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SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - Eight teams from the Coastal Empire and Low Country remain in the state title hunt. Those teams will try to take another step in their playoff runs this Friday.
Here are the games for area teams:
Class AAA:
Cedar Grove at Benedictine
Monroe Area at Pierce County
Jenkins at Calhoun
Class A-Private:
Fellowship Christian at Savannah Christian
Calvary Day at Athens Academy
Class 3A:
May River at Dillon
Wade Hampton at Hanahan
Class AA:
Memorial Day at Gatewood
Copyright 2018 WTOC. All rights reserved.


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12 Reasons You're Not Traveling Right Now and How to Break Free
Everybody loves traveling and if you don't, I wonder why you're reading TravelVersed. No, seriously, you just need to open your Facebook or Instagram to see incredible photos of your friends gallivanting around the world. Yet, you're not one of the jet-setters, why?
There could be many reasons and they're all valid. You should take a look at your life and your choices and see if there's any room for change. Sometimes, the answer might be a lot easier than you think. So, next time you open your favorite social media, it'll be you posting the photos.
Let's check those reasons!
1. Traveling is not your priority
That sounds silly, doesn't it? But it isn't. If you don't have the desire to travel close to your heart, it's never going to be the first thing that pops into your mind. So, when somebody asks you what you'd do with $1 million and you think about buying a house or a car — that's the wrong answer!
However, if you're always wondering about the perfect waves in Indonesia, the yogis in India, or if the pasta in Italy is really that good, then you're on the right track. It compels you to find out! And when traveling becomes all you want to do, you know that $1 million would keep you on the road for a long time.
2. You don't have the money
Money is probably the main reason people don't travel and it's fair enough. If you don't have it, how can you spend it? Or maybe you think traveling is expensive and you'll never be able to afford it. The reality is that you do have money, you just don't spend it on traveling! When you add up how much you spend on your car, clothes, or eating out, you see that the money is there.
You have to be willing to change your lifestyle a bit in order to travel more. And believe me, you don't even need that much money. If you choose to stay in hostels or Airbnbs, and travel using low-cost companies, bussing, or even hitchhiking, then it's a lot cheaper than you think.
3. You don't have time
When you really want something, you find the time to do it. It's like the hardcore entrepreneurs who, after their 9-to-5 jobs, get home and work for another 2 hours on their own businesses. What do you do on your weekends? And when you take some time off?
You don't have to take 2 weeks of holidays and go all the way to Australia! I'm sure you just need a few days to visit a nearby country or city, and still have an awesome time. If you always use your free time to run errands or fix your home, you'll never have time to travel.

subset: commoncrawl


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Published at Tuesday, 05 November 2019. Best Coloring. By Adalicia Mercier.
Christmas coloring pages are amongst the finest activity for your kids. They tend to learn all about color coordination when they experiment with different colors and try to pair colors with each other. In the beginning they may come up with some whacky color combinations but eventually they tend to visualize the most natural colors by pairing each other. Christmas pages offer kids a whole blend of mixing colors to let them express their creative abilities by showing off true color combinations and funny designs. Motor skills like controlling our eye and hand concentration are also enhanced as and when they practice.
Various simple Biblical coloring book pages actually celebrate the life of Jesus Christ and the apostles pages show Christ in different ages of - adolescent, youth, adult and his ending days. The parables pages are good coloring pages to relate with the stories of Bible.
What is the use of Biblical Coloring Pages? The Biblical coloring pages are extension of Crafts, Bible Preschool Activities that are suitable for preschool, toddlers, Kindergarten school holiday homework and other activities. Moreover they tend to put in the children the values of education, morality, humanity, and love for fellow human beings, nature, animals and all beautiful creations of God. They understand the existence of everything in this world and also develop love for fellow children, learn how to live happily with content.
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Any content, trademark's, or other material that might be found on the Sammibrown website that is not Sammibrown's property remains the copyright of its respective owner/s. In no way does Sammibrown claim ownership or responsibility for such items, and you should seek legal consent for any use of such materials from its owner.
Copyright © 2019 Sammibrown. All Rights Reserved.


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Notice 2011-28, 2011-16 IRB; IR 2011-31
A new Notice provides interim guidance significantly relaxing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's (PPACA's) information reporting requirement for employer-sponsored health coverage. Under the new guidance, reporting continues to be voluntary for all employers in 2011, and it will be voluntary for small employers until further guidance is issued, but at least through 2012. The Notice also provides guidance on the nuts and bolts of the information reporting rule for employers who will be subject to it, and those employers that choose to voluntarily comply with it.
Background. For tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2011, Code Sec. 6051(a)(14), which was added by PPACA §9002, generally provides that the aggregate cost of the applicable employer-sponsored health insurance coverage (as defined in Code Sec. 4980I(d)(1)) must be reported on Form W-2. For this purpose, the aggregate cost is to be determined under rules similar to the rules of Code Sec. 4980B(f)(4), referring to the definition of the "applicable premium" under the rules providing for COBRA continuation coverage. Code Sec. 6041(a)(14) does not, however, apply to reporting the amount contributed to an Archer MSA or the health savings account of an employee or the employee's spouse, any salary reduction contributions to a flexible spending agreement, or certain "excepted benefits" described in Code Sec. 9832(c)(1) including worker's compensation and disability income insurance.
In Notice 2010-69, 2010-44 IRB 576, IRS made this new reporting requirement optional for all employers for the 2011 Forms W-2 (which would generally be given to employees in January 2012).
Interim guidance. Notice 2011-28 provides further relief for small employers (i.e., those filing fewer than 250 Forms W-2) by making Code Sec. 6051(a)(14) reporting optional for health coverage provided through at least 2012, or until further guidance is issued by IRS. In other words, small employers won't have to report the cost of health care coverage on any forms required to be furnished to employees before January 2014, at the earliest.
Notice 2011-28 also provides additional guidance, in question and answer (Q&A) format, to employers who are subject to the information reporting requirement for the 2012 Forms W-2, and to employers that choose to voluntarily comply with it for either 2011 or 2012. The Q&As are generally categorized as follows: general requirements; methods for reporting the cost of coverage on Form W-2; definitions of terms relating to the cost of coverage required to be reported; the types of coverage for which the cost is required to included on Form W-2; calculation methods used to determine the cost of coverage; and issues that an employer may have to address in determining the cost of coverage. These subjects are briefly addressed below:
... In general. IRS emphasizes that Code Sec. 6051(a)(14)'s new reporting requirement is purely information and has no effect on whether any particular coverage is excludible under Code Sec. 106 or otherwise. Rather, the purpose of the reporting is to "provide useful and comparable consumer information to employees on the cost of their health care coverage." (Q&A-2)
... Employers subject to the reporting requirement. Except as otherwise provided, all employers that provide applicable employer-sponsored coverage during a calendar year are subject to the reporting requirement, beginning with the 2012 Forms W-2. This includes governmental entities and religious organizations, but not Federally recognized Indian tribal governments. However, employers that file 250 or fewer Forms W-2 for the preceding year are exempted from the reporting requirement for 2012 Forms W-2 (and possibly later, depending on when IRS issues further guidance). (Q&A-3)
... Method of reporting on the Form W-2. The aggregate reportable cost is reported in box 12 of Form W-2, using code "DD." (Q&A-5) An employer is not required to issue a Form W-2 with the aggregate reportable cost to an individual for whom the employer is not otherwise required to file a Form W-2 (Q&A-9), nor is the employer required to report the total aggregate reportable costs attributable to its employees on Form W-3. (Q&A-10) IRS also provided guidance relating to employees who have coverage provided by the employer for a period during the calendar year after the employee terminated employment (Q&A-6); individuals with multiple employers during the year, or with multiple employers who are related and have a common paymaster (Q&A-7); and individuals who transfer to a new employer that qualifies as a successor employer under Code Sec. 3121(a)(1) (Q&A-8).
... Aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored coverage. The "aggregate cost" of applicable employer-sponsored coverage is the total cost of coverage under all "applicable employer-sponsored coverage" provided to an employee (Q&A-11), which is defined as coverage under any "group health plan" made available to the employee that is excludable under Code Sec. 106. (Q&A-12) A "group health plan" refers to a plan of, or contributed to by, an employer or employee organization to provide health care to current and former employees, others currently or formerly associated with the employer in a business relationship, or their families. (Q&A-13) The "aggregate reportable cost" includes both the portions paid by the employer and the employee, regardless of whether the employee's contributions were made on a pre-tax or after-tax basis (Q&A-14), and it also includes the cost of coverage includible in the employee's gross income. (Q&A-15)
... Cost of coverage required to be included in the aggregate reportable cost. Except as otherwise provided, the cost of coverage under all applicable employer-sponsored coverage is included in the aggregate reportable cost, except contributions to an Archer MSA or Health Savings Account, and any salary reduction election to a flexible spending arrangement. (Q&A-16) The aggregate reportable cost does not include: the amount that an employer contributes to a multiemployer plan (Q&A-17); the cost of coverage under a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (Q&A-18); the cost of coverage under a dental or vision plan that isn't integrated into a group health plan (Q&A-20); the cost of coverage provided under a self-insured group health plan that isn't subject to any federal contribution coverage requirements (Q&A-21); or the cost of coverage provided by the federal government, the government of any State or political subdivision thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of any such government, under a plan maintained primarily for members of the military and their families (Q&A-22). If an employer offers a health flexible spending arrangement (FSA) through a Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plan, the amount of the health FSA required to be included is reduced (not below zero) by the employee's salary reduction contribution. (Q&A-19)
... Methods of calculating the cost of coverage. An employer may calculate the reportable cost under a plan using: the COBRA applicable premium method (reportable cost for a period equals the COBRA applicable premium for that coverage during that period) (Q&A-25); the premium charged method (the premium charged by the insurer for an employee's coverage during the applicable period) (Q&A-26); or the modified COBRA premium method (an employer that subsidizes the cost of COBRA determines the reportable cost based on a good faith estimate of the COBRA applicable premium for that period) (Q&A-27). An employer doesn't have to use the same method for every plan, but must use the same method for every employee receiving coverage under a particular plan. (Q&A-24)
... Other issues relating to calculating the cost of coverage. IRS also provides guidance on: how an employer that charges a composite rate to an employee calculates its reportable cost (Q&A-28); how the reportable cost must account for increases or decreases to the cost during the year (Q&A-29); and how the reportable cost under a plan is calculated if an employee commences, changes or terminates coverage during the year (Q&A-30). IRS also clarified that the reportable cost under a plan must be determined on a calendar year basis.
References: For reporting of health insurance on Form W-2, see FTC 2d/FIN ¶S-3152; United States Tax Reporter ¶60,514; TaxDesk ¶812,002; TG ¶60301.


