and rendered as strong as it had ever been. Indeed the period witnessed a final renaissance in political astrology.
|Not available
|Not available
|Qualification Name:
|Thesis (Ph.D.)
|Qualification Level:
|EThOS ID:
|Not available
|BF Psychology ; JN101 Great Britain


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Remote Working: Pros and Cons of Having a Remote Team
Source: Unsplash
COVID-19 kicked our asses.
It took away our normality and it has shifted how we live our lives and do business.
Yes, we were already moving towards remote working. However, the pandemic rushed the process and pushed many people to work from home without being ready for it.
Today, we are shifting again.
Some businesses are figuring out how to transition back to working at their fancy offices in Silicon Valley, while others have decided to keep working remotely.
If you are struggling to decide whether or not you should have a remote team, this article is for you.
I'll go over the pros and cons of having a remote team and give you a few strategies to manage your team like a pro, deal with isolation and boost your productivity.
Remote Working VS Working From Home
Source: Unsplash
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of working remotely, I want to make this distinction crystal clear:
Remote working is not the same as working from home.
It's easy to mix them up.
After all, your employees will be working from a computer in the comfort of their own homes, right?
Well, not quite.
You see, while in both scenarios you won't see them working in your headquarters, there are substantial differences between the two.
For starters, working from home is more of a temporary setting rather than a permanent one. It's what your employees might do once in a while when they need a break from the office or when they want to skip their commute for a change.
Its effectiveness lies in the change of environment and the possibility of engaging in deep work without having a coworker popping in to chat.
However, your employees still have to come to the office at some point.
On the other hand, remote working means your employee works anywhere other than the office regularly.
This also includes having part of your team living in other cities, countries, and even continents. As you can imagine, this working model doesn't contemplate face-to-face meetings or office gatherings.
Remote working has its perks but it also brings huge challenges.
Pros Of Remote Working
Both your business and your employees enjoy perks when you work remotely. Not only will your employees' satisfaction increase, but your business can save money and have some simplified processes. Let's dig into some of the pros of remote working.
1. Empower serious individuals
People who work well remotely find it rewarding to have more autonomy over their time. It allows them to make more decisions over how and when they work, and an increased sense of responsibility comes with that.
It's also easier for them to engage with deep work since no co-workers pop by to chit-chat or to discuss work issues at a time when you are trying to do your best work.
Serious remote workers often feel empowered when they feel they are trusted with their work and rarely being checked up upon.
It's a great confidence booster as well.
So how can you get to this point with your remote team?
I believe it's all about finding kick-ass professionals who are damn good at their jobs and that prove to be reliable. You can always hire someone on a trial period and see how they integrate into your team.
Then, you scale up from there.
2. Gain greater flexibility
Another perk of remote working is having flexibility around your schedule. When you allow your team to work at the time of the day when they are at their best, they'll produce badass work more consistently.
This is great for people who are night owls rather than early birds. No more waking up at 6 AM to go to a meeting that isn't even relevant for them.
It's also the perfect setting whenever you need to attend a doctor's appointment during the day or when they want to attend their child's spelling bee contest. It gives them a sense of freedom and control over their lives they wouldn't have otherwise.
Plus, it takes away the awkward ask-the-boss-for-permission talk.
Independent remote workers can set their own workflow and still deliver exceptional results while increasing their satisfaction.
3. Work from anywhere
Source: Unsplash
Did you ever dream of living the laptop lifestyle and working from anywhere in the world? Have you imagined yourself in a little cabin in the mountains or sipping a piña colada on a sunny beach in Mexico?
Remote working is the gateway that many people look for to satiate their wanderlust.
All they need is a laptop and a reliable internet connection.
But is this an adventurer-only perk?
Not at all.
It's also a great way to avoid moving to big cities in search of a better opportunity. Remote workers can stay close to their families and steer clear from the city rush while working for big corporations.
4. Save money
Working from the comfort of your own home cuts down your gas and food expenses. Hell, it can even reduce how much money you spend on a professional wardrobe.
Why spend thousands of dollars on expensive business clothing for each day of the week when you can work in your pajamas?
No judgment here.
I'm not saying you shouldn't have at least a couple of good suits in case you need to meet with a client. But there's no need to show up at the office with a different attire every day.
Now, savings don't only come as a perk for you or your employees.
You can also save your business a shitload of money from renting offices, paying for onsite services, and catering to your employees' needs.
This is one of the biggest perks of remote working for your business.
5. Say goodbye to commute
Source: Unsplash
Is there anything more fucking stressful than commuting to your job?
Sure, if you live in a smaller city with zero traffic, this might not be a huge issue. For the rest of us, sitting long hours in traffic can increase our stress levels and get us in a bad mood.
That's no way to start a successful working day.
Isn't it better if your employees used that extra hour to work instead of fighting someone who cut them off in traffic?
Not to mention the risk of them having an accident during their commute.
I've met one too many remote workers who perceive not having to commute as one of the greatest benefits of not working at the office.
6. Payments are easier
Source: UX Collective
There's nothing easier than paying your remote employees.
For once, many of your remote workers are most likely contractors, so this simplifies your tax reports.
Make sure that your contractors issue you an invoice that you can pay via PayPal or Stripe, which only takes a couple of minutes and your credit card.
If you do have employees on your payroll, your best bet is to use an automation tool that sends out payments each month automatically.
I recommend using Quickbooks payroll, especially if you are using their accounting software, which will only make your process flow seamlessly.
7. Increase employee satisfaction
The pros that I've listed so far should have given you a hint.
Studies have shown that remote workers report higher work satisfaction when working remotely.
This lies in the greater flexibility, the boosted confidence in their abilities, and the autonomy and control they have over their own lives.
Having the ability to manage their own time and work comfortably without office-related stress and distractions also improve your employees' satisfaction.
Why should you give a damn about that?
Well, first of all, because your team is what will make or break your company.
Not only that, but happier people work harder than those who are unhappy. This leads to improved performance and possibly an increase in individual productivity.
Sounds good, right?
Cons Of Remote Working
Although there are many perks of remote working, not everything is rainbows and unicorns. There are gargantuan challenges that come with managing a completely remote team. Let's take a look at what is fucked up about managing a remote team.
1. Lack of engagement
Source: Unsplash
This might be the worst nightmare of any CEO.
Sure, you've put a lot of effort into finding and hiring the most talented people you could find. But they lack commitment and a sense of belonging to your company.
For remote workers, it's harder to develop relationships within their team.
Sometimes they only meet the person they'll report to before being thrown to work with people they don't trust, know or understand.
You also can't just pop by to their cubicle to ask for critical information or to check up on the status of a project. Moreover, your employee might be struggling with something that you have no idea about, leading to miscommunication and a lack of mutual understanding.
This lack of engagement can be difficult to tackle when there are no face-to-face interactions and it can lead to projects stalling or being abandoned.
2. Communication can be an issue
Have you ever found that you can't get in touch with someone you urgently need?
Isn't it infuriating?
Communicating with a remote team can get tricky, especially when you want to get a hold of someone who is 12 hours ahead of you in time.
This issue is only aggravated by unreliable people who might suddenly disappear and leave no trace behind leaving you stranded.
But that's only the worst-case scenario.
You also have to keep an eye out for misread cues on electronic communications.
It's well-known that we pick up on the intention of a message when we are talking face-to-face with someone. Without non-verbal communication, people can make up a whole different story in their heads than what is happening.
That's why you must convey your message clearly and effectively so that your collaboration isn't limited by the lack of real-life encounters.
3. Life-work balance is hard
If you are anything like me, you know it's hella hard to disconnect from work.
Let's face it.
It's hard for people who work at offices, so why would it be easier for someone who lives and works at the same place?
You and your team might find yourselves working around the clock, not following a routine, and forgetting to have a personal life.
It's harder to relax when your living room also functions as your home office.
Not only that, but it can also backfire and have your employees taking care of their housework instead of focusing on getting their job done, which brings down their productivity.
Setting and respecting boundaries are key for any successful remote worker.
4. Productivity can become an issue
Yeah, I know that I said that remote working can increase your productivity, but that's only in some cases.
Successful remote workers need to have a lot of self-discipline and make sure that their home's environment is set for success.
Then, there's also the business side of things.
As a team leader, I would love to have my team in an office to brainstorm together and increase our overall productivity.
There is only so much that you can accomplish when using digital communication. It can lead to confusion, losing track of important advances in your projects, and important details might be lost in translation.
So, even if individual productivity is on-track, your overall business productivity might suffer from having a team scattered around the world.
5. Time zones are problematic
This problem comes from the laptop lifestyle that so many people dream about.
What is a huge perk for employees might become a pain in the ass for you as a business owner.
Having to collaborate with people that live in different time zones is not as cool as it might sound on paper.
It translates into late-night calls, not having access to information right away, and having to look at your world clock more than once trying to figure out how late it is for your Australia-based employee.
Yes, having a different mix of people in your team can be rewarding, but it comes with a huge challenge as a team manager.
6. It can be lonely
No watercooler talks, no colleagues to lean on when you have a problem, and no sharing lunch with your work buddies.
Remote working can be extremely lonely if you don't seek out ways to interact with other people.
Many people haven't enjoyed working from home for this very reason, and they are anxiously looking forward to the day they can return to their offices.
For some, work is the only place where they see other people.
It can be soul-crushing for anyone who doesn't have a social life outside of work. That's why remote workers need to make time to spend with family and friends and engage in hobbies where they can meet new people.
7. It can lead to burnout
Source: Unsplash
If you spend too much time working without boundaries, you'll eventually burnout.
As I said before, when you work remotely it's harder to shut down and you are more likely to overwork.
When you don't disconnect from work and take a break, your work-related stress levels will quickly rise.
This takes a huge toll on productivity and it can even lead to total disengagement from your company. That's why it's vital that your employees have a healthy life-work balance and they take breaks from work every day.
3 Strategies To Manage Your Remote Team
Now that you understand the pros and cons of remote working, we will look at five strategies that will help you successfully manage your remote team.
1. Find the right team
Your team is the backbone of your business. You must hire the best people for your business to thrive.
But how can you recognize who the creme de la creme are?
Well, there are a few things that you need to look for in your candidates.
First of all, make sure that they are proactive. You want your remote workers to show initiative consistently. They should move towards action rather than stagnation.
They should also know how to prioritize their activities. This is crucial for any employee, regardless of whether they are working remotely or on-site. An employee who can't differentiate between what's urgent and what's not may as well not be there.
Now, let's take a look at how a hiring process can help you find the right remote talent:
- Create a job application process that shows how the candidates can add value to your company.
- Shortlist candidates and invite them for a call to get to know them better.
- Ask the top candidates to work on a test project.
These three steps will help you find the best candidates within a world of applications.
2. Establish expectations and timelines
When you onboard a new hire, you should set the expectations for their work and how you handle projects and deadlines in your business.
Make sure your new team member understands how you communicate, what they will be working on and the results you want to see.
While one of the perks of remote working is to have time flexibility, giving clear directions and agreeing on deadlines will be crucial for your business to thrive in the long run.
3. Create communication channels
Once you have a killer team and you have set expectations and timelines, you need to make sure that everyone has enough communication channels to share information, ask for help, and even bond in the distance.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, we love using Slack for keeping up communication with our team. It's an extremely dynamic platform that allows you to have different channels for each department, project, or even social event.
Slack allows you to share documents, communicate with your team in real-time, and you can even send GIFs to express yourself better.
You can also integrate it with apps such as ZenDesk to manage your projects.
Don't forget to use Zoom or any other video conferencing software to get to know your team members face to face.
Last, but not least, you should also have task management software to help you keep track of your projects and their progress.
Remote Work Is Challenging But Rewarding
Whether we're ready or not, more people will adopt a remote approach to business even after the pandemic is over.
Working remotely will bring a ton of benefits to your company but it also comes with challenges that crush your business to the ground.
The only way to beat that?
Being prepared as hell to take the bull by the horns.
Remember to:
- Find the right team
- Create communication channels
- Establish expectations and timelines
- Encourage team bonding
- Work by projects
Now back to you. Are there any pros or cons that I missed?
Let me know in the comments!


