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FileBlog Archive
02/04/2007 - 02/10/2007
In-Game Ads: An Alternate View
February 09, 2007
When I bring up the subject of in-game advertising to most gamers, I get an immediate negative reaction. And I don't blame 'em. It calls to mind the image of your daring sorcerer charging through the twisting streets of an ancient city, bathed in shadow, about to unload a fireball spell on a troupe of orcs when suddenly a life-size wall mural of the Burger King grabs your attention.
Of course, if you really start to talk it out, there are lots of cases where in-game advertising is something we can deal with. Most people don't have a problem with billboards of actual products in, say, a racing game.
Which brings us to Jay Cohen, Vice-President of U.S. publishing for Ubisoft. Speaking on Thursday at this week's DICE summit, he claimed that in-game advertising could make game publishers Rich! Famous! Even better at what they do! And he wasn't joking. Cohen goes so far as to see in-game advertising as a cure for some industry ailments. Seriously? It's worth hearing him out, at the very least to see how big-name publishers are looking at the topic.
Seriously Big Bucks
First up, Cohen took a look at the film industry. There, product placements and advertising deals generate $1.5 billion in revenue a year -- it's a pretty big slice of the pie. The James Bond property alone pulled in $70 million through advertising deals -- that's money the studio gets before the movie is even in theaters. Basically James Bond paid for itself before selling a single ticket. Cohen says it's about time games started moving into that action. "Out time has come," he says. "We're in vogue. Advertisers want in."
According to his numbers, last year in-game ads generated $56 million, and that's forecasted to double each year for the foreseeable future. His advice? "Take the money!" he cried out.
Rainbow Six: Vegas had some unusual product placement.
Not Just In-Game Billboards
Despite repeating "Take the money!" a couple of times, Cohen urged publishers in the audience to be smart about ad placements. He suggested that companies designate an owner to manage all the deals, and to think about them from the very beginning of the design process. Ad integration should be pitched during the pre-production.
He had a couple of examples to draw from. In the recent C.S.I. videogame, one of the clues was a wallet with a credit card that could be fingerprinted. Visa sponsored the game, and working their card into the gameplay was pretty simple -- it fit right into the experience and didn't distract gamers. It even added to the realism.
More recently, Axe Deodorant sponsored a hidden easter egg in Rainbow Six: Vegas. If players found a bottle of Axe sitting around the corner right off of Freemont Street and shot it, a little black-and-white video would start playing in the corner of their screen showing the Rainbow Six blooper reel. This got Ubisoft tons of press, Axe got some killer placement (everyone told their friends, "Go shoot the Axe bottle"), and gamers generally didn't complain. Cohen didn't say how much money the ad brought in ... but his tone implied that a truckload was involved.
The Axe example tied in with Cohen's next point: that in-game ads help make a game famous. The Axe cheat code got lots of free press. More importantly, ad sponsors want to back up their investment, so they'll help push your game -- a car company recently gave Ubisoft a couple of trucks to give away to gamers as part of a product placement deal, which helped get tons of press.
So Why Should You Care About These Guys Making Money?
Good question. Cohen suggests that in the long run this extra revenue can help the industry. Here's his reasoning: games are expensive to make, and with each generation the problem gets worse. That stifles creativity, because when games are so expensive, publishers like him don't want to take risks on unproven stuff. The result is store shelves full of sequels and gameplay re-hashes. But, the extra juice games can get from advertising will mitigate the costs. And assuming publishers channel that extra revenue into riskier titles or better game development (and don't just bonus it out to their executives), that means better games -- and more of a variety of games -- for everyone.
Personally I only half buy into that argument. More money into the games business is a good thing, sure. But when publishers start to depend on it they're going to steer toward greenlighting games that have more advertising potential, and away from really wild, fantastical, or counter-culture games. Right now people complain that Hollywood is too commercial; putting games into the same bucket is going to create the same problems. We can only hope that major game publishers are smart enough to spread their money around between projects that aren't so deal-friendly as well.
A Debate: Can In-Game Ads Actually Make Games Better?
Cohen's next point sounds far-fetched but it actually makes a lot of sense. Building dynamic advertising tracking software into games involves integrating a lot of technology that has side benefits. Developers will be able to track what people are seeing in the game, how fast they're completing it, what items they're using, etc. These statistics aren't just funneled back to advertisers to see how many views an ad got -- they can also be used by developers to improve the game.
Is everyone getting stuck on a boss fight? Maybe it's too hard, or maybe it just sucks. Is nobody playing a particular multiplayer level? Maybe it can be fixed and re-released as a download to see if the numbers pick up. Developers can use this data to improve your gaming experience.
Of course, this opened up a whole can of worms, at least between myself and Sluggo (GameSpy's PC editor.) Sluggo argued that people are going to freak if they hear that their gameplay stats are being piped back to some server somewhere, that companies can look at how people are playing the game. He doesn't think that hardcore gamers are going to stand for it.
But I don't think it's that big of a deal. It's happening all the time. For example, when I pick up a purple UberSword in Blizzard's World of Warcraft, I fully expect that somewhere Blizzard is tracking that. They know exactly how many people found the UberSword, what level they were, if they keep it or auction it, etc. That way they know if it's too powerful or too easy to get or worthless to players, and they can constantly tweak the game to balance it better. In fact, I'd go so far to say I don't just expect it -- I demand it! Blizzard would be stupid if they weren't looking at player use in order to tweak their game.
So the idea of developers of other games -- even single-player games that I'm playing with my Xbox Live connection on -- would look at and use this data doesn't bother me. In fact, I welcome it. You know, so long as they don't turn on the webcam to see what I'm wearing while I play. (For the record: Super Mario Boxer Shorts that say, 'I Scored with the Princess.' For reals.)
Your Turn: What do YOU think?
So now you got some insight into in-game advertising, at least how big publishers are looking at it. Do you feel any differently about it? Do you think developers should be able to look at your gameplay data? Do you think the industry is growing up or spiraling into a garish nightmare of NASCAR-like logo stickers, product placement, and commercial mediocrity? What do YOU think? Mail me your thoughts and I'll post some of the best here next week.
Today's Geek Stuff:
- Will Wright And The Spore Team Roll The DICE -GameSpy
- 20 Questions with Phil Harrison at DICE -GameSpy
- Nintendo Platforms to Get Guitar Hero -GameSpy
- Extra Ammo for Armed Assault's UK Launch -IGN
- DICE 2007: Sony's Online Evolution -IGN
- Zelda Tops One MIllion on Wii -IGN
- Buena Vista Games No Longer -IGN
- New Command & Conquer 3 Xbox 360 Screens -TeamXbox
- Atari Reports Fiscal 2007 Third Quarter Results -TeamXbox
- New AirPort Extreme Doesn't Like Xbox 360 -TeamXbox
- Gears Sweeps Interactive Achievement Awards -Next Generation
- DICE: Making an All-Access Spore -Next Generation
- DICE: id's Strength in Small Numbers -Next Generation
- DICE: Phil Harrison Talks Future of PS3/PSP -GameDaily Biz
- Battlestar Galactica Game Charting Digital Delivery Course -GameDaily Biz
Mod News:
- Battlefield 2 - Project Reality v0.5 Released - FilePlanet
- Battlefield 2 - US Intervention Update - Planet Battlefield
- Battlefield 2142 - Northern Strike Basic Training Site Launched - Planet Battlefield
- Audio: Razer Barracuda AC1 Sound Card - Overclockers Club
- Boards: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe Motherboard - Motherboards.org
- Boards: Asus Vista Edition motherboard - Tech Report
- Boards: Epox EP-AF550G Pro Motherboard - PC Stats
- Cases: Cooler Master CM Media 280/281 Case - 3DGameMan
- Cooling: Noctua NC-U6 Chipset Cooler - Tweaknews
- CPU: Core 2 Duo E6300 - Tech-Hounds
- Mice: Logitech MX Revolution Wireless Laser Mouse - Thinkcomputers.org
- Systems: ABS Ultimate X8 - [H]
- Systems: Gateway FX530 - Anandtech
- Systems: Gateway FX530XT - Toms Hardware Guide
- Video: HIS Radeon X1650 XT IceQ Turbo and Radeon X1650 XT iSilence II - HotHardware
Posted by at 9:16 AM PST
Edited on: February 09, 2007 9:19 AM PST
Edited on: February 09, 2007 9:19 AM PST
Update on Sony's New MMO
February 08, 2007A quick update to my entry from earlier today: having talked to a few people informally in the hallways here, it sounds as though the product shown may have been Sony's unannounced collaboration with DC Comics for a DC Comics MMO. That makes complete sense to me -- I even said it looked more like a Superhero game than a spy thriller. That would also explain Landau's reluctance to name the product. I'm sure we'll her more about this soon!
Posted by at 1:51 PM PST
Sony Talks Convergence, Announces New MMO
February 08, 2007
The DICE convention kicked off yesterday (See yesterday's blog) and the first speaker was Yair Landau. He's not exactly a household name, but he's the dude you can thank for bringing the Spider-Man franchise to Sony and revitalizing it with some badass movies. He's the Vice Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and the President of Sony Pictures Digital. Sony Online Entertainment, the publishers of EverQuest and Vanguard, also falls within his domain.
Landau kicked off his keynote speech with a clip from the upcoming movie Ghost Rider. Good stuff: Ghost rider snaring a helicopter with a whip then driving down the side of a building leaving a trail of flame. His point? "We exist in a world where literally if you can conceive of it, we can make it real," he said.
Landau had plenty of examples of this in action, the most relevant being Saving Private Ryan. Spielberg took an old genre, the war movie, and reinvigorated it with modern film techniques and digital effects. He made it relevant for people. Then the games industry ran with the idea: games like Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and more recently Company of Heroes all took similar ideas and in their own way made the subject relevant again.
Putting it to Practice with a New MMO:
Landau had another example of a topic made relevant with modern techniques: Spy Movies. He showed a clip of the most recent James Bond flick, Casino Royale. Then he declared that at Sony he wants to "take espionage entertainment to a new level," leveraging the online community expertise and MMO experience that Sony Online has been gathering for years.
The result is a project code-named Vista, "because we pushed it back a year," Landau quipped. It's a massively multiplayer Spy game, featuring an espionage-driven world and both co-operative and player-vs-player gameplay. He says he wanted to build a game where it's okay to wear a tux, and promised "lots of storylines and experiences that are player-driven."
Then he satisfied our curiosity by playing a clip of the game concept. It's still very early in development; the movie was obviously pre-rendered although it looked to me like they tried to use in-game art assets. The characters were thin and muscular, the men hard-jawed and the women lithe. Yes, there were tuxes; there were also catsuits and machine guns. And hot cars with missile launchers, peeling off down cluttered European city streets.
Although Landau implied James Bond was the inspiration, the combat from the demo reel looked more like a page from the notebook of City of Heroes: a pair of spies took down a small army of crazily-costumed street thugs in a lightning-fast hail of machine gun fire and kung-fu kicks. Then an oversized villain who looked straight out of a comic book (or a KISS concert) bashed through a fence to take on the heroes.
A massively multiplayer spy game sounds like a home-run to me; it's a world that everyone can relate to and it lends itself to lots of gadgets and locations all over the planet. That said, judging by the demo reel, Sony will have to find ways to differentiate the game from City of Heroes or Matrix Online. I expect it'll be a while before we see more of "Vista," but I dig the idea.
Today's Geek Stuff:
- Inside The Black Box and The Orange Box -GameSpy
- Manhunt 2 Only for Adults -IGN
- First Look: PS3 Gundam Bundle -IGN
- Vice City Stories IS Coming to PS2 -IGN
- Study Shows Action Games Help Visual Acuity -IGN
- Analyst: PS3 Won't Have the Impact of PS2 Due to Xbox 360's Early Lead -TeamXbox
- Activision Reports Preliminary Fiscal 2007 3Q Results -TeamXbox
- PS3 and Xbox 360 Can Compete with MP3 Players, TV Set-top Boxes and PCs -TeamXbox
- Canessa Quits XBLA for PopCap -Next Generation
- EA Confirms Japan Studio Closure -Next Generation
- Microsoft Ad-Share Promises Devs $250K -Next Generation
- DICE: Sony Pictures Vice Chairman Talks Convergence -GameDaily Biz
- Blizzard: No Console Plans for World of Warcraft -GameDaily Biz
Mod News:
- Half-Life 2 - EA Says Episode 2 Will Slip - Planet Half-Life
- Battlefield 2142 - Northern Strike EA Link Pre-Order - Planet Battlefield
- Battlefield 2142 - Windows Vista BF2142 Performance Part 2 - Planet Battlefield
- Oblivion - 29 Added/Updated Oblivion Mods - Planet Elder Scrolls
- Boards: Asus P5W64 WS Pro 975X Express - PCStats
- Boards: ASUS Striker Extreme vs. P5N32-E SLI - Legion Hardware
- Cases: NZXT Duet PC Case - Thinkcomputers.org
- Cases: Thermaltake Bach VX - TechPowerUp
- Memory: Buffalo Technology FireStix PC2-8000 2GB DDR2 RAM Kit - PCApex
- Memory: Corsair XMS2 Dominator PC2-10000 - Tweaktown
- Memory: Mushkin XP2-8500 2GB DDR2 RAM Kit - PCApex
- Memory: OCZ DDR2 PC2-9200 FlexXLC Edition - TechSpot
- Power Supply: Ultra X-Finity and X-Pro 800W - Bjorn3D
- Video: HiS Radeon X1950 Pro ICEQ3 - Guru3D
- Vista: Windows Vista : Frequently Asked Questions - GamePC labs
Posted by at 10:27 AM PST
Edited on: February 08, 2007 1:50 PM PST
Edited on: February 08, 2007 1:50 PM PST
DICE Begins and the Industry Takes a Stand
February 07, 2007
I'm writing to you from sunny Las Vegas, Nevada, site of the 2007 D.I.C.E. Summit (DICE stands for Design, Innovate, Communicate, and Entertain). It's an exciting place to be, one of the annual highlights of game-related trade shows, with the only drawback being that I'm here instead of Playing the Supreme Commander Demo.
Every year DICE tackles big industry issues, from breaking games out of the mould to finding funding in an increasingly harsh business. And every year it seems there are new battles to fight.
For instance, inside my press kit I found a flier from VideoGameVoters.org. This project, sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association, is an effort to mobilize registered voters in order to fight increasing pressure from the government to regulate gaming. More and more in recent months, politicians are trying to score easy wins with uninformed voters by being "tough on violent games," often without evaluating the products in question or what their legislation would do to the industry as a whole. GamePolitics.com is a great resource for tracking all of that if you want to follow that scene.
There's some precedent here. Government pressure on the Comics industry in the 1950s (look up The Comics Code on Wikipedia) relegated that medium to brightly-colored kid fluff. While elsewhere comics thrived and became a major artistic and cultural force (I'm thinking of Japan in particular), American comics became a ghetto medium. Could it happen to games? "If video game sales to minors are regulated based upon their content, as some politicians propose, the end result could be diluted and duller storylines as many game publishers will not be able to take the same risks that lead to great, innovative movies, books, and music. This is not right!" says game designer Will Wright in an open letter on the Video Game Voters website.
Of course, there are other issues facing the industry, including the skyrocketing costs of making good games. But there are also bright spots: like more ways to download and buy content, or more mainstreaming thanks to fun products like Nintendo's Wii. And if you're trying to break into the industry, you're in luck -- it's growing faster than new talent can be found. Top-notch 3D artists and animators are being snapped up. Finding good people is actually the topic of one of the presentations at DICE that I'm looking forward to, from design genius (I don't throw that word around lightly) Will Wright.
That's what makes shows like DICE a lot of fun to cover. You never know what big issue or new technology will be the buzz around the hallways, or what people will be talking about when they gather next to the Red Bull vending stand. I'll fill you in on everything I learn right here, so stick around.
Today's Geek Stuff:
- Blockbuster Video Top Ten Video Game Rentals -GameSpy
- Manhunt 2 Coming Soon -GameSpy
- Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection coming to PlayStation Store -GameSpy
- Aging PCs Can Play Crysis -IGN
- Space Giraffe Heads to Microsoft -IGN
- Aussie Games Industry Celebrates Achievements -IGN
- D3 Secures Ben 10 License -IGN
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles Hands-on -TeamXbox
- Xbox Rewards Program Announced -TeamXbox
- Charity Auction Offers Chance to Make a Cameo in Halo 3 -TeamXbox
- D.I.C.E: The Complete Guide -Next Generation
- Blu-ray, HD-DVD Neck-and-Neck -Next Generation
- Shhhhh: Microsoft's New Improved Xbox 360 -Next Generation
- Nintendo Rewards Southwest's Frequent Fliers -GameDaily Biz
- Okami, Oblivion Lead GDC Awards Finalists -GameDaily Biz
Mod News:
- Battlefield 1942 - Eve of Destruction Update - Planet Battlefield
- Battlefield - Battlefield Podcast: Episode 42 - Planet Battlefield
- Oblivion - Shivering Isles preview - Planet Elder Scrolls
- Boards: ASUS Striker Extreme Mainboard - Xbit Labs
- Boards: ASUS Striker Extreme - Legion Hardware
- Boards: DFI ICFX3200-T2R/G - [H]
- Cases: Moneual Moncaso 932B HTPC Case - Pro-Clockers
- Cooling: Monsoon II Lite: Thermal Electric Cooling Tower - Anandtech
- Cooling: Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZV9 Dual Heatpipe VGA Cooler - PC Apex
- Mice: I-Rocks 4-Way Navigation Laser Mouse - techPowerUp
- Memory: Buffalo FireStix PC2-8000 5-5-5 - Overclockers Online
- Power Supply: Corsair's HX series 620 Watt PSU - Metku
- Power Supply: OCZ ProXStream 1000W - Virtual-Hideout
- Power Supply: XClio Stable Power 460 Watt - Tweaknews
- Storage: Western Digital WD740ADFD: Bottled Lightning - Anandtech
- Video: The Best Gaming Video Cards For The Money - THG
- Video: PCI-E x1 Graphics Performance with Galaxy GeForce 7300GT - Tweaktown
Posted by at 12:20 PM PST
Edited on: February 08, 2007 8:44 AM PST
Edited on: February 08, 2007 8:44 AM PST
Pirates of the Burning Sea Interview
February 05, 2007
Here's some Internet piracy we can all get behind: Pirates of the Burning Sea (See GameSpy's Info and IGN's Info) is a pirate-themed massively multiplayer game from Flying Labs that'll be rolling out this Summer. Last month when I wrote about why so many MMOs stick to the fantasy genre, I briefly mentioned some of the challenges these guys will face by breaking the mold and making a pirate game. Producer John Tynes wrote me directly, and before long we were chatting about three of my favorite things: Pirates, colonial economies, and Johnny Depp.
Fargo: In my January 22nd editorial, I talked about why MMO designers keep gravitating back to the Fantasy genre. I called out how designers needed a variety in environments in order to keep people playing games for the long haul. Then I said: "I'm curious to see how Pirates of the Burning Sea solves these challenges: if you're fighting pirates, exploring jungle islands, and sailing ships in level 1, what are you doing at level 20? 40?" Since I've got you on the hook, how would you answer that question? What can we expect from Pirates of the Burning Sea?
John Tynes, Producer: Like most MMOs, we have a whole lot of content for you to play through. When you start the game and make your first character, you've got 1,000 missions to play through. This includes something we're calling the roleplaying storyline, an epic tale that continues from level 1 to level 50. You are the star of that story and you make meaningful choices as you go that change the course of events. That's one example of something that's going to keep you playing and finding new surprises throughout your career, but here are a few more treats:
1) Legendary Missions in which you play through a flashback to a historic sea battle to find out how well *you* would have done had you been there.
2) Supernatural Missions that slowly reveal the spooky secrets of the Burning Sea.
3) Lots of environments to explore: towns, Mayan ruins, ancient tombs, dense jungles, elaborate fortresses, grungy pirate dance halls, swanky mansions, and much more.
4) Ships, equipment, skills, and missions unlock as you level up. At level 40 you're still experiencing major changes in your gameplay and discovering new ways to play.
The biggest thing, though, is our strategic gameplay. Our RvR [Realm vs. Realm] system provides for player-created PvP zones used to conquer enemy ports, but you can also make major contributions to the RvR situation just by playing PvE missions and doing economic activity. Everything you do in the game feeds into the realm vs. realm system and has real consequences for all players in the game. We really believe the RvR system is something every player will interact with and that will involve them in strategic gameplay more and more as they level up.
EVE Online and WoW have both shown, in very different ways, that the most compelling content is other players. We're doing a lot with environments and mission content but we really do believe that long-term play requires a game that puts player interaction first. What we're bringing to this is the strategic element and a new way of integrating PvP into the main gameworld without it just being no-holds-barred ganking.
Fargo: How do you compel people to pick up and try a massively multiplayer game? What do you think it's got to have to spark that initial interest?
Tynes: You either need a brand/IP that players respond to or you need a concept that is attractive. WoW is an example of the former and City of Heroes, the latter. Both are great games and have succeeded on their respective terms.
One great thing WoW has done for the field is really promoting the idea that paying $15/month for an online multiplayer game is a reasonable idea. It's no longer a strange obsession of a small subculture -- it's the biggest game in the country. So we don't have to cross that hurdle anymore, which wasn't true four years ago when we started working on Pirates of the Burning Sea. In our case, our concept is clearly something different and we really believe it will get people to take a look.
But I'd hate to be launching a fantasy MMO this year.
Fargo: Once you've got people playing the game, how do you keep them there? What keeps the game novel for people one month later? Three months later? One year later?
Tynes: It's a tired statement but you have to focus on the fun. I really believe you can either go for the big laundry list of scattershot features and hope you win points for variety or you can focus and do a few things really well. (Or you can spend sixty million dollars and do both, I guess!) We've worked hard to make ship combat both tactically interesting and easy to learn. The result is a fun, challenging game system that we're really excited about. Our swashbuckling system is also a blast. We found some veteran animators at LucasArts and Sony and asked them to make the pirate swordfight of their dreams, and they really delivered. With their visuals and our fast gameplay the result is delicious cinematic delight.
We feel confident that we're going to release something great on the fun front. Looking longer term, it's the RvR system that should really keep you playing. We've tried to make it similar to sports -- there are the equivalents of seasons and Superbowls, with prizes for the winning side and compensation for the underdogs. We think the ongoing battle between England, France, and Spain will drive a lot of gameplay and keep things lively.
Fargo: How do you balance out the need for the game to be accessible to casual players (read: Johnny Depp fans), yet complex enough to keep the hardcore players sailing away for weeks on end?
Tynes: We definitely aren't a casual MMO in the sense of Toontown or Pirates of the Caribbean Online, both of which are aimed at young or casual gamers. But it's not like there aren't Johnny Depp fans playing Counterstrike or Halo or World of Warcraft, for that matter -- everyone loves pirates! We think any gamer who wants to play a pirate MMO will have no problem with our game and if they stick with us, they'll find the gameplay deepens in significant ways as they level up.
Fargo: Judging from previews on both GameSpy and IGN, Pirates of the Burning Sea aims to have a robust economy with lots of niches for players to exploit. Can you talk about that, and what it offers above your typical online fare?
Tynes: We've got a fully player-driven economy. NPCs do not buy or sell anything. It's also what we call a 'production economy' rather than a 'crafting economy.' You aren't making a single cannonball. You're producing stuff by the ton, operating farms, mines, forges, shipyards, and other structures, and then stuffing your cargo ships full of goods and shipping them to the major auction houses for sale to other players.
The scale of the economy, in fact, is too big for one player to do everything. You can't start with a forest and end up with a ship. Players will find their specialties and niches within these enormous production chains, focusing on textiles or mining or building ship hulls or whatever. Because you have to move goods physically through the world, there can be players who literally just buy low and sell high, taking on the risk of cargo hauls through the pirate-infested Caribbean.
It's a very ambitious approach to economic gameplay, but it's true to the setting. This is the New World and everyone is here to get rich by buying and selling.
Of course, players who choose the Freetrader career will have advantages over others. They'll get access to skills that will help them navigate and move cargo around, as well as operate on a strategic scale.
Ports produce resources used by the economy. This means the RvR system of conquering ports is hugely important to the economy. When a port with a valuable resource is conquered by the enemy, merchant guilds will put pressure on navy guilds to take it back! And they'll pitch in themselves, smuggling goods to the conquered port to help generate unrest points there that will begin to shift the port's allegiance back to their side.
It's also a flat economy in terms of competition. Nothing in the economy requires that you be any higher than level 1. If you can raise the money and take the time, you can start producing meaningful stuff right away. There's no leveling up through making crappy daggers just to grind XP, and it means everyone can participate in the economy to whatever degree they're comfortable with. Even navy players who are focused on combat can still bring in a little extra cash by operating a rum distillery.
Fargo: Is Flying Lab still self-funded? What advice would you have for small companies trying to create a project as complicated as a massively multiplayer online game?
Tynes: Yep. We have financed this game 100% by ourselves. While we are talking with a variety of companies about retail box distribution, we don't need their money to ship the game we've been working towards for the last four years. That doesn't mean we'll be perfect or anything, but it does mean that we are wholly responsible for delivering on the vision that has driven us this far.
As regards advice, that's a tough one. If we were starting out now we would definitely be evaluating more MMO middleware to see how it is. It's a funny thing -- our graphics engine, Alchemy, is a solid engine for visuals but behind the scenes it has some architectural features that have turned out to be critically important in building a stable client-server architecture, something you'd never expect to get out of an engine built for console action games. But they had some great engineers developing the engine and it's paid off for us hugely. You can get a big benefit from good middleware and anyone starting out who wants to do everything themselves is probably going to waste a lot of valuable time.
MMOs are expensive to build and expensive to operate. Five guys can ship an Xbox Live Arcade title, but you need a lot more people to make a competitive MMO these days. I would advise starting with a smaller online game to build some expertise before jumping into a full-blown MMO.
Passion and vision are crucial. Yet they aren't enough. You need professional practices, skilled staff, and good leaders to inspire everyone. And, frankly, you need a lot of money.
Fargo: And finally... Will Pirates of the Burning Sea have monkeys?
Tynes: I think the ninjas killed them all.
Today's Geek Stuff:
- Can Madden Predict the Super Bowl? -GameSpy
- Amazon Opens Duke Nukem Forever Pre-Orders -IGN
- Japanese 360 Goes Budget -IGN
- Ghostbusters Game Back On? -IGN
- White Council Adjourns -IGN
- Red Faction, MX to Return -IGN
- Microsoft to Host Xbox Live Party in Europe -TeamXbox
- Sustained Surge of Xbox Live Traffic Observed -TeamXbox
- WizKids announces Halo ActionClix CMG -TeamXbox
- GREED: The Truth About Retail -Next Generation
- DICE Preview: Guitar Zero to Guitar Hero -Next Generation
- MI6 Head Leaves Organization -Next Generation
- SplitFish Continues to Push Sony's Buttons -GameDaily Biz
- Games for Windows Exec Defends Vista 'Growing Pains' -GameDaily Biz
Mod News:
- Steam - SteamBans Detox Anti-Cheat 1.0 Released - Planet Half-Life/li>
- Half-Life 2 - Kreedz Climbing Mod Back In Action - Planet Half-Life/li>
- Battlefield 2142 - First Strike Update - Planet Battlefield
- Battlefield 2 - Desert Conflict Update - Planet Battlefield
- Oblivion - 32 Added/Updated Oblivion Mods - Planet Elder Scrolls
- Cases: Antec P180B Casing - BurnoutPC
- Cases: SilverStone TJ09 Case - XYZ Computing
- Cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - GideonTech
- Cooling: Cooler Master Aquagate Viva Liquid Cooling System - Xbit Labs
- Cooling: Scythe Katana II - Pro-Clockers
- Cooling: Ultra ChillTec Thermal Electric CPU Cooler - Modders-Inc
- Cooling: Zalman 9700LED CPU Cooler - TechAge
- CPU: AMD AM2: NVIDIA vs ATI - Hexus
- Memory: G.Skill 2x1GB F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK DDR2 Memory Kit - Virtual-Hideout
- Mice: Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse - Hardware Pacers
- Power Supply: SilverStone Element 500W - Overclockers Online
- Video: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS SLI - NV News
- Video: Four GeForce 8800 GTS and GTX compared - Hartware.de
- Video: Foxconn 7950 GT OC 512MB - The Tech Lounge
Posted by at 9:55 AM PST
Edited on: February 05, 2007 11:57 AM PST
Edited on: February 05, 2007 11:57 AM PST
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08/22/2010 - 08/28/2010
08/08/2010 - 08/14/2010
08/01/2010 - 08/07/2010
07/25/2010 - 07/31/2010
07/18/2010 - 07/24/2010
07/11/2010 - 07/17/2010
07/04/2010 - 07/10/2010
06/27/2010 - 07/03/2010
06/20/2010 - 06/26/2010
06/13/2010 - 06/19/2010
06/06/2010 - 06/12/2010
05/30/2010 - 06/05/2010
05/23/2010 - 05/29/2010
05/16/2010 - 05/22/2010
05/09/2010 - 05/15/2010
05/02/2010 - 05/08/2010
04/25/2010 - 05/01/2010
04/18/2010 - 04/24/2010
04/11/2010 - 04/17/2010
04/04/2010 - 04/10/2010
03/21/2010 - 03/27/2010
03/14/2010 - 03/20/2010
03/07/2010 - 03/13/2010
02/28/2010 - 03/06/2010
02/21/2010 - 02/27/2010
02/14/2010 - 02/20/2010
02/07/2010 - 02/13/2010
01/31/2010 - 02/06/2010
01/24/2010 - 01/30/2010
01/10/2010 - 01/16/2010
01/03/2010 - 01/09/2010
12/27/2009 - 01/02/2010
12/20/2009 - 12/26/2009
12/13/2009 - 12/19/2009
12/06/2009 - 12/12/2009
11/22/2009 - 11/28/2009
11/15/2009 - 11/21/2009
11/08/2009 - 11/14/2009
11/01/2009 - 11/07/2009
10/25/2009 - 10/31/2009
10/18/2009 - 10/24/2009
10/11/2009 - 10/17/2009
10/04/2009 - 10/10/2009
09/27/2009 - 10/03/2009
09/20/2009 - 09/26/2009
09/13/2009 - 09/19/2009
09/06/2009 - 09/12/2009
08/30/2009 - 09/05/2009
08/16/2009 - 08/22/2009
08/09/2009 - 08/15/2009
07/26/2009 - 08/01/2009
07/19/2009 - 07/25/2009
07/12/2009 - 07/18/2009
07/05/2009 - 07/11/2009
06/28/2009 - 07/04/2009
06/21/2009 - 06/27/2009
06/14/2009 - 06/20/2009
06/07/2009 - 06/13/2009
05/31/2009 - 06/06/2009
05/24/2009 - 05/30/2009
05/17/2009 - 05/23/2009
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04/05/2009 - 04/11/2009
03/29/2009 - 04/04/2009
03/22/2009 - 03/28/2009
03/15/2009 - 03/21/2009
03/08/2009 - 03/14/2009
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02/22/2009 - 02/28/2009
02/15/2009 - 02/21/2009
02/08/2009 - 02/14/2009
02/01/2009 - 02/07/2009
01/25/2009 - 01/31/2009
01/18/2009 - 01/24/2009
01/11/2009 - 01/17/2009
01/04/2009 - 01/10/2009
12/28/2008 - 01/03/2009
12/21/2008 - 12/27/2008
12/14/2008 - 12/20/2008
12/07/2008 - 12/13/2008
11/30/2008 - 12/06/2008
11/23/2008 - 11/29/2008
11/16/2008 - 11/22/2008
11/09/2008 - 11/15/2008
11/02/2008 - 11/08/2008
10/26/2008 - 11/01/2008
10/19/2008 - 10/25/2008
10/05/2008 - 10/11/2008
09/28/2008 - 10/04/2008
09/14/2008 - 09/20/2008
09/07/2008 - 09/13/2008
08/10/2008 - 08/16/2008
08/03/2008 - 08/09/2008
07/27/2008 - 08/02/2008
07/06/2008 - 07/12/2008
06/29/2008 - 07/05/2008
06/22/2008 - 06/28/2008
06/15/2008 - 06/21/2008
06/08/2008 - 06/14/2008
05/25/2008 - 05/31/2008
05/11/2008 - 05/17/2008
05/04/2008 - 05/10/2008
04/20/2008 - 04/26/2008
04/06/2008 - 04/12/2008
03/16/2008 - 03/22/2008
03/09/2008 - 03/15/2008
02/24/2008 - 03/01/2008
02/03/2008 - 02/09/2008
01/06/2008 - 01/12/2008
12/30/2007 - 01/05/2008
10/28/2007 - 11/03/2007
10/21/2007 - 10/27/2007
10/14/2007 - 10/20/2007
09/30/2007 - 10/06/2007
09/23/2007 - 09/29/2007
09/16/2007 - 09/22/2007
09/09/2007 - 09/15/2007
09/02/2007 - 09/08/2007
08/26/2007 - 09/01/2007
08/19/2007 - 08/25/2007
08/12/2007 - 08/18/2007
08/05/2007 - 08/11/2007
07/29/2007 - 08/04/2007
07/22/2007 - 07/28/2007
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07/08/2007 - 07/14/2007
07/01/2007 - 07/07/2007
06/24/2007 - 06/30/2007
06/17/2007 - 06/23/2007
06/10/2007 - 06/16/2007
06/03/2007 - 06/09/2007
05/27/2007 - 06/02/2007
05/20/2007 - 05/26/2007
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03/25/2007 - 03/31/2007
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03/04/2007 - 03/10/2007
02/25/2007 - 03/03/2007
02/18/2007 - 02/24/2007
02/11/2007 - 02/17/2007
02/04/2007 - 02/10/2007
01/28/2007 - 02/03/2007
01/21/2007 - 01/27/2007
01/14/2007 - 01/20/2007
01/07/2007 - 01/13/2007
12/31/2006 - 01/06/2007