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Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Nigel.Download The Latest Agenda
Conference Day One - Tuesday 2nd April
Monday, April 2nd, 2018
4:20 PM What every leader needs to know about the state of strategy execution in 2019
With estimates of strategy success rates hovering around 10-30%, a shake-up in strategy execution is long overdue. Far too often leaders find themselves in an impossible position--too many goals, organisational misalignment, and a lethal cocktail of time and resource scarcity when it comes to executing and continuously improving their strategies. This is the session you need to get back on track.
Join Nigel Richardson as he takes you on a journey through the pitfalls of strategy execution in 2019 and why there's reason to be optimistic for the future.
Come along to learn:
- The prevalent challenges with strategy execution
- How to assess the maturity of your strategy execution
- The methods you can use to increase your likelihood of success
- How a strategy execution platform can resolve the common challenges you're facing
If you want to make this the year you topple your strategic hurdles and gain the knowledge to avoid the pitfalls we often find ourselves stuck in, this is the session for you.


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Burning up: Miller students get a rude awakening with fire scare
Dorm evacuations are never the best of moments, especially when they're at three in the morning in January.
For the students of Miller Hall, however, that moment became real when a fire was spotted in the dorm's basement laundry room on Jan. 26. Michael Massoth, a resident of the hall, was using the laundry room when he noticed smoke and flames coming out of the dryer he had previously put his clothes into.
Massoth quickly alerted the security guard in Miller of the situation, while Adam Martin, another resident of the hall, put out the fire with the nearby extinguisher. Shortly after, the hall was evacuated, and the fire department arrived.
"One guy didn't have a shirt on. Another was only in his boxers," Massoth said when discussing the brief evacuation. "I had some shorts, a shirt and flip-flips. I thought, if they're going to suffer, I might as well too."
Massoth lost upwards of $200 in personal items to the fire, according to the U of L fire incident report. Damages to the dryer are still unknown.
While rumors arose that the fire occurred due to a bizarre incident with matches in a pair of pants' pocket while in the dryer, Massoth said the firemen on the scene explained the filtration system in the back of the dryer was to blame, as it had clogged up. Dwain Archer, U of L's fire marshal, stated the cause of the fire appeared to be a lack of a dryer lint catcher during the machine's usage.
"It was an accumulation of dust and lint and dryer sheets in the dryer pipes that caused it. We'll be keeping a close eye on it and getting in touch with housing and make sure they clean them out on a more regular basis."
Archer further stated that, while there are inspections for the halls that occur at least twice a year, the cause for this fire was something that would take much more time to cure.
"When students take out those dryer screens, it allows all the lint and fabric softener sheets to travel into the piping in the dryers. Then, they start to clog up the pipes and collect heat."
Once stuck in the pipes, inspections would involve opening up the systems and looking at the hose so that the cleaning process would cover that as well.
Archer implored students to remember to place the dryer screens back into place before use. "People need to know that they can't remove those screens and think those sheets won't clog the hose up." He also applauded the students involved for their quick thinking and alerting officials as soon as they did.


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When Saturday Comes No 371 January 2018
Wrexham on the defensive in front of the deserted Kop at the Racecourse Ground
REGULARS 5 Editorial The FA's new r e t r o s pe c t i ve pu n i shment r u l e s have been tested and come up short 6 Sidelines Hampden market; Dulwich dilemma;
Ipswich's invisible owner; Arsenal fans get nostalgic; Tangerines' dreams coming true 12 Shot! Harwich & Parkeston host Barnston at their long-time home, the Royal Oak 15 Harry Pearson column Owning a football used to be key to avoiding being the dreaded final pick 24 Focus on Pau l L a ke , t he Manchester C i t y s t a r i n t he making whose career was ruined by injury
It's easy to assume we are all busy playing FIFA but for many young fans the cost of following a team is just too steep Price of football p16
36 Euro view Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup,
but the players are not the major problem 37 World view Peru end their long wait and get one over on t he i r b i t t e r r i v a l s i n t he pro c e s s 40 Books Charting Manchester United's history;
thinking-man'sgame;celebratingBobBooker; Bradford Park Avenue go all TimeTeam 42 Letters The first African to score at Wembley was…
46 Season in brief Sheffield United win their only title while the
League cause controversy at the bottom
FEATURES 16 Talkin' 'bout my generation Ticket pricing for over-16s is unfair and putting off one of the most important age groups from attending matches; how casual observers were turned into fanatics 19 Curbing your enthusiasm Tony Pulis's dreary style made some West
Brom fans abandon their team 20 Match of the month Wrexham a r e t r y i ng t o ge t bac k i nto t he
L e a g ue at t he t ent h t ime of a sk i ng , w i t h Ebbsfleet United their latest visitors
A drum bangs, the whole whirring thump sounding like a giant, faintly sinister washing machine Wrexham v Ebbsfleet United p20
26 Near misses The Republic of Ireland's capitulation has
Martin O'Neill under pressure; Northern I r e l a nd 's be s t ch a nce h a s be en s n at ched away 28 Team spirit: Luton When Pau l Walsh a nd B r i a n St e i n swapped
Luton for England; having nothing to moan about is an unusual feeling for Hatters fans 32 Green green grass of home Bikes for goalposts, 20-a-side, ball in the nettles
– the days of the impromptu kickarounds 34 Midland bankers Halesowen Town are living life on the edge but their community are rallying; Solihull Moors are a merger success story 38 Second the best Manycupfinallosersarebetter remembered thantheirtriumphantopponents
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JAI's multi-imager product series also features cameras with a unique 2-CCD design with two commonplace monochrome progressive scan sensors mounted to a custom-designed beam-splitter prism. HDR, or excessive dynamic vary, is the next big factor in TVs. Due to the limitations of printing and display contrast , the prolonged luminosity vary of an HDR picture needs to be compressed to be made seen. An HDR photograph is not "excessive dynamic vary" in this sense. DSLR and mirrorless cameras aren't the one gadgets capable of capturing HDR photos. The Apple TV 4K and Google Chromecast Extremely assist HDR10 and Dolby Imaginative and prescient, while the Amazon Hearth TELEVISION and Roku Streaming Stick+ presently can only handle HDR10.
HDR is also supported by some midrange and less expensive TVs, but don't essentially expect HDR-worthy efficiency from them; while the TVs can course of HDR content material, their panels may not have the vary of contrast and shade to really show it off. While it shares a reputation and a few frequent points with pictures, clearly HDR video is totally different to smartphone photography.
Whereas the massive screen may be one of the simplest ways to bask in excessive dynamic range content material, it isn't the one way to do so. In photography, dynamic range is measured in publicity worth ( EV ) variations (known as stops). Should you put two TVs aspect by aspect, one with a better contrast ratio and more accurate color, and the other with just a increased resolution (more pixels), the one with greater contrast ratio shall be picked by just about each viewer.
HDR is an finish-to-finish expertise, so each step from creation to distribution to the screen in your house needs to be HDR-appropriate, which means that legacy TVs can't show it. You'll be able to then use picture modifying software program to put these three photos collectively and highlight one of the best elements of each picture. In other words, a 1080p resolution TELEVISION with excellent distinction and colour beats a 4K resolution TELEVISION with average contrast and coloration each time.
LED TVs will provide you with an HDR picture with higher peak brightness however much less deep blacks, whiled OLED TVs provides you with an HDR picture with decrease peak brightness however deeper blacks. Inside a 12 months or two it will doubtless be potential to say HDR has finally put the ultra in to UHD viewing, and all the issues over completely different requirements could have been resolved.