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Will General Motors Replace Car Keys With Face Biometrics?22
Sponsored Links
As technology continues to march forward, automakers are racing to be the first to offer the latest and greatest features. Many of these innovations are aimed at providing greater comfort and convenience – car keys, for example, have been replaced with key fobs with hands-free/push-button start. The question is, will General Motors move to introduce face biometrics as the new standard method for vehicle ingress?
Let's start with a quick background. The current industry standard for vehicle ingress is the key fob, which pairs with hands-free/push-button starters as a replacement for traditional car keys. Now, however, General Motors is launching a new feature that replaces the key fob with a user's smartphone, such as with the all-new 2022 GMC Hummer EV. As GM Authority covered previously, the new Hummer EV allows iOS and Android users to turn their smart device into a "digital key," allowing users to open the vehicle doors and start the EV using only their phones.
Now, it's looking like face biometrics could be the next evolution. As GM Authority exclusively covered, General Motors has filed to trademark "Modus Biometric System" in the U.S. and Mexico, suggesting the automaker will bring the same facial recognition software already offered in China over to North America.
For those who may not know, General Motors currently offers the 2021 Cadillac XT4 luxury crossover in China with a face ID system that leverages a high-definition binocular infrared camera, adaptive supplemental lighting, a touchscreen, and a fingerprint reader to make it easier and more secure for a user to enter their vehicle. The system will scan a user's face and unlock the doors if the system recognizes the user, while offering a fingerprint scan and password function as well.
Which begs the question – will General Motors replace car keys with face biometrics?
We want to know what you think, so vote in the poll below, and don't forget to subscribe to GM Authority for more General Motors engineering and technology news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
- Sweepstakes Of The Month: Win a Corvette Z06 and 2024 Silverado. Details here.