text:
Free Cooking Classes (Chisinau)
MOD has arrived in Chisanu. Mod is the only molecular gastronomy pop-up in Europe. We specialize in curating molecular gastronomy cuisine and unique culinary events. As a launch of our service in Moldova, we are interested in meeting and cooking with our new community. We will be offering beginner, intermediate, and advanced cooking classes ranging from souffles to sushi free of charge for the month of October.
MOD is looking to engage with the community and get people eating better. Our official events will focus solely on charitable goals. All of the money we make from our official events will be directly donated to various local charities to benefit the community.
If you are interested in a free cooking class, please send me a message through the Internations web service. We can provide classes either at one of our locations or in the comfort of your own home. The only expense to the customer is the cost of ingredients (which will be minimal).
MOD is looking forward to breaking bread with Chisanau.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Dolphins Study Guide Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Downloadable / Printable Version
The climax of a story is the major turning point that determines the
outcome of the plot. It is the point to which the rising action leads.
The arrival and quick departure of a ship followed several years later
by its return.
Also known as the resolution or denouement, this is the place in the
plot where the action is resolved or clarified. The outcome is Karanas
decision not to kill any more devilfish.
Karanas tribe lives on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. At times they are bothered by Aleuts who come to take otter from the island.
As the story begins, the Aleuts, with a Russian captain, return. They agree to pay the islanders for being allowed to take more otter. But, when it is time to leave, there is a disagreement and a fight. Many of the men on the island are killed. A ship comes to take the tribe to the mainland. At the last moment, as the ship is departing, Karana sees her brother, Ramo, still on shore, jumps into the water and swims for shore. Ramo is soon killed by wild dogs on the island. Karana tried to follow her tribe by using one of the canoes, but has to return to the island because the canoe leaks too badly.
Karana realizes that she will be on the island indefinitely and builds a permanent shelter. She injures the leader of the wild dogs, but does not kill him. Instead, she cares for him until he is healthy. They become friends. The Aleuts return. Karana and an Aleut girl from the ship become friends, but she leaves and Karana is lonelier than she was before the girl arrived. The island endures an earthquake and a tsunami. A rescue ship arrives, but immediately departs, without connecting with Karana, because of bad weather. Several years later the ship returns and rescues her.
Another story woven into the main story is the story of Karanas relationship with the dog, Rontu. Rontu came from an Aleut ship. He became the leader of the wild dogs on the island. He was their leader when they killed Ramo, Karanas brother. Karana injured him during a revenge attack on the pack, but did not proceed to kill him. Instead, she cared for him until he was healthy. They became friends. Once he got into a fight with his former pack. Karana wanted to help him, but felt that it would be better not to do so. Rontu lived many years and died of old age. Karana put him to rest in a carefully prepared grave. Later, she befriended another island dog who was obviously his son.
A third story that is woven into the main story, but that is of less importance, is the story of Karana and the devilfish. In their first encounter the devilfish (octopus) used a black liquid to hide himself and get away from Karana. Karana did not give up. She looked forward to the time when she would kill him. She tells us that Devilfish is the best food in the seas.
She was occupied with other concerns for a while, but eventually she and Rontu began to search for the devilfish every day. Then, they gave up temporarily. One day, when they were not searching for him, Rontu spotted the devilfish again. Karana tried to catch it, and after a long struggle, she succeeded in killing it. By this time her strength was gone. Her success did not make her happy. That was the last giant devilfish that she killed.
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text:
Duty ! ?
A Christian has duties, obligations, works.
Not for Salvation, but because of the Salvation brought forth by Grace, these things flow from him in unstoppable waves.
In the last few weeks I have been modifying some of the tracts that I have written. I have been advised that they are too strong, and it is not a good thing to look like someone on the street corner protesting.
So in submission, I have been putting aside what is either my feelings or pride, so I presume. I have prayed for humility and guidance to let things work out, whet must be worked out.
But as I drive my car, I see the so-called Christian radio and TV station stickers on cars. I read about the decisions of so-called Christian leaders making news on the Internet. I talk to people and hear how some peoples idea of Church is watching Joel Osteen on TV or the second largest Church is a Church on the Internet and they are making it more and more available to people to "not attend or fellowship" but to watch their broadcast and be their member.
But as I read and study Jesus in Matthew, our Savior is continually pointing out false and dead religion. More than He does of Murder or adultery or most other sins.
Am I doing right by "not offending" people with this in a tract?
I was told that it is OK to mention this if it comes up while talking to people.
But not to put it on a tract.
I was told it does not look right on a tract, and there is no need to try and get attention to the tract with a unique design.
But the outward appearance of tracts that many use are pretty landscapes. The inside message is biblical and solid, but they look just like most other "Jesus Loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" tracts.
And whole heartedly agree that I do not want a tract cover to shock for the sake of shock, but I want it as Spurgeon says, "a tract should be striking".
And in America, in our culture, which is so prideful and makes light of sin, even has one of its favorite destinations called "sin-city". In this land people need a wake up call, they need to read something and say, "is that really true"? Not read something and just go along with it whether it is true or not.
Do we NOT have a duty to express as truthfully and in as honest of a manner the truth of the false-dead religion in most of America masquerading as Christianity?