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Africa' tag.
Article is also up at Brooks Foreign Policy Review, here.
In 2001, Former Singaporean Ambassador to the United Nations, Kishore Mahbubani asked a simple question, which was also the title of his book, "Can Asians Think?" Mr. Mahbubani sought to challenge, what he perceived as, Western paternalism. He believes that Asians do not need indefinite guidance by the Western world, because Asians are capable of independent thought, and just because these thoughts may differ from the West does not mean they are the result of defective thinking. A befitting question for the coming decade is, "Can Sub-Saharan Africans think?" For many Westerners it would seem the answer is, "No", at least as far as Africa's relationship with China.
In 2005, the Western media began to express "concern" with the increasing Chinese presence in Sub-Sahara Africa (Africa). During this period, many foreign policy observers began to promote the idea that China is plotting to take over Africa in some neo-colonialist attempt to gain unlimited access to natural resources. For example, Karin Kortmann, a German parliamentary state secretary stated in November of 2006, "our African partners really have to watch out that they will not be facing a new process of colonization" (Cheng 2007). The same year, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, Jack Straw, made similar allegations "Most of what China has been doing in Africa today is what we did in Africa 150 years ago" (Stevenson 2006). This Sinophobic boilerplate is hyperbole, but the narrative suggests that the average African is impotent and their leaders are all iniquitous or ineffectual.
–Desperately seeking students (Japan) – What is interesting about this is that Japan's government is fully aware of the increasing student shortage and will allow the market to decide which schools stay open. This is something Americans should let happen with HBCUs.
–Bloggers push China to prosecute beating death – What is most interesting about this is that the Internet was instrumental in pressuring the government to adhere to the rule of law. This is a powerful tool for public outcry, that despite government efforts; they really can not effectively control.
–Asia: 'Internet forces' in China and Taiwan step up cyber attacks – Last time it was Chinese hackers attacking South Korea, now it is Taiwan v China. This article is a little different from the one I read on the South Korean attack. It goes into a lot more detail about the nature of the attacks. The United States and German governments also appear concerned as well. The article also mentions that due to security measures Taiwan is less vulnerable to cyber attacks than Japan, the U.S., and EU.
–Japan asked China to tone down Nanjing Incident exhibits – This is somewhat shocking to be honest. I have said all I have to say on Japan's WWII issues here, but I do not think it is wise for Japan to make statements like this. Instead they should demand for a international panel of historians from China, Taiwan, South Korea, and the United States to decides what occurred during WWII and in its aftermath once and for all and have high ranking government representatives sign it and agree to abide by the findings. As I said before I do not think China would ever agree to that, for reasons obvious to me.
–West Africa: Food Prices Still Climbing, Crisis Feared – This is not good at all.
–Komura: Japan not seeking 'rewards' – I blogged about the Japan-Africa relationship before. This article reveals that Japan's government is renewing its commitment to sustainable development aid measures in Africa and heavily implies they are "not after Africa's resources like China". This is not all altruistic, aid allocation never is. Japan is seeking a permanent seat on the security council and Africa has 53 nations. Upping aid from its current 10% on the continent might sway more to back Japan.
–S. Korea's Lee moves to revitalize relations – South Korea's president elect, Lee Myung Bak, is seeking better relations with Japan. This is somewhat surprising to me since he has a history of being anti-Japanese, but I suppose he is a pragmatist. It is easy to be a anti-Japanese mayor, but not so easy to be an anti-Japanese president in the region. It is positive he is already seeking regional support to deal with the North Korean issue.
–Liberia: Charles Taylor Trial Gets Under Way – Considering what this scum is responsible for in Liberia and the neighboring Sierra Leone, the child soldiers; drugs; rapes; mutilations; corruption; mental trauma of the victims. Taylor is a sub-human monster that should be hung like the war criminals of World War II. Some people are not fit to live, and there is nothing wrong with culling the herd. Here is a site that is monitoring the trial, Charles Taylor Trial.
–Liberia: Market Women Help Revive Economy – There is some good news in Liberia. Not only do they have a woman president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who seems to be respectable; but women are reviving the market! Johson-Sirleaf owed a debt to these women who were instrumental in her election, so she set up a Sirleaf Market Women's Fund; more about this in the article. While reading the article, I saw similar dynamics in Liberia as in Sudan during the time of conflict. Women would be the ones foraging for goods, because they were least likely to be killed or forced into a militia. In Darfur, the choice was between a man possibly being killed and a woman raped, so often they sent the woman. In any case, I am quite happy with the industriousness and entrepreneurship I see in Liberia.
Qing (Tsing) Hua University is the top science and engineering school in China. A disproportionate number of high ranking CCP members graduated from there. Many of the current graduates go on to MIT and other top level international universities, so this is "nothing to sneeze at". When I lived in China, I met a few African students who were studying medicine and engineering at Fudan University. All of them were fluent in Mandarin and a couple were also fluent in Shanghai Dialect, very few foreigners ever manage to master a dialect, so that was impressive (as they are not formally taught). African students studying on scholarship in China go back decades to the socialist/communist solidarity movement they were trying to form with other developing nations against "imperialism".
This article, along with China's rise in cell phone and internet technology, is quite exciting. I have read a lot in the media about China's investment in natural resources and infrastructure projects (many for show) but I did know about technology transfers. I do not recall a lot of talk about this in Broadman's book, Africa's Silk Road, so I'm assuming this is still a small but growing market segment. In related news, IBM has new investment plans for South Africa.
'Browning' the technology of AfricaBy G. Pascal Zachary
Thursday, Dec 27, 2007, Page 8
FORGET THE MASSACHUSETTS institute of Technology. Hello, Tsing Hua University. For Clothilde Tingiri, a hot young programmer at Rwanda's top software company, dreams of Beijing, not Cambridge, to realize her ambitions. Desperate for more education, this fall she plans to attend graduate school in computer science — in China, not the US.
The Chinese are no strangers to Rwanda. Near Tingiri's office, Rwanda's largest telecom company, Rwandatel, is installing new wireless telephony equipment made by Huawei of Shenzen. Africa boasts the world's fastest-growing market for wireless telephony, and Huawei — with offices in 14 African countries — is running away with the business, sending scores of engineers into the bush to bring a new generation of low-cost technology to some of the planet's poorest people.
–Japan defense chief mulling action in event of UFO attack – This is pure comedy! Actually I'm almost certain the U.S. has some outline of a contingency plan in the case of extraterrestrial life being discovered as it will likely cause political/social instability as religious fanatics lose their mind that their holy book did not tell them about aliens. Still, a UFO attack? What is worse is he announced it to the media!!!
–New charges menace Jacob Zuma in South Africa – Wow, that was quick. Who wants to bet Mbeki made a few calls and had a few envelopes of info dropped in the mail anonymously to the prosecutors office? Something slick is going on. "A criminal conviction would end his political career, for South Africa's Constitution bars felons from becoming president."
–Africa: Continent Must Scale Up Efforts to Reach Millennium Goals, Says Migiro – Damn I said something similar a few weeks ago. I got criticized on one site for not recognizing and praising Africans on their progress. :-O When I was growing up I did not get praised for doing something "half-assed" but that was my family, but it is not just Africa's fault. As the article rightly points out, the developed nations have not lived up to their end of the bargain either.
Remember back in 2001 when Gordan G. Chang, a popular China based American lawyer, predicted the "Coming Collapse of China"? Whatever happening to that guy? For awhile, he had certain Sinophobes overjoyed and they showed their gratitude by making him a popular talking head on every major news network in the U.S. So much for his 15 minutes of fame. His big claim was some perfect storm of China joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), a run on the banks that would collapses the economy, and in turn causing popular uprisings that would topple the communist party. Like much voodoo laden astrological based futurology it did not come to pass and Mr. Chang has not been seen for a number of years, although he wrote a book about N.Korea nuking Japan in the last year.
Contrary to Mr. Chang's clairvoyance, China's banks are showing increasing competitiveness internationally. There investments in Africa are especially interesting.
"Chinese Banks Becoming Powerful Factor in the Global Financial Sector" n October 25, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (I.C.B.C.), the world's largest bank by market capitalization, announced that it would purchase a 20 percent stake in Standard Bank, South Africa's largest bank. If the US$5.6 billion deal is approved, it will be the largest foreign direct investment in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994 and the biggest overseas investment by a mainland Chinese company.