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Abercrombie & Fitch's bad year is getting worse.
The teen retailer, ahead of an analyst meeting Wednesday morning, said that its third-quarter sales through Oct. 27 plunged 12% to $1.03 billion. Notably, Abercrombie's comp sales — which includes purchases online and at stores open at least a year — dropped 14%, marking a stunning seventh straight quarterly comp sales decline in a row, and the retailer said it's taking "a cautious approach into the fourth quarter."
Chief Executive Officer Mike Jeffries blamed the drop on a tough spending environment among teen consumers, which has indeed plagued competitors like American Eagle and Aeropostale this year. Still, the steady comp sales decline shows that Abercrombie has actually been troubled for longer than that, and the concerns that its styles and stores are stale may have merit.
As foreshadowed by BuzzFeed in September, Abercrombie also said it's shutting down its standalone Gilly Hicks stores, which numbered 28 at the end of July. It will instead carry the fledgling underwear brand online and in Hollister locations. Sources told BuzzFeed at the time that the company spent in the ballpark of $150 million in capital opening the locations, which have a cumulative operating loss in the $200 million range, but Jeffries remained gung ho on the brand.
Indeed, Jeffries said in today's statement that the decision to shut down the stores actually "reflects the successful pilot of selling Gilly Hicks branded intimates in Hollister stores."
Abercrombie said it will offer more details on the long-term strategic review it began this spring in tomorrow's meeting. BuzzFeed also reported in September that the company's 10% comparable sales decline in the second quarter included a 30% drop in the girls' side of the business — the meeting may offer more color on that.
Analysts and investors will also be looking tomorrow for any insight into the future of 69-year-old Jeffries, who built the company into a global retailer over 20 years. Jeffries has been criticized for being a micromanager and holding Abercrombie back in some ways, as well as running the retailer with scant oversight, from corporate jet shenanigans to the dubious involvement of his partner in the business. His latest employment agreement is set to expire in February 2014, meaning he's probably in negotiations for another contract right now.
Abercrombie's stock fell 7% after the market closed. Its stock, before that drop, was down 20% for the year, compared with a 24% gain for the S&P 500.


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Ramps & Balconies
BMI uses ¾" plywood (BC Fir) to manufacture floors, stairs and fibreglass enclosures in order to ensure that you receive a superior-quality product. All wood pieces are covered on every surface in order to achieve perfect watertightness.
For irregular walls, a square flashing is used to preserve the watertightness of the floor: the flashing can be cut without damaging the seal on the wood in order to follow the contours more easily.
Stairways and balconies are custom-made, angled or in standard form, and are available in three different finishes:
Feel free to consult our colour chart in order to facilitate your choice of railings and balconies.
Allium is among the leaders in Québec in the design of aluminum architectural products for balconies. Allium products are custom made according to your plans. They are safe, solid, require no maintenance and carry a 10- to 20-year limited warranty.
Allium railings are coated with highly resistant acrylic enamel that prevents corrosion and deterioration, and helps to preserve the original finish and colour of the product.
Allium balustrades and posts are available in a variety of models, heights and colours to bring that perfect finishing touch to your renovation and construction projects and increase the value of your home.
Aluminium Distinction
As a leader in the manufacturing of railings and products for balconies, Aluminium Distinction offers exception-quality railings that comply with the National Building Code of Canada.
The following models are available:


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Laredo western tv show free
Wild West Toys American made toys. Sponsors this site and rounds up westerns from all over the web for you to watch here for FREE. Here are some episodes of The Laredo westerns television series . Classic western TV series episode shows to watch free. Laredo originally aired 1965 , 1966 and 1967 . There are 56 episodes of this wonderful classic western Television series show Here is another episode to watch free. Laredo is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 16, 1965, to April 7, 1967. Laredo stars Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. It is set on the Mexican border about Laredo, Texas. The Pilot episode aired on The Virginian western tv series. Complete with Cowboy boots, saddles, cowboy hats, Colt 45 smoke, Old West Towns, fast horses, Banks, Wells Fargo offices, Stagecoach stations, runaway wagons, outlaws, bandits, Sheriffs, Marshals, Fancy belt holster rigs, guitars, Cowgirls, singers, Levis, Wranglers, blue jeans, campfires, chuckwagons, cattle drives, wagon trains, cactus, Rustlers, Good Guys, Bad Guys, Ranches, Chase scenes, Deserts, Mountains, Forests and everything else great television westerns always kept us entertained with when we were kids growing up and needed good solid Heroes. Traveling in the west these days is still exciting full of all the Native American Turquoise jewelry to buy and all the old west lore of lost silver and gold mines. Laredo Stars Neville Brand, Peter Brown, William Smith, Philip Carey, Robert Wolders and seems a bit comical.


text: Serena's Juelle Portfolio My Portfolio Welcome to my Portfolio. The following pages are my lessons from the Juelle Web Design. The following pages are my lessons from the Juelle Web Design. which I have just been informed has been taken over by a very talented lady: Koko You can visit her site HERE Please come in and take a look around. Click the arrow to choose where you would like to go My Portfolio Lesson 1 Colour Co-ordination Lesson 2 Seamless Tiling Lesson 3 Creating Websets Lesson 4 Side Borders Lesson 5 Double Side Borders Lesson 6 Top Borders Lesson 7 Fonts Lesson 8 Banners & Logos Lesson 9 Java Script & CSS Lesson 10 Applets Lesson 11 Shadowed Borders Lesson 12 Java Script,CSS Lesson 13 Mouseovers Lesson 14 Framing Pages Lesson 15 Tables Lesson 16 Image Slicing Lesson 17 Image Mapping Lesson 18 Menu & Navigation Lesson 19 Basic Frames Lesson 20 Final Feel free to e-mail me here Please be sure to leave a comment in my guest book before you leave and let me know what you think. Thank you for visiting my site. You can also visit me at my main site, Serena's Corner of Oz. Just click on the banner. Page design & photos © sdh


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"African Night" was held in CASACO which is renovated old folk house located in Yokohama.
This event was organized by two NGOs which are Connection of the Children (CoC) and Global Bridge Network (GBN). We planned this event to feel closeness to Africa because many Japanese don't have opportunity to know about Africa.
December 18th(Sun), 2016
December 18th(Sun), 2016
15:00 Open
16:00 African Quiz Session
17:00 Enjoy African Dance session
18:30 Presentation about Pearl of Africa (Uganda)19:30 Close
|Presentation in Japanese by our friend, Precious from Uganda
|African Dance session♪
-Food menu-
・Ugandan beans soup and rice
・Ugandan curried cabbage
-Drink menu-
Beer (Kenya), Whisky (South Africa), White wine (South Africa), Sherry (Uganda),
Coffee (Uganda and Rwanda), other drinks.
-African craft-
・Handmade ornaments with African fabric designed and made by Ms. Alyx, the owner of "Ornament Designs"
・African leather and fabric crafts produced by Ugandan NGO "Bereesera"
・African accessories
・African crafts (necklace, pierce, bracelet, bag, basket etc.)
|Small shop with African crafts and accessory and Alyx's ornaments etc.
About 30 guests including Ugandan, Cameroonian, American and Japanese attended our event. They enjoyed African culture, dance, food and communication with other people.
For GBN, this is our first event! We really appreciated all participation and happy to collaborate with CoC.
|Towers the end of the event, they enjoyed dancing too much to stop!
CoC and GBN would like to hold an international event sometimes again, and we are also planning to organize a cultural exchange with Japanese and African children over internet.
Collaboration! Thanks, All!!
Kasim& Precious family, Kei and Maiko from GBN
Thank you for your participations!
*GBN's Facebook*


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Southern Oregon Periodontics is committed to providing patients with conscientious evidence-based treatment utilizing the latest dental technology.
Medical/Dental research continues to emerge suggesting that people with periodontal disease are at higher risk for developing heart disease, stroke, uncontrolled diabetes, preterm births and respiratory disease. Ultimately, periodontal disease is a bacterial infection, and all infections are cause for concern.
Periodontology is a dental specialty that requires skill and finesse to provide patients with expert and tender care. This discipline focuses on establishing and maintaining the health of supporting structures, thus making a meaningful contribution to the goal of long term health and quality of life.
Often less invasive treatment options are a viable option, or more traditional treamtents may be able to be completed with the use of lasers. This allows for a quicker healing time and with less discomfort.
Soft tissue grafting
Dental implants
Periodontal Treatments non-surgical
Periodontal surgeries
Biopsies & Lesion removal
Crown lengthening for
restorations or esthetics
Gingival contouring
Laser procedures
Tel: 541-773-9222