text:
NexGadget 400ml BPA Free Ultrasonic Wood Grain Aromatherapy Essential
Amazon Deal Of The Day: NexGadget 400ml BPA Free Ultrasonic Wood Grain Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser
Classic Design: Sleek tulip style with wood grain finish meets modern function in this beautiful,practical diffuser. Designed to be a perfect decorative piece that fits in with any decor. (45-Day Money Back and 18 months Warranty)
Timed Setting and Mist Control:4 timed setting options: 1 h/3 h/6 h or continuous mode. Press the Mist button for 2 seconds, one beep for strong mist with 8h working time, two for weak mist with 12h working time. Select a mode, relaxing and security environment with Waterless Auto Shut-Off Function
400ML Diffuser with Ultrasonic Technology:Convenient capacity (400ml reservoir), enables the unit to run for several hours without refilling. Adopted ultrasonic technology, the 400ml oil diffuser is extremely quiet when working, studying or sleeping.
7 Rotating Lights Change: white, green, purple, pink, blue, yellow and red. (The diffuser can run with no lights on) The color can be cycled through or set it to one fixed color. Each color has two light options: dim and brighter. With 7 changing LED lights, the diffuser can be used anytime, day or night,to suit any mood.
Aromatherapy by NEXGADGET
NexGadget 400ml BPA Free Ultrasonic Wood Grain Aromatherapy Essential
The linked site is not operated or owned by FreebieSelect!Freebies posted on FreebieSelect are not being sent by us. If for any reason a freebie become unavailable, you claimed them and did not receive them, you are denied, or any other complications arise, FreebieSelect is not responsible.