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Senator Dino Melaye re-appears, speaks on kidnap
Kogi west senator Dino Melaye who was allegedly kidnapped yesterday on his way to Lokoja the Kogi state capital has re-appeared.
It would be recalled that a fellow senator Ben Murray Bruce had alerted Nigerians yesterday on twitter that Senator Melaye who was on his way to attend a court case accusing him of gun running was kidnapped in Gwagwalada, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory.
The senator however claimed he escaped from his abductors this morning and recount his ordeal through his twitter handle; "I thank God once again for escaping another dangerous attack. I also thank Nigerians for their prayers and show of Love.
"Spent 11 hours in the wilderness, traumatized but God preserved me. God is the best and in whom only I trust. They will continue to try. We shall overcome."
Follow us on twitter @NigeriaTodayNG


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Manchester United and England captain, Wayne Rooney has ruled out moving away from the Premier League to play in Serie A.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of tonights England friendly against Italy, Rooney outlined his love for Serie A but admits he doesn't see himself plying his trade there as he loves the Premier League.
"I've never thought of playing in Italy," Rooney said.
"Growing up I watched Italian football. They had some great teams like Juventus and AC Milan and I loved to watch Fiorentina because I loved watching Batistuta."Embed from Getty Images
The only likely destination Rooney would choose in Italy would be to 'The Old Lady', Juventus, who are the most prominent Italian side to currently feature in the Champions League. But the 29-year-old forward doesn't think a move is likely.
"But to be honest I don't think I will be playing in Italy."
Rooney has also been linked with moves away from United to other Premier League clubs, with the likes of Chelsea having previously been interested, but for now it looks like he will continue to turn out for the Red Devils.Embed from Getty Images
He is thriving under Louis Van Gaal and seems to love playing for the Red Devils.
As well as closing in on Bobby Charlton's all-time leading goalscoring record, Rooney is pressing on to try and reach Alan Shearer's Premier League goalscoring record of 260 goals. Rooney has 184 goals in 400 league appearances.
Would Wayne Rooney suit Serie A? Will he stay with Manchester United for the rest of his career?


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Holiday Gift Guide - Cats & Cat Lovers!
Dear Cat Lovers,
Welcome to our exciting Holiday Gift Guide! Enjoy shopping our holiday themed cat toys as well as popular items curated from our store just for you. (Shop storewide, too, for more selections). Toys, Laurel Burch and other cat lover gift items appearing in this Guide will be automatically gift wrapped, free of charge***! We lovingly wrap your gifts with special holiday cat themed paper and our signature gold seal. Toys are wrapped with our cheerful red or green cellophane, finished with our signature gold seal.***Sorry, we can't gift wrap cat furniture, vertical scratchers and fountains.


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Man accused of threatening Trump is being sought in Ohio
Monday, September 17
MANSFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a Pennsylvania man accused of threatening President Donald Trump and law enforcement officials is being sought in Ohio, where he is believed to have abandoned a stolen truck.
The U.S. Marshals Service says Shawn Richard Christy stole a truck Sunday from the area of McAdoo, Pennsylvania, and fled after abandoning it around 5 p.m. Sunday on Interstate 71 in the Mansfield area of northern Ohio.
Authorities say a federal warrant was issued June 19 for the 27-year-old McAdoo man in connection to Facebook posts threatening to shoot Trump and a district attorney in Pennsylvania. Officials say he also threatened a police chief.
Pennsylvania warrants issued for Christy allege burglary, probation violation and failure to appear for an aggravated assault case.
Authorities say Christy should be considered armed and dangerous.
Murderer due for release next year is captured after escape
By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press
Tuesday, September 18
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A convicted murderer who escaped for a third time from prison has been captured, law enforcement authorities said Tuesday.
A sheriff's deputy found 65-year-old Arnold Nash walking along a road Tuesday morning in Dover-Foxcroft, in Piscataquis County, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said. He was last seen Thursday evening at the minimum-security unit at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, several miles down the road from where he was found.
Nash was serving a 45-year sentence for killing his former neighbor in 1991. He was due to be released last year and had previously escaped from Maine Correctional Center in Windham in 1973 and from the Maine State Prison in 1981.
Nash was taken to Piscataquis County Jail, McCausland said. The Maine Department of Corrections will attempt to determine where Nash has been since Thursday night, he said.
"The corrections officials can learn where he has been, and whether our search efforts were close. They were extensive over the weekend," McCausland said, adding that bloodhounds were used to try to find Nash. "Having that information would be helpful as we prepare for future searches and manhunts."
Nash has been charged with escape, which is a felony, said Piscataquis County Sheriff Robert Young. He has been transferred to the custody of the Department of Corrections, said Young.
It was unclear on Tuesday morning what Nash's next stop would be or whether he was represented by a lawyer, he said.
Corrections Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick floated the theory on Monday that Nash had spent much of his life in prison and that his escape may have been his way of ensuring he would go back to prison.
But Young said on Tuesday that Nash "wasn't trying to run, but he wasn't trying to be caught," and that the apprehension was a case of a deputy "being in the right place at the right time."
Fitzpatrick had called on the public to offer any tips they had about Nash's whereabouts, and stressed that "we do consider Mr. Nash dangerous."
Nash was due to be released in December 2019, thanks to credits for time served in jail and good behavior. He was convicted of killing the neighbor in North Sullivan, a small community about 145 miles northwest of Portland.
Ohio doctor groups divided over governor's race endorsement
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Associated Press
Monday, September 17
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Doctors in Ohio sparred Monday over which candidate in the state's fall governor's race is best for health care.
In July, Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine landed the coveted endorsement of the Ohio State Medical Association, the state's largest and oldest physician group.
In a letter sent Monday, nearly 200 doctors and medical students affiliated with the liberal Physicians Action Network objected to that decision, calling Democrat Richard Cordray the better choice.
"We find it disappointing that the Ohio State Medical Association would reject so many of their own positions and endorse a politician whose career opposes what the association and we as physicians value," the Cordray backers wrote.
Their letter cited DeWine's opposition to the federal Affordable Care Act and an earlier statement that the Medicaid expansion would be "unsustainable." DeWine later clarified that he would preserve the expansion, but with improvements, if elected. That key shift helped secure the medical association's endorsement.
"While Mike DeWine may have genuinely had a change of heart regarding Medicaid and pre-existing conditions, the importance of the OSMA's advocacy for doctors and our patients, as well as the fickle nature of politics, requires caution and healthy skepticism," the network's doctors wrote.
The dispute comes two days before DeWine and Cordray are set to face off in the first of three gubernatorial debates. The event Wednesday will take place in Dayton, with subsequent debates in Marietta on Oct. 1 and in Cleveland on Oct. 8.
The medical association's endorsement of DeWine noted DeWine's long record of public service and the government experience held by his running mate, Secretary of State Jon Husted. It also cited DeWine's support for increasing treatment options for opioid addiction, lowering prescription drug costs and reducing physicians' administrative burdens.
Association spokesman Reggie Fields said that group's PAC is a "deeply diverse" group that found DeWine the superior choice.
"(The PAC's board) interviewed both major party candidates for governor and discussed with them issues most relevant to the practice of medicine and for assuring access to quality medical care for patients," Fields said in an email. "The PAC Board believed that Mike DeWine provided clear responses to our questions and outlined an agenda that, if elected, will protect those values."
Secretary Husted Highlights Efforts to Ensure Security and Integrity of Ohio Elections Ahead of November General
COLUMBUS – Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is reminding voters that Ohio's election system remains secure heading into the November General Election.
"With another important election on the horizon, the issue of election security will again be on the national agenda," said Secretary Husted. "However, election security is on our minds 365 days a year as we work with local, state, and federal officials to make sure every available security precaution is in place well in advance of Election Day."
In June, Secretary Husted announced a $12.2 million dollar investment focused on security improvements and technological advancements. Made possible through funds stemming from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), the plan includes multiple initiatives to update the Statewide Voter Registration System Database, provide county boards of elections with enhanced cybersecurity safeguards, and conduct post-election audits.
The Secretary of State's Office recently facilitated five regional security training sessions for election officials across Ohio. Modeled after similar exercises conducted by the Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, the workshops provided boards of elections staff with an opportunity to evaluate their readiness to deal with cyber threats, while also assessing their ability to perform tasks critical to procedural standards.
An additional safeguard in place is that voting machines and tabulation equipment used in Ohio are prohibited from having an internet or network connection. Under state law, all voting equipment must be certified by the federal Election Assistance Commission and the Ohio Board of Voting Machine Examiners. All voting machines undergo pre-election testing and post-election audits are conducted statewide. These practices ensure all voting equipment is ready for use on Election Day and, once an election concludes, ensures election officials that machines performed as expected.
Also worth noting is the fact that Ohio's 88 county boards of elections are run by bipartisan teams of two democrats and two republicans. These officials work together to administer fair elections at the local level. Additionally, each polling place in Ohio is staffed by an equal number of republicans and democrats. Once polls have closed, cast ballots and memory cards must be returned to the board of elections by both a democrat and republican election official traveling in the same vehicle.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 6.
Preserving Election Integrity – By the Numbers
- 38,000 Ohioans have registered to vote using the Secretary of State's website.
- More than 552,000 voters have updated their registration online.
- Removed more than 686,000 deceased Ohioans from voter rolls.
- Now have complete information on 90 percent of voters – up from just 20 percent in 2011.
- Contacted roughly 2.3 million voters to update information by mail.
- Secretary Husted has reached out to more than 2.2 million Ohioans who are unregistered, but eligible to vote.
- Resolved more than 1.9 million duplicate registrations.