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This week's news cycle was tumultuous and perpetual, starting with the sad passing of two beloved and iconic Brits, David Bowie and Alan Rickman. The last seven days have also bore witness to the largest Powerball jackpot, ever. College football championship showdown drama. The Golden Globes came and went and the #OscarNoms hit the interwebs. End scene.
In such a heavily populated news cycle, we're focusing this week's post on that ever-present being in the U.S. air -- Politics. (Note: If you want to dive into the data on the above topics and more, read this Brandwatch React post).
This week was historic with President Obama's final State of the Union address, and it also provided us with the opportunity to examine the GOP candidates who wish to replace him during the sixth Republican debate.
As a Democratic debate looms for the weekend, you should read this post to be fully up to date as the Dems take the stage.
Obama Chooses to Look Ahead, Not Behind, In His Final State of the Union
President Obama's final State of the Union address accumulated more than 2.1 million tweets between January 12 and 13. Over 1.07 million mentions occurred while President Obama was live in his pulpit addressing the nation between 9pm EST and 10:10pm EST.
Sentiment analysis shows that the president's address was well received as 62% of sentiment-categorized tweets were positive.
Looking at State of the Union mentions during the actual address itself shows that the online conversation was steadily active throughout. There were dips and valleys in the discussion's minute-by-minute mentions, but this conversation was far more constant from start to finish (as compared to political debates).
We can see, however, that the conversation peaked as President Obama concluded his address at 10:10. This one minute registered nearly 24,000 mentions.
The issue that received the most social attention from Obama's address was the economy and the economic state of the country. The economy was mentioned more than 43,000 times within the State of the Union discussion. Different issues that also garnered considerable attention were:
Gun Control with more than 22,000 mentions.
National Security with more than 20,000 mentions.
The issue that received the most attention from women was Immigration as women made up more than 56 percent of all immigration mentions.
Men appeared to be more focused on national security as 57% of national security mentions within the SOTU conversation came from men.
The topic of the economy was split near identically across gender.
All mentions within the State of the Union discussion were split relatively evenly across gender with men holding a slight majority share with 54 percent of all unique Twitter authors.
It's very unlikely that you didn't see anything regarding last night's State of the Union address as the hashtag, #SOTU, accumulated more than 27.5 billion impressions.
Lastly, What did Donald Trump think of the whole address?
Trump may have criticized President Obama without thinking about the stage he would be put on later in the week for the sixth GOP debate.
One Candidate Challenges Trump's Social Reign
The sixth GOP debate registered roughly 565,000 Twitter mentions while the candidates took to their podiums from 9pm - 11:30pm EST.
The overall debate's sentiment was close to even, but skewed positively within sentiment-categorized tweets with 55% of mentions being positive.
Two individual candidates seemed to set themselves apart from the rest of the pack in terms of overall mentions, and those two were Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Trump garnered the most mentions with nearly 170,000, and Cruz accumulated nearly 153,000 respectively.
Marco Rubio came in a distant third with roughly 75,000 mentions. The candidate who received the least amount of mentions was John Kasich who only saw just under 23,000 mentions.
It is important to note that at 10:15pm EST Ted Cruz had more mentions than Donald Trump. This marked the first time that any other candidate, besides Trump, boasted the most mentions, however Trump did regain the top position as the debate came to its conclusion.
Examining the sentiment of each candidate's conversation allows us to better understand who won the approval of online commenters. The three candidates who boast the most positive conversations are Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush. Within sentiment-categorized mentions, the percentage of positive mentions was as follows:
Marco Rubio - 62% positive.
Ted Cruz - 59% positive.
Jeb Bush - 57% positive.
The candidate with the most negative sentiment was Donald Trump with 50.4% of sentiment-categorized tweets being negative.
The conversation's peak, however, belongs to Ben Carson. At 9:47pm EST Carson referred to internet commenters, and the trolls bolstered his mentions as this one minute registered over 3,100 mentions.
The second largest peak goes to Carson again. At 9:18pm EST Carson's rambling response to regarding national security and enemies detonating bombs in our "exo-atmosphere." This minute saw about 3,000 mentions.
The third peak belonged to Ted Cruz at 9:29pm EST when he addressed recent questions about his Canadian birth. This minute received over 2,900 mentions.
The issues that saw the most mentions within this debate's conversation were:
Foreign Affairs with 32% of all political issue related mentions.
Taxes with 31% of mentions.
Immigration with 15% of mentions.
Gun Control with 11% of mentions.
When we look at the issues most discussed across candidate mentions, we can see that:
Ben Carson's mentions, along with John Kasich's and Ted Cruz's, focused on taxes.
Chris Christie, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush centered around foreign affairs.
Marco Rubio was the only candidate with the majority of political issue related mentions that focused on immigration.
When we look at the candidates' Twitter handles, we see that the mention volume correlations with the impressions their handles amassed. Out of the seven, primetime debate participants, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz accrued the most impressions.
Donald Trump's handle accrued more than 1.6 billion impressions. Cruz's Twitter handle received nearly 1.2 billion impressions.
Perhaps you should keep this post open as you watch Sunday's debate so that you can remember how the Republicans fared on Thursday, or if you rather watch how every candidate's conversation changes during the debate, in real-time, check out our data visualization. Brandwatch is releasing a monthly newsletter around the 2016 presidential election social conversation. Email [email protected] to subscribe.


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The probability of sharing a link of Arasan v54.8 in year 2024 here in this blog may not be zero! And maybe it will be playing at 3500 ELO, who knows?
Jon Dart
I may not be phantisizing too much because Arasan is the oldest of all engines with Crafty and Jon Dart never stops improving it since decades. He came to v18.3 lastly.
Thanks to Jim Ablett who compiled the new Arasan for Android, i guess we will soon be able to see it causing problems to the strongest mobile engines. There are already plenty of Arasan builds for Android available and they always worked flawlessy with all multicore processors i've tested. Therefore, i see no reason for 18.3 to be different from the perfect trend.
The expected ELO of the new version is above 2900 vs 18.2 which is rated ~2890 in Rapidroid.
Download Arasan 18.3 for arm7: HERE
Download Arasan 18.3 for arm7: HERE