text:
We have been testing the new Milwaukee M12 Cordless Heated Jacket for over a month and have to admit that this jacket will keep the wearer warm. On the day the jacket arrived it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit – just the right temperature to test a heated jacket. Once the M12 RED LITHIUM battery was charged, inserted in the battery holder and the power button turned on, the jacket warmed up nicely and performed well in the frigid Nevada high country.
Compatible with the entire line of M12 professional power tools, the new heated jacket utilizes the innovative M12 Red Lithium battery technology to actively warm the body and stimulate blood circulation in even the coldest jobsite conditions. Hidden in a zippered back pocket, the battery delivers superior runtime, with up to six hours of continuous heat on a single battery charge.
Providing unparalleled warmth and comfort, the new M12 heated jacket utilizes three sewn-in carbon fiber heating zones, strategically placed in key areas, to warm the user's core. This durable heating element can be set to high, medium, or low with a simple touch of a button on the lapel – the button glows red, white or blue indicating the level of heat. The heated jacket is also water and wind resistant to help keep the heat inside and to provide comfort and durability in harsh environments.
Not only will the new M12 Milwaukee heated jacket keep you warm on the jobsite, it is stylish enough to wear off the job for outdoor Fall and Winter activities. The jacket sells for $119 – battery and charger sold separately. If you already own Milwaukee M12 compact cordless tools, you have a battery and charger that can be used by this jacket. Batteries sell for around $40 each. This jacket has a one year warranty.
Recently Duo-Fast introduced a lightweight pneumatic Tico Nailer, Model DF150S-TC. This tool is designed to fasten joist hangers, straps and anchors into wood with 1-1/2-inch Tico Nails. The compact design allows for easy maneuvering in the typically tight spaces where joist hangers are fastened. The rear loading magazine has a 23 nail capacity which also reduces the foot print of this nailer.
The new Duo-Fast Tico nailer features a Locator Probe which allows the worker to quickly locate any nail hole in the joist hanger and drive a fastener through that hole. This is easily three times faster than hand nailing thus increasing productivity and reducing labor costs.
The DF150S-TC is a very durable tool, built for the professional contractor to withstand jobsite abuse with less moving parts and a high quality aluminum housing. The tool was designed primarily for contractors focused on building single and multi-family homes and weighs just 6 pounds 5 ounces. Other features include a steel rafter hook, which can be positioned left or right, adjustable air exhaust, cushion grip and a four nail lockout to prevent dry firing.
Along with the DF150S-TC Tico Nailer, Duo-Fast has also introduced its own code approved 1-½ inch Tico nails. These nails are heat treated to reduce ricocheting and nail bending. The nails are collated with a heavy paper tape that won't bunch up even when wet.
Each nail is also head marked for easy identification, meaning they are ICC-ES recognized under s/b ESR-2126. This is important because it means a building inspector will know immediately that code approved nails have been used in the building construction.
Duo-Fast Tico nails come 23 to a strip, and due to extensive jobsite research with contractors and builders, Duo-Fast Construction decided to offer these nails in 1,000 count boxes instead of the industry standard of 3,000 or 4,000 nails per box.
"The number of Tico nails in a 2,000 square foot house outside of coastal areas range from about 400 to 1,000 nails," said Jacek Romanski, Marketing Manager for Duo-Fast Construction. "In this economy, contractors want to buy only what they need to build the house. So to help contractors lower out-of-pocket costs, we decided to offer our Tico nails in 1,000 count boxes."
The 1-1/2 inch Tico nails come in six varieties to cover every possible application and builder preference. They are available in .131 and .148 shank diameters, in brite, electro galvanized or mechanical galvanized.
Suggested retail price for the Duo-Fast DF150S-TC Tico Nailer is $369- and a box of 1,000 fasteners runs between $15 – $40 depending on diameter and finish type.
Speaking of nailers, Milwaukee recently introduced the industry's first cordless palm nailer – Model M12 2458-20. To be sure there are several palm nailers out there but they all require an air compressor and air hose to operate. This nailer can drive 6D to 16D nails quickly. It will drive a 16D 3-1/2 inch framing nail in about two seconds. Additionally, it will drive 100 of these framing nails on a single charge.
At only 3.4 pounds and 6.5 inches from palm to tip, the M12 Palm Nailer easily operates in tight spaces, providing a unique solution in places that are unreachable by a traditional nail gun or hammer. The palm nailer also features an industrial magnetic collet – as all palm nailers do – to securely hold a nail for one-handed use and all metal gear housing for jobsite durability.
In use the M12 Palm Nailer is strapped to the right hand of the user with a Velcro strap. A nail is inserted in the magnetic collet and pressed to the work piece. The nailer is activated by pressing a large button with your right thumb on the side of the housing and the fastener is driven home. Countersinking the nail head is also an easy task. The top of this palm nailer is insulated to reduce user fatigue and to presumably protect the user from electrical shock if contact should be made with a live circuit.
Other handy features of the M12 Palm Nailer include an LED work light which is very handy for nailing tasks in low light situations. There is also a 'fuel gauge' on the left side of the nailer which indicates the state of charge of the battery when you press the button with your trigger thumb.
The M12 Palm Nailer comes with one RedLithium battery, 30 minute charger and carrying case. Suggested retail is $129- with a five year warranty. RB
FREE subscription to Rural Builder Magazine
Whether you're involved in post-frame, metal frame, masonry, or any other type of town-and-country low-rise construction, respond today to this FREE subscription offer to Rural Builder and stay ahead of the industry curve!


text: DENVER (AP) -- A federal judge on Friday upheld Colorado's statewide smoking ban, rejecting arguments that it violates the constitutional rights of bar owners. The bar owners had sued to overturn the ban, arguing it unfairly applied to them while exempting casinos and airport smoking lounges. U.S. District Judge Lewis T. Babcock ruled they had not shown the exemptions were irrational or unfair. He rejected the plaintiffs' arguments that the ban unfairly made bar owners criminally liable for their patrons' actions, that its penalties were vague and that it infringed on their property rights.


text:
Be warned that during the period, August 17 through Labor Day, September 4, the McPherson Police Department will join 150 other local and state police agencies across the state in a crackdown aimed at removing drunk, drugged, and other dangerous drivers from the roadways. Titled, You Drink. You Drive. You Lose., the enforcement campaign is sponsored by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT).
Kansas averages three persons injured every day, and one person killed every three days, in crashes where at least one of the drivers involved is impaired by alcohol and/or another drug. According to KDOT, over the past eight years the yearly proportion of fatality crashes attributable to alcohol/drug impairment has fluctuated between 22% and 35%. The agency also reports that crashes involving impaired drivers are likely to be more severe than are other crashes. For example, drivers and passengers who are involved in such crashes are more than twice as likely to be non-fatally injured, four times as likely to suffer serious injury, and eight times more likely to die from their injuries, than if impairment is not a factor.
According to Lt Neufeld, this campaign is intended to remind drivers of several things:
If you're going to drink while away from home, do it responsibly by looking ahead and lining up a designated driver before leaving home. Don't make the mistake of waiting until it's time to go home to start asking around. Chances are, if you do that you'll wind up with someone who may just be "more sober" than yourself, but not sober enough.
Think of a family you know – maybe your own. Now, consider how it would be to wake up every day to the memory of your decision to drive after drinking – a decision which unintentionally brought injury or death to one of them. If you're driving impaired, you are not only more likely to crash, but you are much more likely to cause serious injury or death to yourself and others when you do crash.
Even if you appear to be driving well enough to get by, you may still be pulled over for another traffic offence. If this happens and the officer detects alcohol you will be tested. If you fail the testing process you're looking at a fine of $500-$2,500; up to one year in jail; the suspension of your driver's license; increased insurance premiums; and the purchase and installation of an ignition interlock device in your car. Imagine not being able to start your car without blowing into the interlock's alcohol sensor several times during an afternoon's errands. How do you explain to your boss why you cannot drive a company vehicle? Add in an attorney's fees and you can tie up $13,000 or more before all is said and done. Don't take the chance; it's not worth it.
We are asking all citizens on the roadways – drivers and passengers – to watch for suspicious driving behaviors. Note the location, a description of the suspect vehicle, along with its direction of travel, and call 911 as soon as it's safe to do so. You may save a life.
You can count on the Officers of the McPherson Police Department to vigorously enforce impaired driving and other traffic laws, not just during this campaign, but through the year.
Always remember that the best protection against a drunk driver (even when it's yourself) is the use of seat belts and appropriate child restraints – every trip, every time. Restraints save lives and reduce injury severity across a wide range of driving mistakes and mishaps.


text:
Taro plant
B740/0492 Rights Managed
530 pixels on longest edge, unwatermarked
Request/Download high-res file
Uncompressed file size: 28.5MB
Downloadable file size: 2.1MB
Please login to use the price calculator
Credit: KENNETH MURRAY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Release details: Model release not required. Property release not required.
Keywords: botany, colocasia, flora, leaf, leaves, nature, plant, plants, taro, taro plant, taro plants, tropical plant, tropical plants
Licence fees: A licence fee will be charged for any media (low or high resolution) used in your project.


text:
Electric Vehicles charging solutions
manufacturer since 1992
Accepts all charging configuration
Perfect for public parking lots and fleets
1-2 plugs wallbox
– Every plugs configuration available.
– wallbox or foot standing , adjusted to your needs.
Available power from 3 to 22 kW
Discover our latest installations of charging terminals


text:
As Liverpool continues to grow economically, property values are expected to increase. If you choose your HMO property carefully and maintain it well, returns should be favourable.
General elections can cause a property market slow-down. Buyers adopt a wait & see attitude; the market picks up again after the results are in. But is it the same when a snap election is called?
As an established property investment company; you'd think we've gone crazy to start a blog post talking about Pokemon and specifically, "Pokemon Go".
Buy to let student property investment has been one of the highest performing asset classes in the past 5 years, and no wonder, the no. of tenants has doubled in the past 15 years!
While property, especially buy-to-let, can be an incredibly solid investment, it's important to know exactly how your property portfolio is going to affect your tax burdens.
In a financial arena that is showing historically low interest rates and an increasingly volatile stock market, many investors are looking to property for a more secure return.
Your money should always be working for you. While saving is a great first step, prudent investment is crucial when it comes to growing your wealth.
Barbados is one of the most beautiful of the Caribbean islands, purchasing property in Barbados, for someone who doesn't live there, can be quite the process.
Another completed student investment by Fresh Invest. Providing 10%+ net rental yields for our very happy investor and development finance for the developer.
The Fresh Invest team recently took a visit up to the North West to discuss new high yielding property projects with our trusted developers.
Since we began working in the student property investment sector we have seen many developers and agents come and go.
Why purchasing our high yielding student investments is the educated choice to make.
A property developer came to us with just a piece of land and an idea, we turned that idea into a great investment!
student pod property investment has most definitely been the buzz word in property investment over the last year.
You will all know that we are an advocate of student property here at Fresh Invest.


text:
Rainbow Caterpillar Gear Toy
Turn the gears slowly and watch each interlocking segment move the next, or see how fast your child can make the caterpillar "crawl" on the wooden base. This rainbow-colored gear toy is hands-on fun at any speed! With their bulky, notched shape, the colorful gears are easy for children to fit onto the color-coordinated pegs . . . then rotate, remove and rearrange. Toddlers will be fascinated by the colors and movement of this charming toy. Recommended for ages 18 months and up.
Size: 2" x 14.5" x 4.5"
Code: 24380
Member price: $8.99


text:
Forget conservative fantasies of food stamp beneficiaries living high on the public dole and feasting on king crab legs—life on food stamps is anything but luxurious.
The average daily food stamp benefit is $4.44, which as you might imagine is almost unworkable. It's very difficult for beneficiaries not to go over that amount each day, and data collected by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that 90 percent of benefits are redeemed by the twenty-first day of each month. So the last week of the month is particularly rough for people who rely on food stamps:
That's worth reflecting on during this Thanksgiving week—a holiday known almost exclusively for its food, and one that always falls during the last week of the month. Having anything resembling a proper Thanksgiving meal on $4.44 per person is already basically impossible, and most beneficiaries are over-budget by this point anyhow.
Remember, too, that on November 1 food stamp benefits were reduced thanks to indifference by both Democrats and Republicans towards the already paltry benefit amount. So this Thanksgiving is even tougher than years' past, and the upcoming winter months will be as well. Nonprofits that serve the hungry are buckling under increased demand.
And a quick look at local news stories around the country shows it:
From Newton, Massachusetts:
The season of feasting has begun. But even as some pore through cookbooks in search of the perfect stuffing, nearly one in eight residents of Massachusetts worry that the food in the cupboard won't last until the end of the month.
The problem is growing and it's not just in the poorest urban neighborhoods. Hunger exists in every community, including Newton. According to Tracie Longman, the Newton Food Pantry regularly serves over 450 households in Newton, providing food to over 600 people a month. That represents an increase of approximately 25 percent over two years ago.
Local pantries and soup kitchens throughout New York were stretched thin even before a cut in federal food stamp benefits took effect Friday. Now, their managers don't know how they'll meet the increased demand.


text:
Let's go boys, let's go.
Game could be over any minute.
Who is that at bat? Tapping his feet like Varitek...a lefty batter. But looking big and dark and heavy...stepping into the box with one hand to his helmet like Papi...
Close up. Alex Cora? Who?
Daniel Cabrera working methodically, ruthlessly, in the driving downpour. The stands have emptied out good and proper, no one but a few foreward-thinking die-hards under umbrellas and a few just-plain-crazy fans frolicking in the rain. Once the rain started, weather reports warned, it would last the night, into tomorrow. Five inches predicted for the evening, the same rain, perhaps, that ruined yesterday's morning commute in Boston. This ain't no passing shower. Let's go, boys. Let's go. No time.
Alex Cora, whoever he is, strikes out.
Bill Mueller is up, clean-shaven face glistening in the wet. I'm getting used to his new look. Grudgingly. And if there's anything sexier than Bill Mueller, it's Bill Mueller in the rain.
Mueller's pinned under two strikes with astonishing quickness. He makes a bid, fouling off two pitches, before going down swinging at a sweeping curve, shaking his head on his way back to the dugout.
Now Papi.
Let's go, Papi. Tie it up. Game's not going to go nine innings the way it looks. This could be it. They get up again and it's official.
Papi takes a ball. One of the first Cabrera has thrown all inning.
Papi takes ball 2. Ball 3. Drenched.
And indeed there will be time
To wonder, "Do I dare?" and, "Do I dare?"
Do I dare, with two outs, to wonder if this is the start of something?
"Probably a green light for Ortiz on a 3-0 count."
"Ortiz will take, instead, and take a strike."
On 3-1 Ortiz just catches Cabrera's next pitch on the end of the bat, golfing it into shallow left center, where the outfielder gets a bad break and misses, the ball one-hopping over his outstretched forearm.
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair—
Trot Nixon, sloppy, shirt unbuttoned, chest warm and solid in a red shirt underneath, swinging, swinging, swinging, digging his right foot into the dirt, hand to hat, swinging. Taking his stance like a kung fu master.
Let's go, Red Sox. Let's go, Red Sox. Sodden claps from the stands. Let's go, Red Sox.
Again, Cabrera is wild.
Ball. Ball.
Cabrera snuffs water from his upper lip, swipes a forearm across his brow. Trot, with his karate stance, swipes at the bill of his batting helmet with one wrist.
3 and 0 count remember the World Series remember?
Trot gets all of it, you can just hear Jerry Trupiano on WEEI hollering SWING and a drive! Way back! Way--
But it's off the scoreboard, dimpling the canvas face of an advertisement and clunking back to the turf, close but no cigar. Trot, panting, pulls into second base.
[They will say: "How his hair is growing thin!"]
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
Millar. Oh, no.
Ball. Ball.
Please. Please.
The ball is flying willy-nilly out of Cabrera's hand now. He's floundering in the mud. Maybe they'll walk Millar to load the bases and get to...who? Whoever, please, Millar, just don't make an out, just don't make an out, please...
"Now it's the mound's fault.
Cabrera signaling to the grounds crew to bring out a drying agent."
A man runs out with a sack ful of something, rips it open at Cabrera's feet, while another runs out brandishing a rake. The two apply some potion to the mound, staining it a lighter rusty red, delivering same to the plate where Millar will surely give himself fits, particular as he seems to be about sweeping out his batter's box with his feet. He'll have to start all over now.
Cabrera, regrouped, guns a whistling strike right by Millar.
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin—
[They will say: "But how his arms and legs are thin!"]
What if...?
Millar fouls off the next pitch. Two strikes! Two strikes already! It's enough to make me clutch my head.
Two outs. Two strikes. Two outs. Two strikes. My eyes dart back and forth.
The next pitch is a blooper, a mulligan, a malformed miscreant that should have been drowned at birth (probably was), and I am overjoyed. Millar jogs to first.
The inning has been one of such relentless squeezing pressure that when John Olerud comes to bat, Millar having thankfully been bypassed, you feel the subtle balance has been tipped.
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
Ball. Ball.
Lean forward in the seat, squinting into the televised raindrops, hanging on the next pitch.
Then like a punchline, a snap throw to second and an umpire pumping his fist over the broken figure of Trot Nixon, already slumping in defeat, one foot too late back on the bag.
"A tremendous mistake for Trot Nixon!"
The camera focuses on the anguished Nixon, raindrops sliding off his eyelashes as he blinks in sullen, sodden agony, mud up and down his left leg, still laying where he slid.
Silence on the airwaves.
Someone comes, out of the camera's range, holds out a hand to Nixon.
He looks up, squinting in the downpour, his face inscrutable. Finally, he hands up his batting helmet, caked in pine tar. The rain pounds down. Nixon looks back up again, that same enigmatic expression. And you feel it. The game may end now, or after the next half inning. Who knows where things are going now. No matter how long things continue, some ship--you can feel it--has sailed.
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
~ *T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock


text:
February 13, 2017
Paul E. Sax, M.D., is director of the HIV Program and Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
The people researching cardiovascular disease in HIV have quite the challenge.
Because when you think about it for a second, we HIV treaters are a pretty spoiled bunch when it comes to therapeutic success.
We saw the transformation of a terrifying, incurable, and rapidly progressive disease (AIDS) into something that can be managed for decades -- usually with just a pill or two each day.
Or, if you prefer a quantitative description, here's the slide Tony Fauci uses when he cites my friend Rochelle Walensky's 2006 landmark paper in his talks:
Remember, these impressive numbers were estimated before we had the great advances in antiretroviral therapy in the late 2000s. The benefits are undoubtedly even greater over the last decade, since virtually everyone who takes HIV medications regularly now is virologically suppressed.
Pretty much any medical intervention for a non-HIV problem might seem a bit ho-hum compared to the miracle of antiretroviral therapy, meaning the people researching non-HIV related problems have their work cut out for them to get our attention. This is despite the fact that these non-HIV problems (especially the problems of aging) are more important than ever.
So when Steve Grinspoon contacted me recently about mentioning the REPRIEVE study on this site in honor of "Heart Month", I readily agreed. Steve is leading this large NIH-funded trial, which asks this important question:
If people with HIV are intrinsically greater risk of heart disease, would they benefit from taking a statin drug even if we would not ordinarily prescribe it based on standard risk assessments?
REPRIEVE is actively enrolling at clinics and hospitals around the world, including at our site here in Boston.
As demonstrated in multiple studies (and reviewed here), people with HIV do appear to be at higher risk for heart disease even when their virus is well controlled with ART. "Lifestyle" issues (especially smoking), current and past immunosuppression, duration of uncontrolled viral replication, cardiotoxic drugs, and immune activation and inflammation all likely play a role. Related to the issue of inflammation, Steve's research group just published a paper demonstrating that abnormal arterial inflammation -- a risk factor for coronary disease -- continues despite effective ART, at least in the short term.
So why not just recommend a statin for all people with HIV above a certain age? While it's theoretically possible that statins will improve this abnormal inflammatory state, we don't know that statins will provide a clinical benefit. And perhaps not all people with HIV are at higher CV risk -- the most recent look at MI incidence in the Kaiser HIV cohort did not find an excess risk in a group of very healthy (high CD4, modern ART regimens, low rates of smoking) HIV patients compared to HIV negative controls.
Which brings us back to REPRIEVE -- statins might be beneficial, they might not, and there's enough equipoise that it's appropriate to conduct a real randomized trial.
Eligible patients must have stable HIV, be older than 40, and not have a high risk for heart attacks or stroke (otherwise they should be on a statin). If you want to check, you can enter patient information into the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association heart risk calculator. Those with a 10-year risk of heart disease or stroke < 15% may be eligible, depending on LDL cholesterol levels.
Participants are then randomized to pitavastatin (chosen because it doesn't interact with any HIV drugs) or placebo. The primary endpoint is time to atherosclerosis-related clinical event.
I think it's an excellent study, not just because I've known Steve for ages and he's been a leading figure researching metabolic complications of HIV disease longer than just about anyone. A clinical trial that evaluates a critical non-HIV related complication makes abundant sense in a population where infectious complications are increasingly rare. The results will have great importance to patients, in particular the increasing proportion over the age of 50 (which now exceeds 50% in many urban areas).
Plus, if I mention REPRIEVE here, maybe I'll get him to read this blog -- which he obviously had never done before he called me. "I've been really busy," he said.
Too busy to read Fun With Old Medical Images? To weigh in on whether ID doctors are the worst dressed specialists? To talk about doctors named Morgan? Or if we should wear white coats?
"Really busy"? -- not sure I'm buying that excuse!
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text: How do you build high performing teams? How do you build trust? How can you become corporate athletes? This episode is about teams and what it takes to build them and lead them in today's business world. This isn't about authority, it is about influence. This is about the Law of Solid Ground. And understanding that trust is something you have to earn as a leader. And knowing when to train, perform, celebrate and rest to be a corporate athlete. And that it is a marathon not a sprint. I will chat about all of these concepts in this weeks' episode and share some of my experiences. What I have le


text:
Microsoft Office, Windows Server and Lync exploits linked to Operation Hangover hackers
Arx Group discovered using exploit to spread Citadel Trojan
Security experts have linked recent targeted attacks hitting Microsoft's Office, Lync and Windows Server services to two groups of hackers.
FireEye researchers have linked the attacks to the group behind the notorious Operation Hangover attacks and a new criminal cyber-cartel codenamed Arx.
"A zero-day vulnerability was recently discovered that exploits a Microsoft graphics component using malicious Word documents as the initial infection vector. Our analysis has revealed a connection between these attacks and those previously documented in Operation Hangover," FireEye disclosed in a post on its blog.
"However, we have found that another group also has access to this exploit and is using it to deliver the Citadel Trojan malware. This group, which we call the Arx group, may have had access to the exploit before the Hangover group did."
The attacks were revealed by Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing (TwC) division on Wednesday. Microsoft has since released a temporary fix for the vulnerabilities while it works on a more permanent solution.
The FireEye researchers said the two groups had very different motives and goals when targeting the exploits. The use of the exploits by the Hangover hackers is believed to be a simple extension of the group's previous information-stealing activities.
"Information obtained from a command-and-control server (CnC) used in recent attacks leveraging this zero-day exploit revealed that the Hangover group, believed to operate from India, has compromised 78 computers, 47 percent of those in Pakistan," FireEye said.
"It appears that when the target systems successfully checked in to the CnC server, the server could push down an executable file to be executed on the targeted system. The result of that action was recorded in Result.txt.
"We obtained a number of these second-stage executables listed in the Result.txt output from a Hangover-linked CnC server. These executables included a variety of tools including a reverse-shell backdoor, a keylogger, a screenshot grabber and a document exfiltration tool."
Operation Hangover was uncovered in May, when security researchers spotted a number of data-stealing attacks targeting the Apple Mac OS X operating system. The campaign targeted numerous big-name companies including Norwegian telecommunications provider Telenor.
The Arx Group by contrast was listed as having more basic criminal goals. "Malware linked to the Arx group is usually sent out in [fake] 'Swift Payment' emails. These emails are common in spam campaigns and typically drop banking Trojans and other crimeware," read the FireEye post.
FireEye's findings have been supported by other security providers. Competitor Symantec reported uncovering similar evidence linking the attacks to the Hangover group in a blog post. "After analysing the payloads being used in this attack, we have identified that the targeted emails are part of an attack campaign known as Operation Hangover," read the post.
Targeted attacks have been a growing problem facing the security community, which has led many government agencies and security providers to call for increased attack data-sharing between businesses.
Symantec pledged to create a new centralised information-sharing big data hub to help customers spot and pre-empt custom-built malware used in targeted attacks at the RSA Conference held in Amsterdam in October.
V3 Latest
PUBG news and updates: Hallowe'en themed event revealed as PUBG unveils HUBG
Evil clowns, scary nurses and sharp machetes teased in autumn PUBG Hallowe'en event
Researchers build human brain-mimicking 'reservoir computing' device
Reservoir computing can achieve the higher-dimension calculations required by emerging AI
Astronomers link gravitational wave sources from first-ever sighting of merger of two neutron stars
Astronomers studying first-ever reported merger of two neutron stars claim to have detect light and gravitational waves
Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, dies aged just 65
Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma


text:
About this course
As an IT decision maker/manager, you are responsible for delivering the corporate IT strategy and so are keen to know more about the opportunities the new 'mobile' paradigm presents. Blackberry opened the door to the always-on, ever-reachable business world. Companies such as Apple and Google have stolen the march, creating enterprise-grade devices capable of connecting to corporate IT infrastructure. Add to this Mircrosoft's ambitious hybridization of the personal computing market with the Windows 8 eco-structure, and the argument for engaging in touch, tablet and mobile for business is compelling.
So, what are the different ways of applying mobile in your business? What are the benefits? And how can you skill-up your IT team to be able to support mobile development?
Target Audience:


text:
For Developers
Conversations come to life on Messenger.
Reach people instantly.
You'll see when your message is delivered to your friend's phone, plus when they've seen it. This way, you can be sure your messages are going through like they're supposed to.
Say it better with stickers & more.
Send delightful, silly, cute, weird and expressive stickers, emojis, and GIFs to say just about anything.
Say more with photos and videos.
With a built-in camera, Messenger lets you snap and shoot moments as they happen. You can even add drawings or text to personalize your photos. Send them to your friend, a group of friends or post to your Messenger Story.
Start group chats with your favorite people.
Keep in touch with the important groups of people in your life, like your family and best friends. You can name your group chat and add a photo so everyone can get back to it easily.
Connect across the world with voice and video calls for free.
Spend time with friends and family no matter where they are, using your mobile device or desktop computer. Whether you're catching up, or planning your next get-together, connecting is now even more fun with filters, masks, effects, and more.
Calls are free, but you'll get charged for data when you aren't on Wi-Fi.
Say, sing or shout your messages.
Sometimes you just don't have the time to type it all out. When you're on the go or have a lot more to say, record a voice message instead.
Play games with your friends.
Games make it fun to stay connected with friends. Challenge others to beat your high score, play in real time as you video chat, and discover your next gaming obsession.
Sending money is fast, secure & free.
Don't have cash on you and need to pay a friend back? It's free to send and receive money right from your conversation in the US, UK and France. Just add your debit card or your PayPal* account to get started.
*PayPal available in the US only.
Send a map of any location.
Suggest a meeting spot, instantly update friends on where you are and so much more with just a few taps.
Discover brands and businesses.
It's easy to connect with your favorite brands and businesses all in one place. Subscribe to news updates, book your next vacation, get the latest deals and more.
© Facebook 2018.
The Apple, Google Play, and Windows logos are trademarks of their respective owners.
The Google Play logo is a trademark of its owner.
The Apple logo is a trademark of its owner.
The Windows logo is a trademark of its owner.
View our
Data Policy


text:
I am Dr. Larry Olson. I have been married to Bonnie for 37 years. We have raised two children (our daughter is a school teacher & affiliate faculty at OCU, and our son is a Pastor) and we now have four grandchildren who absolutely are the delight of our lives. I love to watch the NFL and College football. I am an avid outdoorsman, enjoying hiking, hunting and fishing.
I graduated from Ohio Christian University in 1987, with a BA in Christian Ministries, ordained to the ministry in 1988 with the Evangelical Church of North America (ministerial credentials are now with The Churches of Christ in Christian Union), earned a Master of Pastoral Counseling degree from Olivet Nazarene University in 1990, and completed my PhD in General Psychology in May 2008, at Capella University. My dissertation study was entitled "An Investigation of Factors That Influence Academic Achievement in Christian Higher Education: Emotional Intelligence, Self-Esteem and Spiritual Well Being." Sounds really exciting, doesn't it?
Starting in July of 2009, I am the Chairman of the Psychology Department at Ohio Christian University as well as the Director of Graduate Studies. In the previous 19 years, I held the position of Vice President for Student Development at OCU. I have taught many traditional and adult courses at OCU and have written a number of course curricula for the AIM program
B.A. Ohio Christian UniversityM.P.C. Olivet Nazarene UniversityPh.D. Capella University


text:
Now available ... Tomorrow's Child CD
Now available here and from iTunes and Amazon is my latest release, "Tomorrow's Child." Produced by Darrell Scott and featuring a number of Nashville luminaries, from Shawn Colvin to Jerry Douglas, John Cowan, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and others! I'm very pleased to present this studio album that feels like a live recording with a living room feel. Enjoy!
See Jonathan's recent performance from "Live at the Paste Studio."
Tune in THIS Friday, March 4th to hear Jonathan's episode of NPR's Mountain Stage Radio Show.
I'm so grateful and happy that this album of love and shared experiences that Darrell Scott and I put together got recognized for being in the TopTen albums played by folk DJ's for the whole year! Huge thanks to all of you for your appreciation, belief and support. And thanks to ALL @ Team JE!
Listen to Jonathan's interview on Love Maine Radio with Dr. Lisa Belisle.


text:
CHM Encoder 2.2
CHM Encoder Details
GridinSoftDeveloper :
2.2Version :
Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP Platform :
2.7 MbFile Size :
Freeware License :
April 10, 2014 Date Added :
CHM Encoder screenshotScreenshot :
Rating :
CHM Encoder ReviewCHM Encoder may decompile your CHM file (Compiled Windows HTML Help) or e-book and extract all source files. This tool free for use and work easily and quickly. This tool free for use and work easily and quickly. Want you convert CHM to HTML and view that in your PocketPC or in your web pages? CHM Encoder can help to you.
The program supports command line. Using batch mode, you can convert several documents simultaneously.
Write your review
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text:
Over deze norm
|Aantal pagina's
|Intra-oculaire lenzen en contactlenzen
|Gepubliceerd op
The purpose of this Technical Report is to explain the changes relating to power measurements in the revised editions of ISO 8980-1 [6] and ISO 8980-2 [7]. In order to illustrate the issues raised, an inter-laboratory power measurement study was conducted on ten different lenses measured by nine organizations worldwide. Twenty-five focimeters of different types were used. The test lenses were spherically powered allyl diglycol carbonate (ADC)1) hard resin lenses surfaced to -4,00 D, -2,00 D, 0,00 D, +2,00 D, and +4,00 D, each with an addition power of 2,50 D. Five were D28 bifocals and five were progressive power lenses. The measurements were front distance power, front near power, back distance power and back near power, for each lens and for each focimeter used. Each lens was measured nine times: five measurements taken without repositioning the lens and four measurements taken with the lens repositioned each time. The assessed parameters were divided into three categories: discrepancies due to focimeter design and measurement methods; systematic errors; random errors. For each parameter, experimental results are given, as well as theoretical ones when needed. Measurement data include front distance portion power, front near portion power, back distance portion power and back near portion power.
|Nederlandse titel
|Oogheelkundige optica - Geslepen brillenglazen - Parameters die lenssterkte beïnvloeden
|Engelse titel
|Ophthalmic optics - Spectacle lenses - Parameters affecting lens power measurement


text:
October 16. 2013 10:14PM
17-year-old charged in Manchester playground fire
By TIM BUCKLAND
New Hampshire Union Leader
Terahja Williams
MANCHESTER — A 17-year-old local girl was arrested on charges she set a playground on fire Wednesday evening and may be questioned regarding a fire the previous night at the same playground, police said.
Terahja Williams, 17, is charged with one count of arson "for now," Sgt. Tim Patterson said.
She is accused of causing $5,000 worth of damage at the Hunts Pool playground at the Central Little League field at 380 Lincoln St. shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday. Patterson said it appears that Williams acted alone.
The playground cannot be used until repairs are made, the Fire Department said in a release.
Wednesday's fire was the second time in as many nights that the playground was set ablaze. Police and firefighters went to the playground about 7:20 Tuesday night for a fire that had engulfed a large plastic tunnel slide. That fire was also considered suspicious, police said, and witnesses reported seeing several juveniles in the area just before Tuesday night's fire.
Patterson stopped short of saying Williams was a suspect in Tuesday's fire.
"I would say it's under investigation," he said.


text:
Happy New Year!
First of all I want to wish you all a Happy New year 2014! I want to share a SMS that I received from an international company that said:
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014 | Good Bye 2013 Don't Think About Yesterday, Think About Tomorrow Because Tomorrow Is A Chance To Correct The Mistake Of Yesterday. I totally agree and wish you the same.
New eBook
There is since today a new eBook available on the WIKI. This eBook is called "TechNet Turkish WikiNinjas guide to Microsoft Infrastructure Management" and you can download it on the TechNet Gallery Link: http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/TechNet-Turkish-Ninjas-74233aa9
This eBook has been written by the TechNet Avengers Team members to evangelize the WIKI. You will find more than 865 pages off useful information that will guide you to optimize your Microsoft Infrastructure!
A great thanks to Ed Price and Bruno Lewin who assisted me on the WikiNinjas Ebook Project! The TAT members are:
- Gokan Ozcifci - MVP (05/11/2013)
- Mehmet Parlakyigit-MTTC (05/11/2013)
- Baris Aydogmusoglu (05/11/2013)
- Asil Mutlu (05/11/2013)
- Yavuz Tasci (05/11/2013)
- Nihat Altinmakas (05/11/2013)
- Davut Eren (05/11/2013)
- Ugur Demir (22/11/2013)
- Elguc Yusifbeyli (29/11/2013)
- Hasan Dimdik (12/12/2013)
- Recep Yüksel (12/12/2013)
You will find articles from SCVMM to SharePoint, from Active Directory to Exchange server! I hope you all will enjoy this new WIKI NINJAS EBOOK!
Note also that you can find all the WikiNinjas eBook's here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/22016.technet-wiki-white-papers.aspx
WikiNinjas TV
You all know that I joined the TechNet Wiki Community Council, focusing on Community Evangelism (through TechNet Wiki White Papers and TechNet Wiki TV)
I couldn't finish the project at time, because I never thought that eBooks could take so much time. As you can imagine I'm the driver of this project and I have to work with other teams even if they aren't using SharePoint Server. At the end of this month, there will be a new eBook named "TechNet Wiki Ninjas guide to BizTalk" My co-pilot here is Steef-Jan (Microsoft Integration MVP)!
I need your assistance for the WikiNinjas TV Project:
So what about WikiNinjas TV. I wrote in a few lines about my thinking of this project.
- Each first Monday of the month I will ask a contributor 2 questions
- Do you want to publish few technical videos on the WIKI? Or Can I interview you (non technical)?
- Each end of the month (the day should I decide with Ed Price) A new blog post should be written about the technical videos or interview.
- Contributors will be chosen depending on their points on the weekly leadership board!
- Contributors are free to send Ed Price or me an email to ask to participate to the WikiNinjas TV
- Contributors do not have to speak English, all other languages are welcome.
- Contributors do not have to be technical experts! Even videos about Desktop Support are welcome.
That's all for me; but I need your assistance to finalize the WikiNinjas TV! If you have any remark or a point that could be useful for the project; please leave a comment!
- Ninja Gokan ( SharePoint MVP )


text: I'm looking to create a group for photographers around the world interested in exchanging likes, comments, shoutouts, etc. I'm a street/urban photographer with 11k+ followers and I've met a lot of great photographers from all around. Collaborating with these photographers has definitely contributed to reach a lot of people with my vision. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to start a KIK group to connect any photographers on BHW to bounce ideas off each other in this specific niche and help each other grow. If you own a photography hub and would be interested in featuring the work of group members, that'd be awesome too! Eventually, I'd like to set up FL/MP for automated likes/comments for group members. Requirements: 1) Be a photographer posting original content or own a photography hub. 2) Have at least 10k followers. 3) Have good engagement (minimum 3-5% would be good) Either PM or comment in this thread with your Kik name and your account reach.


text: SEO speicalist that is very good with SE nuke, Xrumer and other similar programs and can deliver results. You get first available SEnuke and show what you can do. If you deliver you'll get very generous commission each month. Permanent arrangement is prefered for this business relationship. PM me please


text:
Please support our sponsors by clicking the Ad Links and paying them a visit.
I need to get a pot puller! I've dropped my 2 pots, each weighted with 4# of lead, plus 4# of lead on the line to 600' and have pulled them twice by hand.
Don't forget to have a knife sheathed to leg at calf. Just in case the line between buoy and lobster/crab trap becomes in contact and wound up with you appendage. Just another safety feature for off shore trappin.Good luck with trap puller apparatus.
Tough, vinyl coated gear to catch Shrimp, Crabs, and CrayfishProtoco.com
Sign cutting, & carving. CNC milling.


text:
Do you know what Navigation.iwatchavi.com is?
Navigation.iwatchavi.com is a potentially risky search engine that may show up in your browser upon launch. If you have noticed it in your browsers, it is possible that you have been attacked by a browser hijacker. This is the most likely way that it ends up on your system unless you install it yourself knowingly; but we highly doubt that it is possible in this case since this tool is not available for download from any official source. Unfortunately, its presence is a clear indication that there may be other malware infections present as well. Therefore, it is possible that you will find annoying third-party ads and other browser changes while you are surfing the net. These infections may put your computer's health at risk as well as expose your stored data and personal information to cyber criminals. According to our researchers, you should remove Navigation.iwatchavi.com immediately if you want to save yourself the unnecessary security-related issues that may come if you leave this browser hijacker on your system.
As a matter of fact, this browser hijacker is rather suspicious. Right now it does not even seem to be functioning, and this is also true for its official website, iwatchavi.com. This can happen when an infection is just starting up or when it is just a test to prepare for a bigger hit next time probably under a different name. But still our research shows that it is getting popular and more and more users claim that they have been infected with it. The only way it is possible if Navigation.iwatchavi.com is spreading via free software bundles. This is a rather questionable method and when a tool enters your computer in such a package, you should be very careful since it may contain a number of adware applications, browser hijackers, Trojans, and potentially unwanted programs among others.Navigation.iwatchavi.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
You may not be aware but it is possible to download such malicious bundles when you visit shady P2P websites, such as torrent and shareware sites. You may have noticed that these pages are especially swarming with annoying, flashy third-party advertisements. Some of these do not even look like ads but rather like a button or a system error message. Obviously, these ads have a reason to pretend to be something else. They want to attract your attention and they need your click to promote infections or useless third-party free tools. However, it is also possible that you are presented with such advertisement by an adware application that is on your computer. In any case, you should stay away from third-party ads and never click on them. But, if this browser hijacker found a way to your system, it is advisable to scan your PC with a reliable online malware scanner right after you delete Navigation.iwatchavi.com.
Our researchers have found that this hijacker uses the very same technique as Yeabests.cc, even though they have not really been able to find any connection between the two browser hijackers yet. These infections use Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) in order to modify the Target lines of your browser shortcuts. From the script used by this hijacker it becomes clear that it can attack a dozen of the most popular web browsers. Changing the Target lines serves one purpose: You cannot reset your browsers to undo the home page setting changes. Since this WMI technique is used, it seems that you cannot restore your Target line even manually unless you delete the particular subscriptions from the WMI database. This obviously makes it more complicated to remove Navigation.iwatchavi.com.
As a browser hijacker, this program sets itself as the home page in a number of browsers and offers you a web search tool. However, using this tool could end badly for you. It is likely that this hijacker displays modified search results that may redirect you to malicious websites. Visiting pages that are operated by cyber criminals never ends well for unsuspecting computer users. If you do not realize that you are on a fake website, you may easily disclose your bank account information, for instance. But it is also possible to get infected with more dangerous malware threats. All in all, we recommend that you remove Navigation.iwatchavi.com ASAP.
The only good news we have for you is that we do have a solution for you to eliminate this ugly malware infection. Please use our guide below to clear this mess up. It is possible that you need to run the Command Prompt in with Administrator privileges to make the commands work. If you do not want to go into battle with malware infections again, you should think about protecting your PC with an automated tool. If you download and install a professional malware removal application and keep it always updated, you should have the best protection you can think of.
How to remove Navigation.iwatchavi.com from Windows
Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10
- Tap Win+Q and type in command prompt.
- Right-click the appearing Command Prompt link and choose Run as administrator.
- Type in the following commands at the prompt and hit Enter key after the lines:
wmic/namespace:\\root\subscription PATH__EventConsumer delete
wmic/namespace:\\root\subscription PATH__EventFilter delete
- Close the Command Prompt.
Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7
- Open the Start menu and choose All Programs.
- Select Accessories.
- Right-click Command Prompt, and then choose Run as administrator.
- Type in the following commands at the prompt and hit Enter key after the lines:
wmic/namespace:\\root\subscription PATH__EventConsumer delete
wmic/namespace:\\root\subscription PATH__EventFilter delete
- Close the Command Prompt.
How to restore the Target lines
- Right-click on your browser shortcut on your desktop.
- Choose Properties and click on the General Tab.
- Check if the Read-only box is unchecked.
- Click on the Shortcut tab.
- Remove the extra string in the Target line after the quotes. Press OK.
- Right-click on the shortcut on your Taskbar to display the menu.
- Right-click on the browser name option at the bottom.
- Repeat steps 2 to 5 to restore the Target line.
In non-techie terms:
Navigation.iwatchavi.com is unlike most browser hijackers out there on the web today. It uses a special technique to overwrite the Target lines of your browsers and it may affect a dozen of different browsers, including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Opera. The problem with the Target line change is that every time you launch your browsers, this unreliable search engine comes up even if you reset your browsers. Because of this special WMI technique you cannot make permanent restoration of the Target lines either since your modifications will be undone again and again. This browser hijacker may not be active at the moment, but if it functions, it may introduce you to potentially unsafe third-party content. Due to the harm it may cause to your virtual security, we suggest that you remove Navigation.iwatchavi.com and all other malware infections you can find on your PC. If you are looking for an effective method, we advise you to install a reputable anti-malware application.


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