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Naniwa:see OsakaOsaka
, city (1990 pop. 2,623,801), capital of Osaka prefecture, S Honshu, Japan, on Osaka Bay, at the mouth of the Yodo River. One of Japan's largest cities and principal industrial and commercial centers, Osaka is the focal point of a chain of industrial cities (called the
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20th century
- 1902 – The last known specimens of the Rocky Mountain locust are collected near Brandon, Manitoba.
- 1905 – The last known Honshū wolf of Japan dies in Nara Prefecture.
- 1907 – The huia, a native bird of New Zealand, is last seen. Habitat loss, hunting, and disease all played a role in its extinction.
- 1909 – The last known tarpan, a Polish wild horse, died in captivity.
- 1911 – The last Newfoundland wolf was shot.
- 1914 – The last passenger pigeon, Martha, died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. Excessive hunting contributed to its extinction; it was formerly one of the world's most abundant birds.
- 1918 – The last Carolina parakeet died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. The bird, formerly inhabiting the southeastern United States, was driven to extinction by exploitation, deforestation, and competition with introduced bees.
- 1924 – The California grizzly bear is sighted for the last time.
- 1925 – The Kenai Peninsula wolf was driven to extinction.
- 1929 – Acalypha wilderi was last seen in the wild. This species may be synonymous with A. raivavensis and A. tubuaiensis, which would mean it is in fact not extinct globally.
- 1930 – Darwin's rice rat was last recorded in the Galápagos Islands. Its extinction was probably caused by the introduction of black rats.
- 1932 – "Booming Ben", the last known heath hen was seen on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
- 1933 – The cry pansy from Europe becomes extinct due to habitat loss and overcollection in the only place where it grew, France.
- 1934 – The indefatigable Galapagos mouse was last recorded. Its extinction was probably caused by the introduction of black rats.
- 1935 – The desert rat-kangaroo was last recorded.
- 1935 – The Mogollon mountain wolf and the Southern Rocky Mountains wolf were hunted to extinction.
- 1936 – The last thylacine died in captivity. Hunting, habitat loss, disease, and competition from domestic dogs all may have contributed to the extinction of the species.
- 1937 – The Bali tiger was last definitively seen around this time, but likely persisted into the 1940s or possibly even the early 1950s.
- 1939 – The toolache wallaby was last recorded.


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By Chandler Christopher
During my time with the Batwa, I received the opportunity to interview four of the members who spoke English. In Batwa communities, it's very rare that people are educated and know English. So, this was a very big, uncommon opportunity to verbally communicate in the same language with these people. The Batwa are the indigenous people of Uganda, the native people of this beautiful country. Their ancestors lived in Echuya Forest, but eventually were forced (why?) to leave and mesh with another tribe that was beginning to form, the Bakiga. Because of this forced cultural mesh, much of the Batwa culture and language has been lost.
The Batwa, because of their way of living and because their ancestors were at first hostile to the unknown newcomers, are generally very discriminated against. Because of this fact, it was a wonderful opportunity to learn from people who have been through such hardships. I was excited and also nervous to get this interview chance because I wanted these people to know that I was a friend and that I consider them people just like everyone else. Our conversation started off slow, but it picked up and it felt as though these educated Batwa members were excited to share what they were going through. Here are some bits from the interview that really stood out.
Name: Arinaíwe (Gerald)
Family: Single with 1 child
From: Kanungu
Name: Altimbisibwé (Alex)
Family: 1 wife, 1 child
From: Kisoro
Name: Kesande (Charity)
Family: Single with 2 children
From: Kanungu
Name: Twizeyimaana (Patience)
Family: Single
From: Kanungu
Q: "What do you think specifically could be done as a community to receive the most support from visitors?"
Alex: "There are times when visitors come and we dance and celebrate with them, but they don't completely appreciate it. I don't know how it can be done to actually please the client. I think work and training needs to be done to know how we can please the visitors. Even when visitors are not here we need to be working on how to please future visitors."
Charity: "We hope and would feel very proud [glad] if the visitors would come and see our living conditions and take the information back to their homes and take pictures to show people. Do this in order to show their fellow friends our wishes so we can receive support."
I noticed that there is a huge problem that the Batwa have with tourism. Training them in the ways of tourism was actually the reason we came to their community. They live on the outskirts of Echuya National Forest, the original home of the Batwa people, and many tourist come and pay to see it. Because almost all of the Batwa people lack the ability to speak English, they haven't figured out how to be the ones giving these tours. The Bakiga tribe is a more educated tribe with many more English speakers, so they have capitalized on this opportunity to be the ones giving these tours and receiving benefits from them. This is very very upsetting to the Batwa people, because often times the Bakiga will give wrong information about the Batwa culture. The Bakiga and the Batwa also have an agreement where the Batwa receive funds from the Bakiga giving these tours in their home, but very often they receive nothing. This was one of the biggest talking points by the Batwa English speakers. Here's what they had to say.
Charity: "You find that the Bakiga guides who come… They are very corrupt. We need to have discussions and hold trainings and educate so that the Batwa can become guides. We would feel very proud to receive Batwa guides instead of Bakiga. The Batwa children learn about the forest and all of the traditional medicines when they are kids, so it would be much better if the Batwa could be the one's guiding clients in the forest."
Q: "Why are the Bakiga allowed to guide and why are they taking advantage of guiding in Echuya National Forest?"
Alex: "There are very few Batwa who can speak English, so we allowed the Bakiga to come in and guide the visitors because many of them can speak English. But the Bakiga started to come in and take advantage of this because of literacy. Sometimes in business they want people with certificates and who are trained. There's no way around it for us Batwa because many of us are still in education and don't have those certificates."
Charity: "I think it's because of much discrimination in [government] offices. There is discrimination and corruption and poor leadership. Six of us Batwa members took our applications to the government office around Burundi and there were also about sixty Bakiga. They received the Bakiga applications, but our applications were neglected. They said it was because if we were selected, our communities would be hostile. I tried to tell them that I have worked with many people and researchers and organizations, and nothing I've ever done has had a negative effect or been hostile. We told them we know how to convince them. They are our mothers and our family. So how can you say we won't be able to convince them?"
Alex: "And the more we try and convince those people in the office, the more they say, 'You see this is what we are talking about.', so there is no way around it."
Charity: "I don't know why they think of us like this. Maybe they think the Batwa are still hostile like our ancestors used to be."
It's very evident that two of the four Batwa English speakers were much more vocal during this interview, but one of the quieter members, Patience, had a good bit about the importance of educating women in their community. Charity also adds on to this answer(yes?).
Q: "Why is it important for Batwa women to be educated?"
Patience: "It's very important. And I feel so proud. With my sister here (Charity), there is a certain difference between those who are educated and those who aren't. If I produce another child, I have good ways and knowledge to look after them. Those who are not educated don't always know some healthier ways of taking care of their children. It's very important to educate our girls."
Charity: "It is important for Batwa women to be educated because we can learn a lot about health education. We can learn about proper health and take it back and educate women and the rest of the community on health."
Overall, my experience speaking with the Batwa was an amazing learning experience. I am so very grateful to have had this opportunity, and I am grateful to these people for feeling comfortable enough to open up to me about their struggles. These people are people! They laugh, they sing, they smile, they connect, they love. Thank you Batwa!


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| This Article has been flagged as needing to be updated.
Reason: GU55 changed much of this. A full rewrite (including the info from the official boards) to reflect the game post-GU55 would be useful.
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What, why and howEdit
Combat System and Stat Cap Improvements - Official forum post on 9/28/2006
As is usually the case when you see me posting about EverQuest II and how it all works internally, for the most part my direct involvement is at the conceptual level. The "whats" of what we're going after and the "why." The down and dirty "how" is usually the much more difficult part.
It's easy to help identify a problem and write a sentence. It's sometimes an excruciating amount of work to make that sentence come true and then communicate it in a way that's relevant to the intended audience.
For the detailed plans, the implementation, as well as the detailed explanations given below, I wanted to make sure that the distinction was made. What you see below is, as with most of the things I post about, the result of a lot of hard work of some amazingly dedicated people, with whom I'm exceedingly proud to be working.
The message below is something we'll be making a large part of our beta testing for Echoes of Faydwer. It will eventually impact everyone and it solves a number of issues that people have with combat and progression in EverQuest II
We wanted to make sure the goals and details were made public as soon as possible, as they answer a number of ongoing questions regarding the state of combat in the live game.
In addition to being a part of our beta testing for Echoes, these improvements will also be available on the Test Server, prior to the launch of Echoes of Faydwer. Rest assured that whether or not you get into EoF beta, you will be able to see these changes firsthand on Test.
- Scott
Combat System and Statistic Cap Improvements for EoF launchEdit
While working on Echoes of Faydwer, as well as observing and participating on both the Standard and Player vs. Player servers, we've spent time over the past months evaluating many elements of combat in EQ2, with an eye on two things:
- What isn't working, both from the point of view of the players as well as that of the devs?
- What can we do about them in a way that will enhance the EQ2 experience?
There are many cases where players and devs have been in agreement about what would benefit the most from improvement. We'd like to talk about some changes coming to a number of these elements, across all zones, not just those in Echoes of Faydwer.
For those who might be a nervous when seeing the words "combat" and "changes," used in the same sentence, we'd like to assure you that that this is nothing of the scale of what occurred last year where some systems were replaced wholesale and class abilities changed significantly.
What you'll be reading about below are extensions and improvements to existing systems, and our sincere desire to be as open and forthcoming about them as possible.
Our overall goal is to enhance the long-term enjoyability of the game both for PvE and PvP players alike. This post will provide a brief summary explaining "what" will change, as well as detailed sections for those who prefer to dig into the "how" and "why".
In Summary: "What are the goals?"Edit
Here are the high-level issues and complaints that we're looking to address.
- For many moderate players and beyond, the combination of spells and items in EQ2 has led people to reach stat caps early on and then not see improvement from upgrading buffs and equipment, which many view as unsatisfying.
- As people leveled up beyond 50, primarily in groups and raids, the disparity in survivability between plate classes and everyone else progresses in a way that leads to considerably un-fun one-shot death for many classes.
- Caster skill improvements are not as much fun as they could be and do not have as much practical use as they should.
- The PvE issue of NPC mitigation dovetailed with the persistent issue of casters vs. melee on the PvP servers, and both can be addressed with the same system changes. Mitigation is the word that we use when we refer to both Armor Class and Resistances. They're both mitigations, just against different types of damage.
In Detail: "How are they changing?"Edit
Damage Mitigation and ResistanceEdit
- Maximum mitigation/resistance numbers for current level has been increased from [ Level * 80 ] to [ Level * 150 ]
- Damage mitigated now has diminishing returns, with the break-even point set at 4000 for level 70 players
Stat CapsEdit
- All stat cap maximums have been increased from [ 7 * Level + 20 ] to [ 15 * level + 20 ]
- Stat benefits are now on a diminishing returns curve
- The maximum benefit that each stat provides, including power pool size, has been increased
- Classes that use multiple stats for power pools have had their maximum power possible increase by up to +25% if they are high enough in both stats. This is to offset the difficulty of having to increase multiple stats
Avoidance SkillEdit
- Skill caps have increased from [ 1 * Level ] to [ 1.5 * Level ]
- Base Parry chance has been lowered from 10% to 5%
- Base Deflection chance has lowered from 30% to 25%
- Increases to avoidance skills now have diminishing returns similar to the changes made for mitigation/resistance. Players experience more gains in avoidance when further away from the cap, and less gains as they reach closer to the cap
Casting SkillEdit
- Skill caps have increased from [ 1 * Level ] to [ 1.5 * Level ]
- Uses a diminishing returns curve similar to avoidance skills
- Actual hostile spell resistance modification has increased from -10% to -20% at maximum
- Beneficial spells that use casting skill, mostly affecting ministration, have their power costs reduced with increased skill
- Fizzle nevermore! The entire Fizzle mechanic has been removed
Focus SkillEdit
- Skill caps have increased from [ 1 * Level ] to [ 1.5 * Level ]
- Focus has a maximum 20% instead of 10% to prevent damage interrupts
- Focus Skill also mitigates the chance of spell based Interrupts, Stifle, and Stun Effects from interrupting a spell that is already casting
Attack SkillEdit
- Skill caps have increased from [ 1 * Level ] to [ 1.5 * Level ]
- Attack speed and DPS caps have increased to 200%
- Uses a diminishing returns curve to determine the actual amount of attackspeed and DPS modification, which caps out at 125% actual modification when reaching the cap
Creatures will have their damage values adjusted to account for the changes to mitigation.
In Detail: "Why these things?"Edit
- Cap issues for avoidance skills, casting skills, mitigation, stats, and haste:
- Many players spend most of their time with maxed out stats and skills. This creates a few problems:
- The game is not as satisfying to play when there is a diminished sense of progression as people gain new and more powerful items and spells.
- Equipment doesn't feel as interesting when it's "just a different way to hit the cap I'm already at."
- Encounters have needed to be designed with the expectation that caps are always reached
- Many players spend most of their time with maxed out stats and skills. This creates a few problems:
- Increases in Mitigation and Avoidance as one comes closer to the cap cause characters in that range to become exponentially stronger
- This created a huge gap between the well-equipped and poorly equipped characters, where small increases in mitigation and avoidance had little impact on the lower end of the spectrum, but made huge leaps in power at the higher end. This causes several other problems:
- It contributed to the effect that getting better gear does not make much difference in success.
- It forced raid encounters to have incredibly high damage,output along with special abilities that overcome all mitigations to negate those large gains. This leads to a lot of one-shot kills against classes with low mitigation (mages primarily).
- It forced named raid encounters to have increased melee attack skills, which unfairly affected classes that rely more on avoidance.
- Cloth and Leather armor wearers were effectively double penalized because increasing their mitigation values gave less benefit per-point than did Chain/Plate.
- This created a huge gap between the well-equipped and poorly equipped characters, where small increases in mitigation and avoidance had little impact on the lower end of the spectrum, but made huge leaps in power at the higher end. This causes several other problems:
- Casting Skill bonuses were not balanced in relative benefit that is granted through Melee and Avoidance Skills
- Casters did not have as much incentive to increase their casting skills as melee classes because they did not receive as much benefit when reaching their caps. This resulted in bonuses to skills that favored melee classes much more than casters, which is more apparent in raid situations and fighting overcon encounters. Some of the specifics:
- Offensive casting skill increases were only half as beneficial as the increased chances to hit offered by melee skill increases.
- Debuffing casting skill was also only half as effective as debuffing melee skills.
- The Fizzle mechanic filled a gap where beneficial spells did not need a resist check, so Fizzle became a 'beneficial resist' chance that could be mitigated with increased skill. It ended up being more of an annoyance than adding any interesting gameplay.
- Focus skill had very little impact on damage interrupt rates, and the sources of most interrupts were unavoidable in the form of spell interrupts, stifles, and stuns.
- PvP combat became heavily skewed towards melee classes because of non-damage interruptions, fizzles, and resist mechanics.
- To address many of these issues, we re-evaluated how mitigation, avoidance, stats, and other systems could be modified for better progression and game balance. Some of the general changes are listed below:
- Most caps have been increased by 50% to 100%
- The use of diminishing returns curves has been added instead of using a linear progression. This provides greater benefits at the low end and slows down as the player nears the cap.
- There was a re-evaluation of what casting skills affect.
- Characters that have mitigation, stat, or skill values that are around 40% of the new cap will not experience much change for that particular system. That is the typical break-even point where the old linear line and the new diminishing returns curve intersect. Players above the break-even point are often raid equipped and will see less benefit initially, but the new maximum caps yield the potential for achieving even greater benefit than before.
- A diminishing returns curve is not a 'soft cap' because there is no point on the curve where there is a sudden shift in how much benefit is returned. The break-even point can be used as a reference to how these changes will affect your character.
- Casters did not have as much incentive to increase their casting skills as melee classes because they did not receive as much benefit when reaching their caps. This resulted in bonuses to skills that favored melee classes much more than casters, which is more apparent in raid situations and fighting overcon encounters. Some of the specifics:
Example: Mitigation and LongevityEdit
To illustrate how diminishing returns help solve the problem of linear progression for mitigations, take a look at the benefits of two level 70 characters that increase their mitigation by the same amount in the old system:
- Player A increases their mitigation from 2000 to 2600. A change of +600, or +8.5% mitigation
- Player B increases their mitigation from 5000 to 5600. A change of +600, or +8.5% mitigation
Even though it looks like Player A and B received the same amount of benefit, Player B gained more than 3 times as much effective benefit with that same amount. How is that possible?
The change of mitigation Player A experienced granted them 13.6% more length of time to live, which we will refer to as Longevity. The change of mitigation Player B experienced granted them 42.9% additional longevity than they previously had. This is because Longevity is determined by the equation: [ 1 / ( 100 - Mitigation% ) ]
What results is that players that are very well equipped grow exponentially stronger than those that are not as well equipped. This causes these very well-equipped players to solo heroics with relative ease, and raid encounters must be designed to deal incredible amounts of damage that often one-shot kill other players in an area effect that do not have a minimum amount of mitigation for that encounter, especially mage classes. Cloth-wearers obviously won't be tanking, but we don't want them to get crushed if they take a single hit.
Using a diminishing returns curve for mitigation balances it in such a way that players that are further away from the cap receive more benefit per point of mitigation than does a player that is near the cap.
Another way of looking at this from the perspective of a level 70 player after these changes:
A player below 4000 in a mitigation type will experience more benefit than they did before, and a player above 4000 in a resist type will experience smaller gains in their damage reduction than before. 4000 is the level 70 break-even point where the old linear line and the new diminishing returns curve meet that returns the same benefit before and after the changes.
- Player A increases their mitigation from 1000 to 1600. A change of +600, or +9.75% mitigation
- Player B increases their mitigation from 2000 to 2600. A change of +600, or +6% mitigation
- Player C increases their mitigation from 5000 to 5600. A change of +600, or +2.15% mitigation
- Player A = 15.4% increase in changed longevity (this benefits mages a lot more than before)
- Player B = 9.6% increase in changed longevity
- Player C = 6% increase in changed longevity
Generally speaking, 40% of the new cap is roughly the break even point on most of these graphs for all of the new diminishing returns graphs for resists, stats, and skills.
We hope that this background is useful, both for communicating our thoughts on the huge subject that is "Combat in EverQuest II," and also useful a tool by which you can gauge the changes and continue to provide feedback on what it is that's coming to the Test Server, in Beta, and beyond.


text:
"When you go to history, let's go into history. Don't just go to your history. Let's go to the history. Or don't go into history at all. If you going to go back there, we can go back there. Or we can stay right here. … This is what they do, see. They go to their history, but they won't go to all over the history."
–Michael Irvin on the 11/5/2018 edition of First Take–
As your resident Miami Dolphins fan–yes, this franchise still exists, though you would be forgiven if two times a year, you confused the 'Phins as the P*triots' practice squad– I thought I would bring your attention to an annual tradition that has occurred since 1973. A tradition that only the tens of Miami Dolphins fans would know.
First, a little backstory:
Under Don Shula's guidance. . .
/Wakezilla does the sign of the Cross, followed by a touchdown spike gesture
The Dolphins went 17-0 in 1972, culminating their perfect season with a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redacteds in Superb Owl VII. I wish I could gloat more about this amazing accomplishment, but, my dad was a teenager in 1972 and I was many years away from being a twinkle in his eye.
But think about this, sports fans. In the almost 100 seasons of professional American football, only one team has gone undefeated and won the Superb Owl, and that team is the Miami Dolphins.
Despite being the only team to run the table, no one ever mentions this perfect accomplishment. Their defense is literally named the "No Name defense" because no one knows who played for them. Just like Rodney Dangerfield, the 1972 Dolphins just don't get any respect.
This cannot stand. If the Dolphins were named the Cowboys, Steelers, Packers or P*triots, it'd be mandatory in schools to know the entire team's roster. This will be my cross to bear. I will no longer standby and let this team be ignored. I will be the brave soul who will #Saytheirname.
Since this perfect season, two members of the perfect 1972 squad, Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka–though you may remember Csonka as host of one of a plethora of hunting and fishing shows on NBC Sports, or, like me, an analyst on American Gladiators– like to get together and have a glass of champagne when the last undefeated team of an NFL season loses. This isn't to celebrate the loss of a team, but, it is done to celebrate the Dolphins' perfection. However, nobody has seen footage of this annual tradition, until now.
As you're aware, the last undefeated team of this season, the LA Rams, lost to the Saints on Sunday afternoon. As more of the 1972 Dolphins squad dies off. . .
*Wakezilla pours a KEO beer out for Garo Yepremian*
There are fewer people around who know how to commemorate this special occasion. Perhaps it's because they want the future generation to remember the only perfect team in NFL history, but, Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka have graciously decided to show the football world how they celebrate when the last undefeated team of the season loses. I'm very happy to share this special Dolphinian tradition with the rest of the NFL family.
Special thanks to Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka for allowing DFO film crews to enter Morris' home to record this annual tradition.
On behalf of DFO, I'm Wakezilla.


text:
Ubiquiti UniFi Outdoor Mesh Pro Dual Band PoE Access point
Ubiquiti UniFi AC-M Mesh Pro Access Point, Dual-Band, 3 x Antennas, GbE, PoE, 802.11ac
|Monthly Payment:
|Instalment Rate:
|0% p.a. (fixed)
|Cost of purchase:
|Total inc. interest:
|Monthly Payment:
|Instalment Rate:
|0% p.a. (fixed)
|Cost of purchase:
|Total inc. interest:
Representative Example:
Purchase Rate: 19.9% p.a. (variable)
Representative: 19.9% APR (variable)
Assumed Credit Limit: £1,200Subject to status. Terms and Conditions apply.
By DPD
to your specified address. |
Receive SMS with one-hour delivery window
Weekend, timed and European delivery options are available at checkout
Have your parcel delivered by DPD to your specified address. Receive SMS with one-hour delivery windowWeekend, timed and European delivery options are available at checkout
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Collect from our Bolton store, BL6 6PE |
Order online, collect from our Bolton store (25-28 Enterprise Park, Middlebrook, Horwich, Bolton, BL6 6PE)
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Protect against installation damage for 28 days.
More info
ScanProtect is an enhanced warranty specifically designed and offered by Scan to reduce the risk of any mishap or damage to components during installation.
Our aim with ScanProtect is to encourage our customers to upgrade or build their own PC confidently. For a small additional fee our customers are provided with complete peace of mind.
The UAP-AC-M-PRO has multiple power options, enabling users to power via an 802.3af PoE compatible switch and can be powered over 24V passive PoE, or a 802.3af Alternative A compatible switch, or the included Gigabit PoE adapter. It also features dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, the main port is for data transfer and the second port is designed for bridging.
Weather-Resistant Form Factor
The enclosure of the UniFi AC Mesh Pro AP is designed to withstand the elements, making it ideal for outdoor deployment.
LED Indicators
Unique provisioning LED provides administrator location tracking and alerts for each device.
Powerful Coverage
Built-in dual-band omni-directional antennas deliver expanded range coverage outdoors.
Mounting Flexibility
The UniFi AC Mesh Pro AP can be mounted on a wall or pole. (All accessories are included.)
Dual Gigabit Ethernet Ports
The primary port is for data and PoE; the secondary port is for bridging.
Multiple Power Options
You can power the UniFi AC Mesh Pro AP with an 802.3af compatible switch, UniFi PoE Switch, or the included Gigabit PoE adapter.
UniFi Controller
Use the UniFi Controller to provision thousands of UniFi APs, map out networks, quickly manage system traffic, and provision additional UniFi APs.
RF Map
Use the RF map to monitor and analyze radio frequencies for optimal AP placement, configuration, and troubleshooting.
Powerful RF Performance Features
Advanced RF performance and configuration features include spectral analysis, airtime fairness, and band steering.
Detailed Analytics
Use the configurable reporting and analytics to manage large user populations and expedite troubleshooting.
Wireless Uplink
Wireless Uplink functionality enables wireless connectivity between APs for extended range. One wired UniFi AP uplink supports up to four wireless downlinks on a single operating band, allowing wireless adoption of devices in their default state and real-time changes to network topology.
For devices that support Plug & Play Mesh, this functionality is extended to allow multi-hop wireless uplink - so wirelessly uplinked APs can support uplink to other wirelessly uplinked APs.
Guest Portal/Hotspot Support
Easy customization options for Guest Portals include authentication, Hotspot setup, and the ability to use your own external portal server. Use UniFi's rate limiting for your Guest Portal/Hotspot package offerings. Apply different bandwidth rates (download/upload), limit total data usage, and limit duration of use.
All UniFi APs include Hotspot functionality:
• Built-in support for billing integration using major credit cards.
• Built-in support for voucher-based authentication.
• Built-in Hotspot Manager for voucher creation, guest management, and payment refund.
• Full customization and branding of Hotspot portal pages.
Multi-Site Management
A single cloud-based UniFi Controller can manage multiple sites: multiple, distributed deployments and multi-tenancy for managed service providers. Each site is logically separated and has its own configuration, maps, statistics, guest portal, and admin read/write and read-only accounts.
WLAN Groups
Manage flexible configurations of large deployments. Create multiple WLAN groups and assign them to an AP's radio. Features • 2.4 GHz Speed 450 Mbps
• 2.4 GHz MIMO 3 x 3
• 5 GHz Speed* 1300 Mbps
• 183 m (600 ft) Range
• PoE Mode 802.3af PoE
• Advanced QoS Per-User Rate Limiting
• Guest Traffic Isolation Supported
• WMM Voice, Video, Best Effort, and Background
• Concurrent Clients 200+
|Networking, Connectivity & Ports
|UniFi AC Outdoor Mesh Pro
|Device Type
|Wireless Access Point
|Compatible Internet Connections
|Network Connectivity
|Network Ports
|1 x RJ45 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) BaseT for WAN
|Other Connectors
|USB Applications
|Wired Protocols
|Total LAN Connections
|Total WAN Connections
|64 Bytes L3 Forwarding Performance
|Unknown pps
|512+ Bytes L3 Forwarding Performance
|Wireless Speed
|1750 (450+1300) Mbps
|Wireless Protocols
|Wireless Band
|Dual Band
|Operation Channel
|Wireless Transmitter Power
|8 dBi
|3 x Dual-Band Antennas
|Core Features
|Adaptive QoS
|Router/Modem Processor
|Internal RAM Memory
|Internal RAM Memory Type
|Internal Flash Memory
|LED Indicators
|1 x Reset Button
|OS Support
|Max. Power Consumption
|PSU Type
|Security & VPN
|Security Protocols
|VPN Support
|Physical Specifications
|181.2 x 343.2 x 60.2 mm (WxHxD)
|633 g
|Additional Information
|Scan Code
|Model Number
Please note your statutory rights are not affected.
For further information regarding Scan's warranty procedure please see our terms and conditions
- Duration:
- 12 months
- Type:
- Direct
- Manufacturer:
- Ubiquiti
Date Issued: 20th Oct 2008
Home networking let's you do great things that aren't possible with standalone PCs. Printers can be shared between PC, so there's no need to buy one for each machine.
Date Issued: 20th Oct 2008
Port forwarding is a technique you'll need to use to enable certain services if you're using a router. If you don't really care how it works, you can skip this section and just find out how to do it.
Date Issued: 19th Jun 2008
WiFi is a wonderful thing. You can take your laptop anywhere in your house and access the Internet, or access your network from the garden. However, it does introduce the grim possibility of somebody else doing exactly the same, without you ever knowing. This guide seeks to make you aware of various security terms and ideas associated with wireless networking and what you should consider when setting up a wireless network.
Date Issued: 26th Oct 2006
As a growing number of homes contain more than one computer, their users must find ways to network them. The primary purpose for creating a home network tends to be to provide Internet access to all computers within the house. There are other good reasons, however. These include enabling LAN gaming, data backups from one machine to another and the sharing of music within the home.


text:
Chun Hoping for One Better at the Lotte Championship
After a much needed one week break since the dramatic climax to the ANA Inspiration, the LPGA Tour is back, with the Lotte Championship being played at Ko Olina, Hawaii.
Last year's runner up In Gee Chun will be hoping for one better this time around, but such is the current strength of the LPGA Tour, nothing short of a near flawless performance is required to win any week. This week is certainly no exception. With the Korean ladies snapping up five of the opening seven LPGA titles this year, Chun will be desperate to add her name to the list soon. After her performance here last year, there's no reason why she cannot win this week.
Chun opened up last year with a disappointing 74, but went on to post three incredible rounds of 67, 65, 67. It was good enough to give her a second place finish, one behind eventual winner Minjee Lee.
2015 champion Sei Young Kim will be sitting out this week, reportedly due to injury. She backed up this win with a very commendable seventh place last year.
Kim has had a relatively quiet start to 2017, but the five time LPGA Tour winner is always going to be a strong contender no matter which tournament she plays in.
As stated before and numerous times throughout 2017, every week provides a very strong possibility of a Korean winner: So Yeon Ryu, Inbee Park, Mirim Lee, Amy Yang could easily add a second trophy to their 2017 cabinet this week. Ha Na Jang is absent, as she is set to play the KLPGA Together Open in Korea.
And what about Sung Hyun Park? So much is expected of her this year. She has had a solid start to her LPGA career, but a victory is her main priority. Can she win this week? Of course she can! Let's not forget the in form MJ Hur too… she has been near the top of the recent leaderboards and if she continues this form, well it will surely lead to a victory.
To cover all the possible outcomes would take a very very long time, but lets just say that this week's winner will come from one of the aforementioned ladies…
Kenneth Quillinan (aka Quilly!) View All
First up, I suppose I better say hello and thank you for visiting my website, whoever you are. I teach, I write, I caddy, I write, I travel, I write. Mostly, about golf if that interests you. Usually interviews for various publications and blog about my caddy adventures.