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For years, shippers have tapped spare capacity of railcars and tracks as a low-cost option for storing and staging bulk commodities.
But the widespread adoption of the business model known as "precision scheduled railroading" means the big U.S. railroads want to be in the moving business, not the storage business. And that poses a problem for the hundreds of shippers now looking where to store their tanker cars, hoppers, and gondolas.
"The number of railcars in storage was just slightly above 311,000 at the start of May, this is a marginal increase from last years average of 300,000 cars in storage," says Martin Lew, Chief Executive Officer of rail car storage, leasing and purchasing marketplace Commtrex.
Once you get above 300,000 idled cars, "you're talking about roughly 20 percent of the 1.67 million railcars in the North American fleet of the available railcar capacity, which is an increase the last years average of 312,000 cars in storage." Lew said.
Commtrex's platform helps rail shippers navigate this new market. The Sugar Land, Texas-based company lists 143,000 storage spaces for rail cars, along with over $520 million in railcars in the Commtrex system and more than 1,500 transloading locations.
"We've seen more activity in our storage module the last six months than we have seen across the past two years, which can be construed as a negative indicator for overall railcar demand," he added.
Commtrex's pricing index data, available as the new Railcar Storage Price index (SONAR: RCSP), shows the level of demand across different geographies. The storage index for U.S. Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states (SONAR: RCSP.NASE) is up 31 percent since the end of February. But Gulf Coast storage (SONAR: RCSP.NACE) have come off their March and April highs.
Storage levels continue to increase across all car types. But the largest increases are in covered hoppers, which handle grains, chemicals, non-metallic minerals, and tank cars, which handle liquid bulk.
Both assets account for two-thirds of all railcars in storage, Lew said.
About 18 percent of North America's fleet of about 571,800 covered hoppers is in storage, according to Commtrex. For tank cars, about 22 percent of the North American fleet of roughly 431,200 tank cars is in storage.
Lew said the high number of railcars in storage indicates slowing activity among major commodity producers and buyers and the overall freight slowdown.
Likewise, it can reflect commodity specific issues. For example, oil drillers in the Permian oil basin in West Texas have switched away from using white sand sourced in Wisconsin for hydraulic fracturing.
In its place, they are using in-basin sand from the Permian itself, which now represents nearly a quarter of the total supply of the market. That, of course, reduces demand for covered hoppers.
But the main issue facing shippers is that flexible storage policies are becoming a thing of the past due to PSR. Railroads are selling off underutilized yards and they are starting to charge shippers higher penalties for keeping railcars idle.
"A major part of PSR is making sure that there are no idle cars sitting on the class 1 lines," Lew said.
"With a much higher focus on improving overall productivity by reducing the numbers of cars idle on class 1 lines in order to free capacity, increase fluidity while also decreasing dwell time, PSR is forcing their shippers to look for storage on the on their own."
The issue of storage is of increasing concern to rail shippers. This week, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board will start hearings on the detention and demurrage fees hitting rail shippers.
Last year, CSX (Nasdaq: CSX) hiked demurrage fees for various classes of idled railcars from 25 percent to 40 percent. CSX Vice President Mark Wallace said on the company's last earnings call that the fees are incentivizing shippers to keep railcars in motion, and boosting CSX's efficiency.
"Our customers aren't holding onto our cars and they're spinning them faster and we're getting better asset utilization," Wallace said.
Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) is also reportedly looking at hiking its demurrage fees as it implements its own PSR plan through their clean sheeting initiative.
In addition to tighter storage policies, PSR is also shifting the burden of railcar ownership to shippers. The number of cars that CSX had online in the first quarter 2019 dropped 10 percent from a year earlier.
"PSR is changing the dynamic for how much responsibility the shipper has over their own fleet which is now forcing many shippers that leaned on system leased cars to now having to secure their own private fleet," Lew said.
Lew said new storage sites are cropping up from railyards divested by the Class 1 railroads. That's creating something of a scramble among investors to acquire and assemble rail assets that can be re-purposed in the PSR world.
"We're seeing a lot of activity from investor groups and private equity firms that are looking to acquire short-line railroads and storage yards," Lew said. "If you look at any deals for repair shops or short-lines, there are double-digit multiples being attached."
"Just by the virtue of PSR, you are going to have tens of thousands of cars typically on a Class 1 track now being told, 'to find a home for storing cars that are not moving on our lines'," Lew said.
F3: Future of Freight Festival
The second annual F3: Future of Freight Festival will be held in Chattanooga, "The Scenic City," this November. F3 combines innovation and entertainment — featuring live demos, industry experts discussing freight market trends for 2024, afternoon networking events, and Grammy Award-winning musicians performing in the evenings amidst the cool Appalachian fall weather.


text: GunHil has received a confirmation of a sizable development support from the EU Media Programme for our first animated feature film – Ploe: You Never Fly Alone. This news secure the funding of the 12 months development process of the film, which already has secured a number of pre-sales through Arri Worldsales. The news is celebrated in our new offices in Reykjavik and Malmö alike. The film is expected to release at year end 2015 and is expected to become a co-production between Iceland, Germany and Canada.


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Updated: 07 March 2012
During the reporting period of 01–07 March 12 there have been four piracy related incidents in the High Risk Area (HRA): a Pirate Attack Group (PAG) was disrupted (017/12), a merchant vessel was hijacked (Alert 018/12), one merchant vessel was approached by suspected pirates (NSC 010/12) and one merchant vessel was attacked ( 019/12).
As the monsoon period is over and the sea state becomes more favourable for small boats, it is expected that Pirate Attack Group (PAG) activity will increase in the weather transition period.
Southern Red Sea (SRS)/Bab Al Mandeb (BAM) / Gulf of Aden (GOA)/Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC)
At 0519Z on 06 March 2012 a merchant vessel was attacked by 1 skiff approximately 200NM Southwest of Salalah (Oman) in position 14 20 N 052 45E. Skiff is described as wooden and dark in colour. (Alert 019/12) Masters are advised to transit this area with extreme caution but are also reminded that the BAM and Southern Red Sea (SRS) are areas of high fishing activity. Fishing vessels may approach a merchant ship in order to maximise fishing opportunities or warn ships from getting too close to their fishing nets. Masters are requested to ensure they distinguish between fishing vessels and potential pirates; fishermen may carry small arms.
Arabian Sea (AS)/Greater Somali Basin (SB)
PAGs are active in the North Arabian Sea, off the coast of Oman. 02 March 12, a merchant vessel was pirated approximately 150NM NE of Masirah (Oman) coast at position 1634N 05948E. (Alert 018/12) On 03 March 12, a merchant vessel sighted a suspicious group of skiffs in the vicinity of 2127N 06237E. One of the skiffs followed the merchant vessel for approximately 2 hours despite the merchant vessel taking evasive action. (NSC Alert 010/12) On 01 March 12, a merchant vessel reported 2 boats and 3 skiffs acting suspiciously in vicinity of 17 05N 058 08E (Alert 017/12). Masters are advised to proceed through these areas with extreme caution, and be advised that the PAGs responsible for the recent approaches in the north Arabian Sea are still believed to be in the area. Specific areas of known PAG locations can be found on our PAG map here: http://www.shipping.nato.int/operations/OS/Pages/PAGmap.aspx
Details of all alerts can be found on NSC Alert details webpage: http://www.shipping.nato.int/Pages/AllAlerts.aspx
Counter Piracy Guidance Update
Successful disruptions by naval forces over the past few months, complemented by masters' adherence and implementation of BMP4, have significantly reduced the pirates' ability to capture vessels. However, pirates continue their attempts to hijack any vessels of opportunity; a reminder that piracy can occur at any time. In the northern SB and AS the preferred motherships are local dhows, whereas in the southern SB, 8 metre whalers are preferred as motherships.
Prudent and timely application of BMP4 can make the important difference of being approached, attacked, or pirated. If any incident occurs, Masters are requested to report immediately to UKMTO via telephone and provide the details of the incident. This will ensure the information is provided to other ships in the area for their awareness and vigilance. If Masters are safely able to take pictures and/or video of the suspicious activity, please provide these via email to UKMTO (firstname.lastname@example.com), the NATO Shipping Centre (email@example.com) and MSCHOA (email@example.com).
Allied Command Operations


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We can't escape the headlines of mass murders occurring in our schools. The very place where children are sent to be educated. The very place where they should be safe and free from danger.
Sadly, school shootings have become the new normal. These horrific crimes and events lead us to ask –
Is a mass murderer born or created? What makes a school shooter? Is it availability of guns? Is it mental illness? Could it be something else? Shouldn't we look for a cause?
This novelette explores these questions.
Available in both paperback and e-book.


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Signs are everywhere! Good ones, bad ones, and great ones! Take this as a sign that you need to think twice before you let just anyone design your signs. Signs say everything about a brand, business, or store. No sign is too small or large to be designed and printed to perfection. Let us help you manifest and create the perfect design today!
A poster that pops and captures attention.
Print Banner
Quality banner graphics equals, a company that knows what it's doing!
Banner Stand
Banner Stands take a stand for your product, design the best one you can!


text: Stay in White's River Hut on this 4 day, 3 night splitboarding adventure in Australia's magnificent Alps for fresh pow-pow and abounding camaraderie... Highlights \t4 days backcountry snowboarding in Kosciusko National Park \t3 nights in a mountain hut \t40cm fresh powder \tSchlepping (our term for learning to go up hill on skins) A Late Start For An Early Arrival An after-work Sydney departure saw us arrive at 1.00am in Cooma to collect our trusty steeds. Rhythm hire shop supplied us with shiny new splitboards, skins, poles and a demo of how we change our upward-going skis to a powder-ploughing snowboard. We were lucky enough to have the company of Peter (Tim's uncle) who was familiar with the area as navigation was tricky, even when visibility was good. With laden packs and supplies for 3 nights camping on snow, we started the ascent from Munyang Power Station — a hostile-looking building in such beautiful surrounds. We quickly climbed the zigzagging path, keeping west of the Munyang River. The snow line was 200m above so we carried our splitboards until we reached Horse Hut, a chocolate box mountain refuge. Whilst chomping on our staple lunch of cheese and chorizo wraps, the chief of the mountain huts coincidentally skied in. Full of current knowledge of huts and snow conditions we donned the skis and skins for the first time. With much trial (and more error) we schlepped up the mountain, arriving at what was to be our base camp for three nights, our beloved White's River Hut. White's River Hut These open huts surpassed my expectations, recently lined and equipped with a fire it was a perfect mountain base. The huts are lovingly looked after by volunteers and users who replenish the wood stocks, leave surplus supplies and share tales in the guest book. After a pleasantly good sleep we ventured higher up Dicky Cooper Creek to Schlink Pass. We could see the next valley but went west so we could gain height summiting the wonderfully named Dicky Cooper Bogong. The maiden descent on our boards back to hut was nothing short of magical. Fresh powder heaven. As forecasted the snowstorm arrived late the second afternoon and stayed with us until we left. Exploring The Snow Having already been out exploring we figured that all down would lead us back to the hut. With reduced visibility and eagerness to explore we set off on shorter expeditions from the hut. We explored the ever-changing surroundings and hunted for a snow cave we'd seen the day before across the valley. We were amazed by how much the landscape changed as the snow blanketed the valley. Landmarks in rocky outcrops had transformed to small corniced snow fields. By the third night at White's River Hut we had become familiar with our environment and the quietness the blanket of snow created. Camp necessities, washing up, water collection, fire making and pooing in a tube had become a normality and we were all relishing the break from our everyday worlds. We sat and shared stories around the fire and delighted at our new way of toasting tortillas on the fire. The final morning didn't bring much fairer weather so we made for an quick descent, testing our split board usability. With undulating terrain I opted to remain on skis but the boys rode the boards all the way to the car park With the lower snow line the descent was super fast and over all too soon. As we looked back up to the mountains we had left, our bodies were tired but our hearts were full. We all made promises to return. Essential Gear \tSplitboards \tFour season tent, sleeping bag, mat \tCamping stove \tCompass \tHead torch \tSurvival bag \tWinter clothing How To Get There Start from Munyang Power Station in Kosciusko National Park Activities \tSplitboarding \tSchlepping \tCampfire making \tJump building \tSnowman making \tRiver crossing Skill Level Intermediate — as long as your group has a competent navigator in snow conditions Distance Covered / Elevation Gain 30 km 2500m climbed Photos by Ben Littlejohn Want more hut adventures? A Backcountry Retreat // Johnston's Hut, Falls Creek (VIC) A Mighty View from Mueller Hut (NZ) The Green Gully Track // Hut Hiking in Northern NSW Night Mission // Scott-Kilvert Hut (TAS) A Room With A View - Craig's Hut // Victoria's High Country


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Videos footage from RuCCS Colloquium Talks can be found on the RuCCS YouTube Channel. For all other events, please check the sponsor's website for more detail.
To filter by event category, click on the event category link in the table below or use the menu on the right.
List of Past Events
Micro Perceptual Human Computation for Visual Tasks
Yotam Gingold
Monday, February 06, 2012, 12:00pm - 07:00pm
Rutgers University, Department of Computer Science, Columbia University, Department of Computer Science
Human computation (HC) utilizes humans to solve problems or carry out tasks that are hard for pure computational algorithms. Many graphics and vision problems have such tasks. Previous HC approaches mainly focus on generating data in batch, to gather benchmarks or perform
surveys demanding non-trivial interactions. We advocate a tighter integration of human computation into online, interactive algorithms. We aim to distill the differences between humans and computers and maximize the advantages of both in one algorithm. Our key idea is to decompose such a problem into a massive number of very simple, carefully designed, human micro-tasks that are based on perception, and whose answers can be combined algorithmically to solve the original problem.
We present three specific examples for the design of Perceptual Micro-HC algorithms to extract depth layers and image normals from a single photograph, and to augment an image with high-level semantic information such as symmetry.


text: This brochure came with the VideoPainter I recently purchased. Interestingly enough there are a few models of things that I did not know about, like the Mickey Mouse Video Painter and a slew of talking Whiz Kid Toys. I hope someone finds this helpful and or fun to look at. Please note, images are fairly high-res, but the colors are off.


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2017 marks the return of Dub Gabriel with his 5th full-length solo album entitled "ADSR DUB" on his pwn record label, Destroy All Concepts. After his critically acclaimed 2013 album, Raggabass Resistance, he locked himself away in the studio and went into complete isolation in what he refers to as "one of the most prolific times of his 20 year career ". Mixing his love for classic dub productions with vintage analog tape echoes, spring reverbs and tubes, with his love of krautrock and his collection of Moog, Arp and Korg analog synthesizers, to provide the listeners with one of the most original albums to come out in recent memory.
The album Features guest performances by Addis Pablo, son of the legendary Augustus Pablo. Ranking Joe, who rose to prominence in the 1970's on such legendary labels as Studio 1, as well as his collaborations with King Tubby. And, The Spaceape, who became the voice of U.K. Dubstep through his groundbreaking work with Burial, Kode 9 & The Bug. Recorded in San Francisco at d/a/c Laboratory for Research & Development, mastered by the legendary, Kevin Metcalfe, at Sound Masters in the U.K. and cover art by acclaimed French illustrator, Olivier Bonhomme.
We took some time to dive into the new release, how for me it takes me out and away from the current state of the real that seems to drag me down. We talk about the balance one must find within creation of a project from start to finish and starting and making a family of three when it once was two. I have been listening to creations of Dub Gabriel's for a long time and it was nice to hear about his take on what my thang (taste maker) involves as well as which toys from his studio would he choose if he could only have a few. We talk about the flow of the music and art and how as creators, we have to let the story, the narrative speak for itself. Check out our conversation to take the canoe ride within the story.


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|About of The Walking Dead
The first season until the first half of season five are located in the Atlanta metro area and then in the surrounding countryside. Starting the second half of the fifth season, mostly located in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Walking Dead premieres in the US on October 31, 2010, in a cable television channel AMC and internationally in November 2010 at Fox International Channels. AMC has renewed the series every year because of consistently improving ratings Nielsen, which is the highest ratings for a series of cable television, including the dominating category of viewers aged 18 to 49 years than any serial cable or other television during the third to the sixth season of the series. The series has been renewed for a seventh season consisting of 16 episodes which will be aired in October 2016. Companion series, Fear the Walking Dead, debuted on August 23, 2015.
The series has been well received by critics and was nominated for several awards, including the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: New Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Drama.
Awards and Nominations
The Walking Dead was nominated for Best New Series by the Writers Guild of America Awards 2011 and the category of Best Television Drama Series by the Golden Globe Awards-68. The series is named one of the top 10 television programs in 2010 by the American Film Institute Awards 2010. For Saturn Awards-37, the series has received six nominations-for Best Television Presentation, Andrew Lincoln for Best Actor in Television, Sarah Wayne Callies for Best Actress on Television, Steven Yeun for Best Supporting Actor in Television, Laurie Holden for Best Supporting Actress in Television, and Noah Emmerich for Best Guest Starring Role in Television. The series was nominated for Best Drama Serial category by the Critics' Choice Television is the first one. Episode pilot "Days Gone Bye" received three nominations from the Primetime Emmy Awards on 63-for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series and Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series and winning in the category Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie , or Special. For Saturn Awards-41, the series has received the highest number of nominations, with a total of seven, including for the series itself, Andrew Lincoln for Best Actor on Television, Norman Reedus for Best Supporting Actor on Television, Emily Kinney and Melissa McBride category Best Supporting Actress on Television, Andrew J. West for Best Guest Star on Television, and Chandler Riggs for Best Young Performer on Television.


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Saha Health Center (SHC) is a non-profitable organization serving the greater Sacramento residents who need health care.
The mission of SHC is to provide high quality, culturally competent, wellness-focused primary health care to medically uninsured and/or under-served individuals.
SHC will provide its services every 3rd Saturday of each month from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, with basic health services to individuals with various backgrounds and languages.


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Sold in packs of 3, so feel free to spread the love!
This glowing hummingbird pin radiates support for migrant families whose enormous love for each other makes it possible for them cross borders. The mother hummingbird whose wings breaks borders is a prayer for a future where no one will ever be criminalized for finding refuge or to reunite with their loved ones, and no one will ever be forced to migrate against their will.
2$ from each pin goes to support the work of Colibrí Center for Human Rights, our friends who work every day to defend the human rights of migrants by searching for truth and justice for the families of those who have disappeared on the US-Mexico Border. Since the year 2000, at least 10,000 people have died, and another 5,000 have disappeared while trying to cross the border. Each one was a unique, irreplaceable, sacred human life who deserves to be cared for and remembered. You can learn more about Colibrí here and more about the stories of some of the families at their Bring Them Back Campaign.
Produced by Pincause. Art by Jess X. Snow


text: Since the January we have planned for the end of August and whole of September to be our Winter prep time. Preserving these 6 weeks for making, prepping, delivering and publishing. We just didn't think it would come round so quickly! In the next 10 days you will be able to purchase our new AW19 scents in our popular vessels. The workshop is buzzing and there's some lovely festive scents in the air! Watch this space... SHARE: Sep 09, 2019


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Bachelor-/Masterthesis or internship in the field of unmanned aviation: Autonomous avoidance system for UAVs
TOPIC: The aim of the work is the investigation of different alternative strategies for autonomous aerial vehicle course and its prototypical implementation for validation in a simulation.
In the ESG a ground-based system was developed, which supports the operator of unmanned aircraft in complying with defined minimum distances to other aviation witnesses and thus avoid collisions. At the moment, investigations are carried out, to what extent can be avoided automatically or autonomously with the help of this support function, ie without the involvement of the surgeon. It would be conceivable here also the use of a flight route planner with Motion Primitives for calculating the Ausweichtrajektorien and return to the original flight path.
Training and literature on the topic Sense & Avoid
design of various alternative strategies
Prototypical implementation of these alternative strategies
validation of different evasion strategies in the simulation
? Student / in computer science, aviation and aerospace engineering or electrical engineering
? Good knowledge in an OOP programming language such as Java or C + +
ESG-und Logistik-GmbH
Human Resources
Livry-Gargan-Str. 6
82256 Fürstenfeldbruck Contact: Ms. Claudia Wenzel Phone 089-9216-2544


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I was physically sick at E3 this year. No, I hadn't had too much alcohol, too many showfloor hotdogs or a single drop of radioactive energy drink with 5000% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin B. All I did was don an Oculus Rift and put my head in World Rally Championship 6 for approximately 45 seconds. That was all it took.
VR sickness doesn't creep up slowly. It's fast and unrelenting. One second you're fine, taking in the instantly impressive 360 view of a living, roaring rally track, the next, there's a thin layer of sweat covering your entire body and there's an immediate desire to yank off the headset just to make it all stop. That's not even mentioning your stomach, churning ominously like that time you drank too much eggnog when you were 14. It's all enough to make you want to kneel with your head on cold tiles and never move again. I didn't even complete a full lap before I thanked the concerned booth staff for their time, staggered away and then politely found a toilet to vomit. Welcome to the future, there goes your banana nut breakfast muffin.
But this thankfully isn't my reaction to every virtual reality experience, and because we're not all the same synths with the same wiring, it's different for everyone. I've spent hours in the newly launched PlayStation VR headset without a single lurch, but speeding along in that rally car, bumping over rough terrain and screeching round corners was just too much. The disconnect between eyes and body beat my brain into furious submission. I'm not alone. GamesRadar hasn't been able to officially review Driveclub VR because no one can wear the headset for longer than ten minutes without feeling dreadful. It's not exactly a poster quote, but it's the horrible truth. It turns out that driving games are exceptionally high on the vomit list but the question is why.
It turns out that the answer is relatively simple. They simulate movement and intense speed. And that's got nothing to do with whether you experience motion sickness or not. "I forget that people aren't aware of the 'locomotion problem' as it's called in VR community," says Simon Reveley, CEO of Figment Productions, the company responsible for theme park Alton Towers' rollercoaster Galactica, where riders don a Samsung Gear VR headset as they fly through the air. "The fact that VR is amazing because it's one to one with the real world consequently means you can't just push forward on a thumb stick and move your character at 40mph as they do in so many triple-A games. It's one of the reasons why, when we came up with the idea of Vector VR, which is the overall system we've designed to run Galactica and other projects, the whole idea of VR has a problem. You can't really move in a way that isn't natural to your living room. The only viable way is to put people on a vehicle that moves and have that vehicle synchronise with the VR."
While you'd think that a rollercoaster and VR would be a fast ride to vomitville, it's actually the complete opposite. Because this is no simulator - Galactica used to be Alton Towers' flying ride, Air - rider's bodies are going through exactly the motions of what's being sent into their eyes. Reveley and his co-workers at Figment actually tested the original prototype with wheelie chairs on a fixed figure-of-eight loop in their office, before scaling it up to an actual roller coaster. "It allowed us to prove that if you do want to move in VR and you don't want to throw up everywhere you do need to be moving physically in the real world as well," Reveley confirms.
"It's an amazing piece of engineering and we are genuinely turning people upside down at 46 mph and that's the only way to experience that kind of content in VR. The synchronicity of the two does create a really unique experience," he continues. "It frustrates me that for a lot of people their first VR experience is to get hold of a headset and download a virtual rollercoaster. Then sit there, come off and say 'Yeah, VR still makes you feel sick.' It's not the fact that VR makes you feel sick. It's the fact that you are doing something fundamentally wrong with it. You're trying to tell your brain that you're moving upside down and moving at 50mph when you're not. That disconnection is a significant flaw."
Then how on earth are we meant to cope with games? Games that have literally evolved to the point where characters can go anywhere and do anything. VR titles such as Batman Arkham VR use teleport mechanics for jumping between locations without a lurch in sight. While Rocksteady's Dark Knight can look around each area, his feet are static unless you see an icon that means you can blink to that location. Bang. All of the movement, none of the sickness. Then there's the games that want you to feel like you're moving, make your heart race and put you in the moment. How can these exist and not make us want to hurl? Well, they do, but it's not been easy.
Battlezone is a neon roguelike that pits you against enemies in giant arenas where you strafe and circle in the cockpit of an enormous tank. On paper that should mean sickness central, but I put on the PlayStation VR headset and played for a solid 45 minutes without even a waft of nausea, just the desire to shoot everything that moved. It felt incredible. I even played more after a cup of tea. And that's all down to design. The team at Rebellion really want you to be able to play and enjoy yourself. "It's an issue that we took very seriously right from the get go," confirms Battlezone lead designer Steve Bristow. "And the first problem to face is that some of us are affected by it more than others. I can't think of any occasion that I've ever felt the degree of discomfort in any VR experience where I've felt the need to take the headset off. But I have had experiences that were less comfortable than others, so I'm well aware of that."
How do you measure the sick-osity of your game, though? You test it. Repeatedly. On staff members. "We have people here at Rebellion – our 'canaries' as we refer to them – who are extremely sensitive to it," Bristow explains, conjuring up visions of a dev studio full of queasy green individuals. "And so our gauge, really, was if we can make the canaries feel tolerably comfortable, then we're probably doing OK. It's also the case, I believe, that over time, you get more and more used to the sensation and it therefore affects you less. The tricky thing with Battlezone is that I want the player's stomach to move while they're moving around; it has to be exhilarating, and I want to get something of that dynamic feeling that you get from VR. I don't want to lose that completely, but obviously we want to fall short of making an unacceptable percentage of players have a negative experience because of it."
The biggest changes to the game throughout development have been made simply to make people feel comfortable being in a virtual tank. That means everything from weaponry to environments have been made as sick-free as possible. It also meant ditching traditional games design in favour of something compatible with our bold new VR future. "The very first prototypes we did of the game, I had a kind of curving landscape," explains Bristow. "There were game design reasons for this - having to do with the way that approaching enemies would present themselves as targets as they crested hills and disappeared behind rolling hills and so on. Similarly, because I started from the point of view of a contemporary tank game, I wanted to be able to drive over a slope to position my gun and then reverse back over that slope to get cover and so on... using the landscape in that way. But in our initial prototypes, that was causing a percentage of users – too high a percentage of users – a problem."
Sacrifices had to be made. "One of the things we did was settle on a sort of plateaued landscape for all of our levels, which was unquestionably a compromise in some respects, in terms of the gameplay, but one that we were able to counter with the introduction of things like the flying units and so on, to replace that kind of broad target field that you want in a first person shooter," Bristow says. "After that, we realised that we needed to de-couple the head movement from the cockpit movement, so you can still rotate around and your viewpoint will go with the rotation, but if the vehicle rolls or tips, the head isn't shifted at the same time. And that made a huge difference again, so much so that I think actually were we to have gone back to the rolling landscapes, they would have been much more tolerable with that decoupling, but we'd already kind of committed to the flat planes by that point."
Sickness dictated every stage of this development process and that's a new idea. Did Naughty Dog have to worry about you getting car sick during that chase in Uncharted 4? Of course not. It just layered on explosion after explosion. VR literally requires sacrificing gameplay for humans to handle it. This is new territory for developers, and studios like Rebellion are leading the charge.
Battlezone's cockpit doesn't just look attractive and make you want to touch everything, it also plays a key role in making you feel less nauseous as you strafe. Bristow can't be too specific about how much of an effect it has because the science is so new, but there's definitely a more secure feeling inside the tank. "The fact that you're enclosed and surrounded by a solid-feeling structure that you're sitting in, as you are when you play the game - that all feels quite natural and it helps to sell the illusion," he says. "And it also gives you a sort of sense of, I suppose I want to say protection. You're not completely exposed to the environment, and that again just helps slightly with the comfort level in general. I don't know how directly it has a bearing on motion sickness, but I feel that were we to remove the cockpit and have just a sort of purely virtual HUD, you would feel a return to that more extreme sense of motion which may trigger that nausea." Developers have never had to worry about gamers feeling safe before. Previously, the mantra has been the more dangerous, the better, but not in VR. If virtual reality is to thrive, designers are going to have to make sure we don't just yank off headsets immediately.
My favourite addition is the fact that the radar gimbals around as you hurtle about. It's another physical object in a virtual world, that behaves just as you expect it to. Like Jurassic Park with tanks, Rebellion has spared no anti-nausea expense. "Essentially, that's inspired by a device that is used on board ships, like warships and so on," Bristow explains. "If you've got a cabin or a meeting room on a warship, they realised that without any reference to the horizon, if the room's tipping around, your other senses and your inner ear disagree with one another and that can trigger this issue." This not only makes sense, but it's analogous to the crosshair in FPS games, without which people can be prone to sickness and discomfort. It makes sense to immerse you further in a VR experience with bespoke frames of reference.
Yet this is all entirely subjective. There's no easy solution, no magic wand to fix each individual's personal inner ear. This is a physical issue, and given that there's no way to add a rollercoaster to each living room, it's going to be a constant fight. Environmental changes and gimbals are only a few of the additions made to the game to make enjoyable, but one man's Battlezone might be another's vomit-spattered WRC 6. The important thing is that thankfully, this isn't stopping developers from trying. Static experiences are fun - Batman is brilliant - but this can't be all that virtual reality has to offer.
Battlezone is proof that you can get your head in a moving tank without feeling like I did at E3. There are clearly ways to chip away at an experience to fool your body even further into believing it's actually there. More research into the science of sick is needed as PlayStation VR moves stylishly into more homes, but we're hopefully on the right track. Game design has to change for this to succeed or our smart new gadgets will be lost beneath a sea of sick, but it can be done. Battlezone is only the beginning. New levels of smart game design will lead us to a nausea-free future, and I can't wait to see it.


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Need an affordable rain jacket but don't want to sacrifice quality? Check out this review of one of our most popular rain jackets.
It's no fun being cold! Make sure that you have the right gear to face the weather.
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text: Ja Rule woke up this morning and took it all the way back to 2000 by reigniting his beef with 50 Cent. Ja called his nemesis everything from a p***y to a b***h a*s n***a, and even used the hashtag #ticklebooty. We think it might have something to do with 50 admitting he let Vivica A. Fox lick his bussy, but we're gonna stand by and wait for a disgruntled Ja to spill more tea just in case there's more to this story: