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Tennis (1-4 players): Players grab the controller like a racket and swing – the game will register forehands, backhands, volleys, lobs, slices, spin and power depending on how fast the user swings and at what angle. Don't worry about moving around the court to get to the ball – the game automatically moves players into position. Baseball (1-2 players): Grip the controller like a bat and swat fastballs out of the park in a home run derby. Timing and bat speed will make all the difference between going yard and whiffing, so keep an eye on the ball and swing for the fences. In the two-player game, one player pitches and the other bats. Golf (1 player): Step up to the tee, hold the controller like a golf club and swing naturally to smack the ball onto the green. The harder players swing the club, the farther the ball will fly, so be sure to take some practice swings before going for the pin. After reaching the green, line up putts carefully, practice the stroke and try to hole out.
Game Directors: Keizo Ohta, Takayuki Shimamura, Yoshikazu Yamashita; UI Designers: Emi Tomita, Takako Ishii, Masanobu Sato, Yoshifumi Masaki


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Come experience the many aspects of beautiful Mt. Taylor. Though located only 90 minutes west of Albuquerque near Grants, New Mexico, the trails there are rarely visited by runners. Join us in the Navajo tradition of waking up before dawn and running east to greet the sunrise from the La Mosca Lookout. See the views of the volcanic plugs to the north, the forested trails of the continental divide trail, trails through open high mountain meadows, and the 360 degree view from the summit of Mt. Taylor. This not-for-profit 50K is a scenic yet challenging mountain ultra created by runners, for runners. Once you see the course, you'll wonder why you've never been here before. Register and come see this hidden part of New Mexico for yourself!
Entry includes a technical t-shirt to all those who register by September 1, bracelet to all female finishers, finisher medal to all who complete the 50K, post race cookout, well stocked aid stations and a well marked course. $95 until August 1, then $110.
Register by August 8 for a guarenteed shirt size.
Refunds – No refunds, transfers, and no rollovers. All proceeds go to charity.
Cancellation – The race director reserves the right to cancel the race in the case of adverse conditions beyond our control.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Right Table Saw for Your Shop
Buying a table saw is one of the most important investments a woodworker can make. If you're in the market for your first saw or ready to step up to a better model, keep reading. We'll bring you up to speed on table saw types and classes, what to look for in any table saw, and how to choose a model that suits your woodworking style and budget.
Types of Table Saw
The table saws available on the market today almost all fall under one of the following classifications: portable or "jobsite" saws, contractor saws, hybrid saws and cabinet saws. If you're shopping for a new saw, the first things you'll need to know is what the classifications mean, and what you can expect from saws in each class.
Portable & Jobsite Table Saws
Portable table saws are designed to be easy to lift and move around, making them great for carpenters and others who spend most of their time on the job site. Portable table saws perform the same basic function as larger table saws, but on a smaller scale. Instead of the hefty induction motor that you'll find on power saws in the other classes, they use a lightweight universal motor, and because of that, tend to be a little short on muscle and also fairly loud. As another concession to portability, most portable saws have an aluminum top, instead of cast iron. The aluminum top and less torquey universal motor are not necessarily "problems" but they are definitely less durable and also mean that the saw will produce more vibration and feel less stable to operate.
Bosch portable table saw improvements in recent years to "jobsite" saws have made them more viable for woodworkers, and better than ever for carpentry tasks. The Bosch 4100 Portable Saw you see here, with its 15 amp universal motor and 25" rip capacity offers enough power for most common ripping jobs and reasonable capacity for cutting sheet materials.
Still, portable saws lack the power to rip thick hardwoods and aren't really designed to provide the accuracy that fine woodworking demands. Since contractor, hybrid, and cabinet saws represent more realistic choices for professional woodworkers and serious hobbyists, we'll consider them in more detail below. powermatic model a4 table saw.
Contractor Saws
Contractor saws were originally designed to be portable enough to haul from jobsite to jobsite. These open-based table saws are characterized by a straightforward design and an affordable price. Contractor saws are relatively lightweight (in the 250 - 350 lb. range) usually priced within the reach of the hobbyist and homeowner and until recently, have been virtually the only option for the small shop.
Contractor saws do make a few concessions in the name of affordability and portability. Although most contractor saws have a solid cast iron table top, the extension wings may be made of "open webbed" cast iron or stamped metal. The trunnions, gearing and arbor assembly of a contractor saw are less husky than those found on more expensive saws. The contractor saw's motor hangs off of the back of the saw - a feature originally meant to make the motor easier to remove for transport - and is most often connected to the arbor assembly via a single V-belt.
Contractor saws are still the most affordable solution for the home shop, and are suitable for carpentry, small cabinetry projects, trim work, and basic furniture making. Many contractor saws now come with high quality fence systems.
Using the best quality saw blade and using blades designed for a specific type of cut - can enhance the performance of a contractor saw and bring it up to speed for many more advanced woodworking projects. Buying a contractor saw that's equipped with solid cast iron extension wings will increase the stability of the saw, and help reduce the impact of vibration on the saw's less substantial trunnions and gearing.
Cabinet Saws
Cabinet saws - so called because of the fully enclosed "cabinet" style base - represent the other end of the spectrum from the contractor saw. Cabinet saws are designed to meet the performance and durability needs of professional woodworkers. Cabinet saws are more substantial in overall construction than contractor saws - they're built using more cast iron and steel, have heavier trunnions, gearing, and arbor assemblies, and more powerful motors than their contractor saw counterparts. The cumulative result is a saw that can cut through even the thickest hardwood stock easily, all day long, with very little vibration to wear on either the saws alignment and settings or the operator's nerves.
A number of features set the cabinet saw apart. The motor is enclosed inside the cabinet base, making it a quieter saw, and the fully enclosed base has the advantage of making dust collection easier. The motor and arbor assembly are held in place with heavy-duty trunnions that attach to the cabinet base (instead of the table) which makes bringing the saw blade into alignment with the miter slot and fence much easier.
As a rule, cabinet saw are manufactured to more exacting standards than less expensive saws: their tables are flatter, their bearings and pulleys heavier and more robust, and most often, they're equipped with a more reliable fence system.
A good quality cabinet saw is more of an investment than a contractor saw. And because cabinet saws use more powerful motors (3 -5 HP as opposed to 1 - 1-3/4 HP for contractor and hybrid saws) they require a 220 volt circuit for operation. They are by no means portable - a full sized cabinet saw weighs in at upwards of 600 lbs. But even with the greater expense, the electrical power requirements, and the physical heft of the machine, cabinets saws are still the preferred saw of professional woodworkers and serious amateurs alike due to their superior performance.
Hybrid Saws
In recent years, tool manufacturers have begun to recognize the gulf between affordable contractor saws and professional-class cabinet saws. The result has been a new class of table saw. "Hybrid" table saws capture some of the most valuable cabinet saw features at a price that's still in range for the hobbyist. Some hybrid saws have a cabinet saw-style base while others have a shorter enclosed base and legs. In either case, the base is fully enclosed, with the motor mounted inside.
Hybrid saws are equipped with more substantial trunnions and arbor bearings, often a more advanced drive belt system, and better gearing than most contractor saws. In addition, the trunnions of many hybrid saws are mounted to the base of the saw, making precision alignment of the blade with the miter slot and the blade much easier. Hybrid saws are essentially a scaled down version of the cabinet saw.
They're lighter weight, and are equipped with motors in the 1-1/2 - 1-3/4 HP range (which means that they can be used with standard 110 volt service). Many believe that hybrid saws represent the wave of the future for home shops. They're not quite in the same class as their larger cousins, but hybrids are sturdy and well constructed and offer many advantages for the serious hobbyist.
Choosing the Right Saw for Your Shop
The type of saw to consider for your shop depends on the type of woodworking you do, the amount of time you spend woodworking, your budget and, in part, the space and type of access your shop affords (you should think twice, for example, before committing yourself to moving a full scale cabinet saw into a small basement shop).
If you spend only a few hours a week in your shop, mostly making cabinetry and other small projects, a cabinet saw might be nice to have, but a little more than you need. On the other hand, if you operate a small professional shop, and are looking for a saw that you can comfortably and reliably run for hours at a time, a low end contractor model will probably slow you down and end up being a disappointment. Hybrid saws offer a good middle ground for serious hobbyists, and will even prove suitable for certain small-scale professional operations. Jet Tools offers a surprising breadth of advanced features in its line of affordable "Supersaws."
Table Saw Features Are Important
As important as the type of saw you choose are the individual features of the saw. Some affordable contractor model saws offer many of the same features that you'd expect to find on a top-quality cabinet saw, such as the widely respected Accu-Fence system and precision ground cast iron table tops and extension wings you'll find on Powermatic contractor models. By the same token, while saws in the cabinet saw class all share certain features - a 3HP or larger motor, trunnions that attach to the base, and heavier construction - they are not all manufactured to the same standards. Take a close look at the quality of all of the saw's components, including the quality of the fence system, the mass and stance of the trunnions, the grind and finish of the top and extension wings, and features that make power transmission to the blade more efficient.
Buying a table saw is a big investment, and worth careful consideration. You may not be able to "test drive" every table saw on your list, but you can read reviews, compare specs and features, and it doesn't hurt to take the manufacturers reputation into account. When you're ready to buy your new dream table saw, Rockler offers a wide variety of contractor saws, hybrid saws and cabinet saws from the most trusted brands in the business.


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Who knew the mild-mannered cuckoo clock could evolve into such a gruesome object? Fans of the Stanley Kubrick film The Shining will adore this takeoff on the innocent pop-out clock, where every hour Jack Nicholson's crazed face pops through the door, yelling "Here's Johnny!" as Shelley Duvall screams in terror. Cuckoo clock, indeed.
This prototype by designer Chris Dimino isn't available yet to the general public, but if there are enough fans of The Shining and the horror genre in general, it might someday see the light of day. Even though it's a great idea, we're thinking all the yelling and screaming every hour on the hour could get pretty old after about a day. But then maybe we're turning into dull boys because of that "all work and no play" thing.
Design Site [Chris Dimino, via Coolest Gadgets]


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Leighton Meester Sues Mom -- You Ripped Me Off!
"Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester is suing her mother, claiming her mom diverted money Leighton sent to her little brother and used it for plastic surgery, Botox and hair extensions.
According to the suit ... obtained by TMZ ... Leighton's mom refused to work, but Leighton felt badly for her younger brother Lex, who has severe medical issues. So Leighton sent her mom $7,500 a month so she could provide for Lex.
But the suit claims the mother, Constance Meester, used the money for cosmetic procedures and other personal expenses.
According to the suit, Constance even tried to convince Leighton ... they had an oral contract requiring Leighton to pay her $10,000 a month for life. Leighton says it's a total lie.
Leighton claims her mom threatened to file a $3 million lawsuit against her unless Leighton started coughing up the dough.
Leighton wants the judge to declare there's no contract between her and her mom.


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|Group photo of all participants (except Peter Tyack and Constance Scharff, who had to leave early) contributing to a Lorentz Workshop on Musicality in April 2014.
For me personally, it was simply a pivotal workshop. With over twenty international scientists and scholars (i.e. Judith Becker, Simon E. Fisher, Tecumseh Fitch, Bruno Gingras, Jessica Grahn, Yuko Hattori, Marisa Hoeschele, David Huron, Yukiko Kikuchi, Hugo Merchant, Bjorn Merker, Iain Morley, Ani Patel, Isabelle Peretz, Martin Rohrmeier, Constance Scharff, Carel ten Cate, Laurel Trainor, Sandra Trehub, Peter Tyack, Geraint Wiggins and Jelle Zuidema) interested in musicality, we succeeded in agreeing on a research agenda to study what makes us musical animals. A publication is expected to be out in 2015. But for now, I can only be exhilarated that this group of fine researchers share a sincere fascination for this topic. A photo impression of the workshop can be found here.


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EAT Converter
Eastern Africa Time
Offset: EAT is 3 hours ahead Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and is used in Africa
Countries: It is used in following countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Comoros, Madagascar, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Mayotte
Principal Cities: The largest city in the EAT timezone is Addis Ababa from Ethiopia with population about 2.758 million people. Other major cities in the area are Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Mogadishu, Antananarivo
Daylight Saving: Eastern Africa Time (EAT) is not adjusted for daylight saving therefore EAT remains the same through out the year. This means, unlike some time zones where the clock is set forward by one hour every summer and backward by one hour during winter to adjust for daylight saving, Eastern Africa Time remains the same
EAT representations, usage and related time zones
- +03 - basic short
- +0300 - basic
- +03:00 - extended
- +0300 - sign character (+) followed by a four digit time providing hours (03) and minutes (00) of the offset. Indicates three hour and zero minutes time differences to the east of the zero meridian.
- Charlie - Military abbreviation for EAT
- C - short form of 'Charlie'
- Africa/Addis_Ababa
- Africa/Asmara
- Africa/Asmera
- Africa/Dar_es_Salaam
- Africa/Djibouti
- Africa/Kampala
- Africa/Mogadishu
- Africa/Nairobi
- Indian/Antananarivo
- Indian/Comoro
- Indian/Mayotte
- EEST - Eastern European Summer Time
- MSK - Moscow Standard Time
- AST - Arabia Standard Time
- C - Charlie Time Zone
- EAT - Eastern Africa Time
- FET - Further Eastern European Time
- IDT - Israel Daylight Time
- TRT - Turkey Time


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BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Four years ago Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry. Since then, more than 10,000 gay and lesbian couples have exchanged vows in the state.
David Wilson and Rob Compton, of Massachusetts, were among first same-sex couples to marry in 2004.
David Wilson and Rob Compton were among the first to say, "I do." The impact, they say, has been huge. Wilson says it was the switch from partner to husband that made a difference.
"Just using the word husband brings a level of confidence that helps say to the person we're talking with we have a right to be together, we are a couple and we love each other," Wilson says.
Wilson and Compton chose to keep their own surnames, but they say the need to define or justify their relationship is gone -- everyone understands what being married means.
Initially, there was a rush to the altar in Massachusetts.
In the six months after May 17, 2004, when Massachusetts began issuing marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples, an estimated 6,100 same-sex couples married. They now average less than 1,000 a year, according to MassEquality.org, a grassroots organization working to help gay and lesbian couples achieve equality. Watch: David and Rob talk about what has changed »
Having the same rights as heterosexual couples means the same issues -- like divorce. So far, at least 48 same-sex divorces have been reported. Same-sex divorces are hard to track because they are recorded by the last names of the parties involved, without reference to gender, according to Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, a leading gay rights organization.
There have been several attempts to stop same-sex marriage in Massachusetts since the state made it legal. The most recent attempt was in 2007, when a proposed amendment to ban such unions was defeated.
Massachusetts State Rep. Paul Loscocco, a Republican, was one of several dozen lawmakers who changed their minds on the vote, deciding to vote against a ban. The change, he says, is reflective of society at large.
"I can't tell you how many calls I got from people saying, 'I called you before and now my grandson is gay -- now they're a couple -- now I've changed my mind and I want you to vote the other way,' " says Loscocco.
Groups opposed to same-sex marriage said their fight, though less visible, remains strong.
"It has not gone away in hearts and minds of people, particularly parents," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute.
"The costs to family, children and culture are too great to concede this battle to those who would see marriage and family redefined to the point of irrelevancy," the group says on its Web site.
For Wilson and Compton, legalization and wider acceptance means they're finally able to reap the same benefits of heterosexual married couples, such as hospital visitation rights. Compton was able to exercise his rights recently when he was in Rhode Island for a conference and needed emergency surgery for a kidney stone.
"I said, 'Well my husband will be coming,' and you know they didn't even blink. They just smiled and they knew I was from Massachusetts and didn't say anything," recalls Compton.
Other benefits include the possibility of obtaining health insurance through a spouse's work and the right to file joint state tax returns, transfer property, automatically inherit shared assets and make medical decisions for a spouse.
Fears that Massachusetts might become a destination for same-sex marriage for the rest of the country were put to rest when then-Gov. Mitt Romney dusted off a 1913 statute barring marriage in the commonwealth if a couple's home state did not recognize the union.
But it's a different story in California, where marriage benefits will follow same-sex couples to wherever they settle. Wilson and Compton plan to be in California to celebrate, as the state on Monday becomes the second in the country to allow same-sex matrimony.
Still, until same-sex marriage receives federal recognition, Wilson and Compton say, the unions will remain second-class marriages.
"We've begun the process, California is second and as all of these couples go back to their home states, they want those same benefits. They're going to take them back to those states and absolutely they will ask for those rights," says Wilson.
"I see it as a building block and eventually we will see this get to the federal level."
All About Same-Sex Marriage


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[vodpod id=Video.16105175&w=425&h=350&fv=v%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.nbcwashington.com%252Fi%252Fembed_new%252F%253Fcid%253D139460618%2526path%3D%24%7BencodedPath%7D]
Danny White has had vanity license plates on his car for 25 years. But it's almost as though the Washington, D.C. resident has no plates at all. That's because White's plates, which read "NO TAGS," mirror the district's official ticketing code for a car that doesn't have proper plates attached.
He's received an estimated $20,000 in tickets – none of them his. When police draft a ticket for a car without license plates, they fill out the plate number field with the phrase "NO TAGS." And when that ticket is processed by the district, it's matched up to White's car. White's mailbox is essentially the overflow bin for tickets on the city's delinquent vehicles.
(MORE: Smaller, Cheaper Cars Are More Expensive to Insure)
White initially purchased his "NO TAGS" plates jokingly, but the tickets that he receives each month are enough to wipe away any fun. "I've got enough tickets here to plaster my whole car," White told NBC4 Washington. White's frequent pilgrimages to court to get the tickets wiped are about the most of his troubles. He simply has to show that he drives a Chevy Avalanche, and the multitude of tickets written for Hondas and Fords disappear. But the courts scrutinize any ticket written for a Chevy, because, after all, the plate number does match his car. His record is pages long for tickets he never should have received.
(WATCH: Your Next Car Could Be a Golf Cart)
Local DMVs have a list of banned tags for various reasons: they're profane, contain innuendo, or mirror those of the authorities – some states even ban plates that they merely think are dirty. D.C. didn't put a stop to White's plates even though they contained an official phrase. But after getting wind of White's story, Washington DMV director Lucinda Babers sent a notice to all ticket writing agencies explaining they shouldn't use "NO TAGS" or "NONE" when a vehicle has improper plates. Instead, they should use the last six digits of the car's VIN number, along with an XX for the state. This new protocol will, in theory, put a stop to the crush of tickets flooding into White's mailbox.
But it may not be the vindication White was hoping for. In addition to the new ticket policy, the DMV might recall White's tags to avoid potential confusion in the future. White might finally get tags that register in the system as proper tags.


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The Reflected Works collects some of our favorite advertising, education and promotional pieces from 1910-1969.
Learn how Sappi web covers help deliver a flawless first impression to your direct mail customers in seconds.
Learn how media shapes the brain and consequently the way a brand is perceived.
Learn more about higher education marketing in our new Verticals publication.
Learn more about best practices for topics such as color management, project planning and printing techniques.
Learn more about the essential principles of creating effective mailings that deliver results.
Sappi's archives are a collection of technical expertise, design history, and a narrative of the many changes the industry has experienced.
Make use of our extensive library of technical information, practical advice and innovative print and paper solutions.
Find useful press and printing information and solutions from our experts.
Learn more about color management, design, folding, events and more.
View the entire collection of files and videos on Sappi etc. and search by topic.
Recognizing superior innovation, creativity and excellence in printed communications.


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That's the New Year over and done with and despite the fact resolutions aren't worth the mental toilet paper they are written on, it is perhaps time for something a little healthier. For those of you currently thinking along similar lines, you'll not go far wrong with this extraordinarily frugal recipe for mixed berry smoothie.
People don't seem to realise how inflated the prices of smoothies are these days. The leading smoothie company in the UK, which shall remain nameless, charges around £2 per 250ml drink and while the recipes they use are very tasty, you feel like you're paying a premium to stay healthy. Fresh berries are similarly overpriced, so I highly recommend making your own smoothies and doing so with frozen berries which often cost less than half the price.
This mixed berry smoothie recipe is more flavoursome and far cheaper than any that can be found commercially. Additionally, preparing the drink yourself means that you know exactly where your ingredients come from. The smoothie depicted above and below contained West Country honey and yoghurt which were of superior quality to most brands and comparably priced. The reasons for using ingredients produced in relatively close proximity may be less important here than in peanut butter, but it's still beneficial to do so. Remember, it is possible to source good quality produce and remain frugal in your culinary endeavours!
Please check out my tips section for more information about being as frugal as possible… now on to the recipe!
Mixed Berry Smoothie {recipe}
Serves 2
• 150g frozen berries
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp honey
• 4 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 150ml orange juice
1. Chop up the banana into manageable chunks, throw everything into a blender and blitz until smooth (this page talks about the topic in detail). If it seems a little thick add more juice, or if it's not quite creamy enough add more yoghurt. If you wish remove the berry seeds pass the smoothie through a sieve, but don't worry too much!
Cost: Frozen berries are far cheaper than fresh ones and are therefore preferable, particularly at this time of the year and in frugal recipes. Two smoothies made according to this recipe should set one back no more than £1.20 – a very impressive figure, less than half the price of those produced commercially.


text: The Jackson area has an enviable selection of unique restaurants and many local inns have dining rooms open to the public. If you are visiting on a weekend or holiday, please let us assist you making dinner reservations prior to your arrival. Our Dining page provides suggestions for a wide variety of restaurant options.


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Today's Market Winners and Losers
Thursday's stock market is mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.58%, the Nasdaq down 0.17% and the S&P 500 up 0.50%. Today's winners include an online streaming company and a transportation firm reporting strong fourth-quarter earnings. Meanwhile, both of today's losers reported disappointing fourth-quarter results.
These are Thursday's market winners and losers.
Biggest Winners
Shares of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) are up 36.94% to $141.41 on trading volume of 8.1 million shares. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $0.13 a share, better than the $0.13 per share net loss Wall St. analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected. Before Thursday, the 52-week high was $133.43.
Shares of Swift Transportation Co. (NYSE: SWFT) are up 21.31% to $12.41 on trading volume of 6.1 million shares. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $0.34 a share, better than the $0.26 a share Wall St. analysts expected. The 52-week high is $12.82.
Biggest Losers
Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) are down 9.82% to $463.02 on trading volume of 26.6 million shares. The company reported the slowest profit growth since 2003 for the fourth-quarter and the weakest revenue growth in more than three years. The 52-week low is $443.14.
Shares of ITT Educational Services Inc. (NYSE: ESI) are down 8.94% to $13.04 on trading volume of 1.6 million shares. Sales at the for-profit educator slid 18% for the fourth-quarter as new enrollment declined by 11%. Before Thursday, the 52-week low was $13.90.
Follow Samuel on Twitter: SWeigley
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Market Roundups, Most Actives Tagged: AAPL, ESI, NFLX, SWFT


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Aspose.Cells for .NET
Aspose.Cells is a .NET component for spreadsheet reporting without using Microsoft Excel. It supports robust formula calculation engine, pivot tables, VBA, workbook encryption, named ranges, spreadsheet formatting, drawing objects like images, OLE objects and importing or creating charts. You can also create Excel file using designer spreadsheet, smart marker or API and apply formulae and functions. It supports CSV, SpreadsheetML, PDF and all file formats from Excel 97 to Excel 2007.


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Those of us who have spent much of our IT careers wrapped up inside of a nice, warm cocoon of virtualization were fortunate to have front row seats to another great year, as virtualization technologies continued to flourish in 2013. Virtualization remained a key component in the modern data center, and cloud computing continued to grow in importance -- both of which helped take all things virtual in a number of interesting directions.
In 2013, we witnessed big news around some of the usual suspects and brought attention to a number of new players hoping to make a name for themselves. If you're a fan or student of this technology, last year did not disappoint.
[ Also on InfoWorld: Parallels says key to success is cloud virtualization, not Mac desktop virtualization | >Review: VMware vSphere 5.5 adds speed and usability | Track the latest trends in virtualization in InfoWorld's Virtualization Report newsletter. ]
To spotlight a few of the events that took place in 2013, here is a list of 10 virtualization and cloud news stories that grabbed my attention.
1. VMware acquires, then kills virtual storage company Virsto
Back in February, VMware announced the acquisition of virtual storage company Virsto Software, rounding out the company's software-defined data center strategy.
At the time of the acquisition, John Gilmartin, VMware vice president of storage and availability, said this of the company: "Virsto has developed a VM-centric storage management model that accelerates I/O performance for any block-based storage system while providing efficient data services like VM snapshots and clones." According to Gilmartin, VMware planned to continue to offer Virsto's virtual appliance as a stand-alone product, as well as integrate it into VMware's solution stack.
Fast-forward to the end of the year, and VMware was already announcing the end of availability of all VMware Virsto versions, effective Jan. 1, 2014. The company added that "after this date, you will no longer be able to purchase these products. All support and maintenance for the removed versions will be unaffected and will continue as per VMware Lifecycle Support Policy through the published support period, September 19, 2015."
While the Virsto technology wasn't long lived within the halls of VMware, the company did remove a possible key piece of technology from the hands of hypervisor competitors such as Microsoft and Citrix, while at the same time increasing the knowledge and skill set of its own internal software development team with the acquisition of those employees who came over from Virsto. Those folks probably had a hand in developing VMware Virtual SAN.
2. Citrix gives Xen to the open source community
In 2013 the hypervisor may have become more of a commodity play, but Citrix still wasn't receiving the amount of love and respect for XenServer that it thought it should. With VMware and Microsoft capturing the majority of the market share in this space, and other Linux open source technologies like KVM making faster inroads within the Linux community, Citrix decided to make a change.
In April, Citrix announced at the Linux Foundation's Collaboration Summit in San Francisco that it was going to donate the open source Xen hypervisor to the Linux Foundation, and along with it some of the proprietary technology that Citrix had been adding to XenServer since it acquired XenSource back in 2007.
In turn, the Linux Foundation said it would support continued development and maintenance of Xen. As a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project, the newly named Xen Project would get support, infrastructure, and guidance from the nonprofit foundation.
The hope here was that by donating Xen back to the community, it would provide the Xen hypervisor with a wider, more diverse group of contributors and perhaps allow it to more effectively compete with the larger hypervisor vendors -- and try to win back some of the Linux community who fled to KVM. Companies like Amazon, AMD, CA Technologies, Cisco, Google, Intel, Oracle, Samsung, and Verizon all pledged to support the newly named Xen Project.
This move seemed in line with the company's earlier donation of CloudStack to the Apache Software Foundation. Again, Citrix wanted to expand that open source technology to contributors in order to better compete with the less mature but more popular OpenStack community.
Only time will tell if either technology will win back the hearts and minds of the community, and whether it will make a big difference to the development of either platform.


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HiQnet Audio Architect Migration
BSS Audio HiQnet London Architect functionality has been added to HiQnet Audio Architect configuration and control software. Along with HiQnet capable products from AKG, Crown, dbx and JBL, BSS Audio Soundweb London products previously managed by London Architect can now be managed by HiQnet Audio Architect.
To learn more about this migration and the roadmap for London Architect feature support,
Migration Details
For new applications,
For maintenance of existing applications,


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111 S.Ct. 1512
113 L.Ed.2d 608
UNITED STATES, Petitioner
CENTENNIAL SAVINGS BANK FSB (Resolution Trust Corporation, Receiver).
No. 89-1926.
Argued Jan. 15, 1991.
Decided April 17, 1991.
During the 1981 tax year, respondent Centennial Savings Bank FSB exchanged participation interests in a set of mortgage loans for interests in a different set of mortgage loans held by another lender. All of the loans were secured by residential properties and had a face value substantially higher than their fair market value. In a separate set of transactions, Centennial collected early withdrawal penalties from customers who prematurely terminated their certificates of deposit (CD's). In its 1981 federal income tax return, Centennial claimed a deduction for the difference between the face value of the mortgage interests it surrendered and the fair market value of the mortgage interests it received. It also treated the early withdrawal penalties it received as "income by reason of the discharge . . . of indebtedness" excludable from gross income under 26 U.S.C. § 108(a)(1)(C) (1982 ed.). After the Internal Revenue Service disallowed the deduction of the losses associated with the mortgages and determined that Centennial was required to declare the early withdrawal penalties as income, Centennial paid the deficiencies and filed a refund action in the District Court. The court entered a judgment for petitioner United States on the mortgage-exchange issue and for Centennial on the early withdrawal penalty issue. The Court of Appeals reversed the mortgage-exchange ruling, but affirmed the early withdrawal penalty holding.
1. Centennial realized tax-deductible losses when it exchanged mortgage interests with the other lender. Cottage Savings Assn. v. Commissioner, 499 U.S. 554, 111 S.Ct. 1503, 113 L.Ed.2d 589. Pp. 578-579.
2. The early withdrawal penalties collected by Centennial were not excludable from income under § 108(a)(1). A debtor realizes income from the "discharge of indebtedness" only when the income results from the forgiveness of, or release from, an obligation to repay assumed by the debtor at the outset of the debtor-creditor relationship. Here, the depositors who prematurely closed their accounts and incurred penalties did not forgive or release any repayment obligation on the part of Centennial, which paid exactly what it was obligated to pay according to the terms of the agreements entered into at the time the CD's were established. This reading best comports with § 108's purpose, which is to mitigate the effect of treating a discharge of indebtedness as income so that the prospect of immediate tax liability will not discourage businesses from taking advantage of opportunities to repurchase or liquidate their debts at less than face value. A debtor who negotiates in advance the circumstances in which he will liquidate the debt is in a position to anticipate his need for cash with which to pay the resulting income tax and can negotiate the terms of the anticipated liquidation accordingly. Moreover, in this case, Centennial was committed to releasing the deposits at the sole election of the depositors. Thus, unlike a debtor considering the negotiation of an adjustment of the terms of a duty to repay, Centennial had no discretion to take the tax effects of a transaction into account before liquidating its obligation at less than face value. Pp. 579-584.
887 F.2d 595 (CA5 1989), affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
MARSHALL, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which REHNQUIST, C.J., and STEVENS, O'CONNOR, SCALIA, KENNEDY, and SOUTER, JJ., joined, in Parts I and III of which WHITE, J., joined, and in Part III of which BLACKMUN, J., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which WHITE, J., joined, post, p. ----.
John G. Roberts, Jr., for petitioner.
Michael F. Duhl, for respondent.
Justice MARSHALL delivered the opinion of the Court.*
In this case, we consider two questions relating to the federal income tax liability of respondent Centennial Savings Bank FSB (Centennial). The first is whether Centennial realized deductible losses when it exchanged its interests in one group of residential mortgage loans for another lender's interests in a different group of residential mortgage loans. The second is whether penalties collected by Centennial for the premature withdrawal of federally insured certificates of deposit (CD's) constituted "income by reason of the discharge . . . of indebtedness" excludable from gross income under 26 U.S.C. § 108(a)(1)(C) (1982 ed.). The Court of Appeals answered both questions affirmatively. We agree with the Court of Appeals that Centennial's mortgage exchange gave rise to an immediately deductible loss, but we reverse the Court of Appeals' determination that Centennial was entitled to exclude from its taxable income the early withdrawal penalties collected from its depositors.
* Centennial is a mutual savings and loan institution (S & L) formerly regulated by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB).1 At issue in this case are two sets of transactions involving Centennial in the 1981 tax year.
The first was Centennial's exchange of "90% participation interests" in a set of mortgage loans held by Centennial for "90% participation interests" in a different set of mortgage loans held by the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA).2 Secured by residential properties located primarily in northern Texas, Centennial's 420 loans had a face value of approximately $8.5 million and a fair market value of approximately $5.7 million; FNMA's 377 loans, secured by properties located throughout Texas, likewise had a face value of approximately $8.5 million and a fair market value of $5.7 million. Centennial and FNMA structured the exchange so that the respective mortgage packages would be deemed "substantially identical" under the FHLBB's Memorandum R-49, dated June 27, 1982, a regulatory directive aimed at identifying mortgage exchanges that would not generate accounting losses for FHLBB regulatory purposes but that would generate deductible losses for federal tax purposes. See generally Cottage Savings Assn. v. Commissioner, 499 U.S. 554, 556-557, 111 S.Ct. 1503, 1506, 113 L.Ed.2d 589. On its 1981 return, Centennial claimed a deduction for the loss of $2,819,218, the difference between the face value (and cost basis) of the mortgage interests surrendered to FNMA and the market value of the mortgage interests received from FNMA in return.
The second set of transactions was Centennial's collection of early withdrawal penalties from customers who prematurely terminated their CD accounts. Each CD agreement established a fixed-term, fixed-interest account. See App. 27-29. Consistent with federal regulations, each agreement also provided that the depositor would be required to pay a penalty to Centennial should the depositor withdraw the principal before maturity. See 12 CFR § 526.7(a) (1979); 12 CFR § 526.7(a) (1980); 12 CFR § 1204.103 (1981). Thus, in the event of premature withdrawal, the depositor was entitled under the CD agreement to the principal and accrued interest, minus the applicable penalty. See App. 27-29.
Centennial collected $258,019 in early withdrawal penalties in 1981. In its tax return for that year, Centennial treated the penalties as income from the discharge of indebtedness. Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §§ 108 and 1017 (1982 ed.), Centennial excluded the $258,019 from its income and reduced the basis of its depreciable property by that amount.
On audit, the Internal Revenue Service disallowed the deduction of the losses associated with Centennial's mortgages, and determined that Centennial should have declared as income the early withdrawal penalties collected that year. After paying the resulting deficiencies, Centennial instituted this refund action in the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which entered judgment for the United States on the mortgage-exchange issue, and for Centennial on the early withdrawal penalty issue. 682 F.Supp. 1389 (1988).
The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed in part and affirmed in part. 887 F.2d 595 (1989). It reversed the District Court's ruling that Centennial did not realize a deductible loss in the mortgage-exchange transaction. Relying on its reasoning in another decision handed down the same day, see San Antonio Savings Assn. v. Commissioner, 887 F.2d 577 (1989), the Court of Appeals concluded that although the respective mortgage packages exchanged by Centennial and FNMA were "substantially identical" under Memorandum R-49, the two sets of mortgages were nonetheless "materially different" for tax purposes because they were secured by different residential properties. See 887 F.2d, at 600. Consequently, the court held, the exchange of the two sets of mortgages did give rise to a realization event for tax purposes, allowing Centennial immediately to recognize its losses. See ibid.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's conclusion that Centennial was entitled to treat the early withdrawal penalties as income from the discharge of indebtedness under § 108. The court reasoned that "the characterization of income as income from the discharge of indebtedness depends purely on the spread between the amount received by the debtor and the amount paid by him to satisfy his obligation." Id., at 601. Under this test, the early withdrawal penalties constituted income from the discharge of indebtedness, the court concluded, because the penalties reduced the size of Centennial's obligation to its depositors. See id., at 601-602. The court rejected the United States' characterization of the penalties as merely a "medium of payment" for Centennial's performance of its "separate obligation" to release the deposits prior to maturity. Id., at 604-605.
The United States thereafter petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari. Because the Court of Appeals' dispositions of both the mortgage-exchange issue and the early withdrawal penalty issue are in conflict with decisions in other Circuits, and because of the importance of both issues for the savings and loan industry, we granted the petition. 498 U.S. 808, 111 S.Ct. 40, 112 L.Ed.2d 17 (1990).3
The question whether Centennial realized tax-deductible losses when it exchanged mortgage interests with FNMA is controlled by our decision in Cottage Savings Assn. v. Commissioner. In Cottage Savings, we recognized that a property exchange gives rise to a realization event for purposes of § 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Code4 so long as the exchanged properties are "materially different." 499 U.S., at 560-562, 111 S.Ct., at 1507-1509. We concluded that the properties are "different" in the sense "material" to the Code so long as they embody legally distinct entitlements. At 564-565, 111 S.Ct., at 1510-1511.
That test is easily satisfied here. As in Cottage Savings, the participation interests exchanged here were in loans made to different obligors and secured by different properties. Thus, the interests embodied distinct entitlements. We therefore affirm the Court of Appeals' conclusion that Centennial was entitled to a refund of the disallowed losses claimed on its mortgages.
We next consider the question whether the early withdrawal penalties collected by Centennial constituted "income by reason of the discharge . . . of indebtedness" excludable from income under 26 U.S.C. § 108(a)(1) (1982 ed.). We conclude that the penalties were not subject to exclusion under § 108 because the depositors who paid these penalties did not "discharge" Centennial from any repayment obligation.
The version of § 108 in effect for the 1981 tax year states:
"Gross income does not include any amount which (but for this subsection) would be includible in gross income by reason of the discharge (in whole or in part) of indebtedness of the taxpayer if—
. . . . .
"(C) the indebtedness discharged is qualified business indebtedness." 26 U.S.C. § 108(a)(1) (1982 ed.).
"[Q]ualified business indebtedness" includes "indebtedness . . . incurred or assumed . . . by a corporation." 26 U.S.C. § 108(d)(4)(A) (1982 ed.).5 Income from the discharge of qualified business indebtedness can be excluded from gross income under § 108 only if the taxpayer elects to reduce the basis of his depreciable property by an amount equal to the income excluded. 26 U.S.C. §§ 108(c)(1), 108(d)(4)(B), 1017 (1982 ed.). Thus, the effect of § 108 is not genuinely to exempt such income from taxation, but rather to defer the payment of the tax by reducing the taxpayer's annual depreciation deductions or by increasing the size of taxable gains upon ultimate disposition of the reduced-basis property.
In characterizing early withdrawal penalties as discharge-of-indebtedness income, Centennial, like the Court of Appeals, focuses purely on the "spread" between the debt that Centennial assumed upon the opening of each CD account and the amount that it actually paid each depositor upon the closing of the account. See 887 F.2d, at 601. When a depositor opens a CD account, Centennial notes, the bank becomes indebted to the depositor for the principal of the deposit plus accrued interest. By virtue of its collection of an early withdrawal penalty, however, the bank satisfies the debt for less than that amount should the depositor withdraw the principal before maturity. The end result, in Centennial's view, is no different from what it would have been had the bank and depositor (freed from the restraints of bank regulatory law) formed no agreement on an early withdrawal penalty at the outset but rather negotiated a forgiveness of that amount at the time of withdrawal.
We reject this analysis because it fails to make sense of § 108's use of the term "discharge." As used in § 108, the term "discharge . . . of indebtedness" conveys forgiveness of, or release from, an obligation to repay.6 A depositor who prematurely closes his account and pays the early withdrawal penalty does not forgive or release any repayment obligation on the part of the financial institution. The CD agreement itself provides that the depositor will be entitled only to the principal and accrued interest, less the applicable penalty, should the depositor prematurely withdraw the principal. Through this formula, the depositor and the bank have determined in advance precisely how much the depositor will be entitled to receive should the depositor close the account on any day up to the maturity date. Thus, the depositor does not "discharge" the bank from an obligation when it accepts an amount equal to the principal and accrued interest minus the penalty, for this is exactly what the bank is obligated to pay under the terms of the CD agreement.
Because § 108 presupposes the "discharge" of an obligation to repay, we disagree with Centennial and the Court of Appeals' conclusion that the "spread" between the debt assumed by Centennial and the amount paid by Centennial upon the closing of the account is sufficient to trigger § 108. The existence of such a spread is sufficient to demonstrate that Centennial enjoyed an accession to income equal in size to the amount of the penalty. But because this income was not the product of the release of any obligation assumed by Centennial at the outset of the bank-depositor relationship, it does not constitute income "by reason of [a] discharge." In sum, to determine whether the debtor has realized "income by reason of the discharge . . . of indebtedness," it is necessary to look at both the end result of the transaction and the repayment terms agreed to by the parties at the outset of the debtor-creditor relationship.7
This common-sense reading of the statutory language best comports with the purpose underlying § 108. The tax-deferral mechanism in § 108 is designed to mitigate the effect of treating the discharge of indebtedness as income. See 26 U.S.C. § 61(a)(12) (1982 ed.) ("gross income . . . includ[es] . . . [i]ncome from discharge of indebtedness"). Borrowed funds are excluded from income in the first instance because the taxpayer's obligation to repay the funds offsets any increase in the taxpayer's assets; if the taxpayer is thereafter released from his obligation to repay, the taxpayer enjoys a net increase in assets equal to the forgiven portion of the debt, and the basis for the original exclusion thus evaporates. See United States v. Kirby Lumber Co., 284 U.S. 1, 3, 52 S.Ct. 4, 76 L.Ed. 131 (1931); Commissioner v. Jacobson, 336 U.S. 28, 38, 69 S.Ct. 358, 363, 93 L.Ed. 477 (1949); see also Commissioner v. Tufts, 461 U.S. 300, 307, 310-311, n. 11, 103 S.Ct. 1826, 1831, 1832-33, n. 11, 75 L.Ed.2d 863 (1983). But while the cancellation of the obligation to repay increases the taxpayer's assets, it does not necessarily generate cash with which the taxpayer can pay the resulting income tax. Congress established the tax-deferral mechanism in § 108 so that the prospect of immediate tax liability would not discourage businesses from taking advantage of opportunities to repurchase or liquidate their debts at less than face value. See H.R.Rep. No. 855, 76th Cong., 1st Sess., 5 (1939); S.Rep. No. 1631, 77th Cong., 2d Sess., 77-78 (1942). See generally Wright, Realization of Income Through Cancellations, Modifications, and Bargain Purchases of Indebtedness: I, 49 Mich.L.Rev. 459, 477, 492 (1951).
This rationale is squarely implicated only when the debtor is seeking forgiveness or cancellation of a pre-existing repayment obligation. A debtor who negotiates in advance the circumstances in which he will liquidate the debt for less than its face value is in a position to anticipate his need for cash with which to pay the resulting income tax and can negotiate the terms of the anticipated liquidation accordingly. Moreover, insofar as the CD agreements at issue in this case committed Centennial to releasing the deposits at the sole election of the depositors, Centennial abandoned any control whatsoever over whether and when these particular debt obligations would be liquidated. Consequently, unlike a debtor considering the negotiation of an adjustment of the terms of his duty to repay, Centennial had no discretion to take the tax effects of the transaction into account before liquidating its debt obligations at less than face value.
It is true, as Centennial points out, that construing § 108 to apply only to debt reductions stemming from a negotiated forgiveness of a duty to repay withholds a tax incentive to include "anticipatory discharge" terms in the credit agreement at the outset. But we read the statutory language as embodying a legislative choice not to extend the benefits of § 108's deferral mechanism that far. For the reasons that we have stated, Congress could easily have concluded that only debtors seeking a release from a pre-existing repayment obligation need or deserve the tax break conferred by § 108. Consistent with the rule that tax-exemption and -deferral provisions are to be construed narrowly, Commissioner v. Jacobson, supra, 336 U.S., at 49, 69 S.Ct., at 369; Elam v. Commissioner, 477 F.2d 1333, 1335 (CA6 1973), we conclude that Congress did not intend to extend the benefits of § 108 beyond the setting in which a creditor agrees to release a debtor from an obligation assumed at the outset of the relationship.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
For opinion of Justice Blackmun concurring in part and dissenting in part, see 499 U.S. at 568, 111 S.Ct. 1519, 113 L.Ed.2d 589.
Justice WHITE joins Parts I and III of this opinion, and Justice BLACKMUN joins Part III.
While this case was pending on appeal, the FHLBB found Centennial to be insolvent. Centennial is currently under the receivership of the Resolution Trust Corporation.
By exchanging merely participation interests, each party retained its relationships with the obligors of the exchanged loans. See Cottage Savings Assn. v. Commissioner, at ---- n. 3, 111 S.Ct., at 1506 n. 3.
The Fifth Circuit's conclusion that an exchange of mortgages that are "substantially identical" under Memorandum R-49 can give rise to realizable tax losses is in conflict with a decision of the Sixth Circuit. See Cottage Savings Assn. v. Commissioner, 890 F.2d 848 (1989), rev'd and remanded, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 1503, --- L.Ed.2d ----. The Fifth Circuit's conclusion that early withdrawal penalties constitute discharge-from-indebtedness income under the pre-1986 version of § 108 is in conflict with a decision of the Seventh Circuit. See Colonial Savings Assn. v. Commissioner, 854 F.2d 1001 (1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1090, 109 S.Ct. 1556, 103 L.Ed.2d 859 (1989). In 1986, Congress amended § 108, limiting its application to situations in which the taxpayer is insolvent or in bankruptcy at the time of the discharge of his indebtedness. See Pub.L. 99-514, § 822(a), 100 Stat. 2373; see also Pub.L. 100-647, § 1004(a)(1), 102 Stat. 3385 (1988) (extending § 108 to "qualified farm indebtedness"). We granted certiorari nonetheless in light of the significant number of pending cases concerning the tax status of early withdrawal penalties collected prior to 1986.
"The gain from the sale or other disposition of property shall be the excess of the amount realized therefrom over the adjusted basis provided in section 1011 for determining gain, and the loss shall be the excess of the adjusted basis provided in such section for determining loss over the amount realized." 26 U.S.C. § 1001(a).
It also includes "indebtedness . . . incurred or assumed . . . by an individual in connection with property used in his trade or business." 26 U.S.C. § 108(d)(4)(A) (1982 ed.).
"Discharge" can be used to signify various means of extinguishing a legal duty. See generally Black's Law Dictionary 463 (6th ed. 1990). Thus, a debtor might be said to "discharge" his debt by satisfying it. But § 108 uses "income by reason of the discharge . . . of indebtedness" to refer to the change in the debtor's financial condition when the debtor is no longer legally required to satisfy his debt either in part or in full. "Discharge" in this sense can occur only if the creditor cancels or forgives a repayment obligation.
Renewing the argument that it unsuccessfully advanced in the Court of Appeals, the United States characterizes the penalties not as income by reason of the discharge of indebtedness, but rather as income for Centennial's performance of a "separate obligation." This argument draws on authorities recognizing that § 108 does not apply when a creditor discharges a debtor's obligation in exchange for services or some other form of nonmonetary consideration. See Spartan Petroleum Co. v. United States, 437 F.Supp. 733 (SC 1977) (debt discharged in exchange for cancellation of distributorship agreement); OKC Corp. v. Commissioner, 82 T.C. 638, 649-650 (1984) (debt discharged in exchange for settlement of lawsuit). In that situation, the debt is not forgiven but is in fact satisfied in full through the debtor's performance of a "separate obligation"; discharge of the debt is merely the "medium of payment" for that performance, and must be treated as ordinary income for tax purposes. See S.Rep. No. 96-1035, p. 8, n. 6 (1980), U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1980, pp. 7017, 7023 ("Debt discharge that is only a medium for some other form of payment, such as a gift or salary, is treated as that form of payment rather than under the debt discharge rules"). See generally 1 B. Bittker & L. Lokken, Federal Taxation of Income, Estates and Gifts ¶ 6.4.7, p. 6-66 (2d ed. 1989). Because we conclude that Centennial's reliance on § 108 fails for a more fundamental reason—the absence of a "discharge" for purposes of the statute—we need not consider whether the early withdrawal penalties were actually payments for services unrelated to the debtor-creditor relationship.


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Hi all & hi admins. I am as you see TaNkDesroYT in game and i see that numbers of players online drops Down day for day.
So i was thinking what must be done to stop future lose of players and how to make the guys that stoped play Return.
In FaceBook there is a Group With name "Ground War Tanks.English.RU" & Alisa Gagarinova aka Chiffa is a member of that FB Group.
I raised the question in that FB Groupespecially due to high membership numbers and where all members are GWT players!
This Group have about 1200 players. Just saying.
The question i asked the members in this FB Group was:
And the players responded With these answers.
- Make KPZ back to the way it was. Or atleast half the way back to the way it was. Most players out there dont like tanks being nerfed. Make New tanks better is OK but dont nerf tanks that already are bought With real Money. And what about the time we use to Train a crew and then this tank aint Worth nothing? This is a huge consern and must be taken seriously! My suggestion is, make New tanks and for each LV make them unique but make them the way that each tank have a possibility to kill a other tank of same Lv atleast. And if a New tank are being made and it is real strong make sure that tank is made and introduced as a higher Lv tank. Eks Lv 12 -13 and so on. Let the players buy this tanks if they want to have the bes tanks. Then atleast GWT have not destroyed the tanks that are bought. All must remember when Lv 12 and 13 comes and players use their KPZ that KPZ will be match against other tanks of that Lv. ( 11 ) mainly. Also i like the TW idea that some days the TW will be held in Lv 9 and some days in Lv 11 and etc. This way the GWT opens Global map for more type of tanks and for players that dont have the most expencive tanks. It also pushes the members in all legions on global map to get the "Best" tank of the spesific Lv to fight TW. We the players are not afraid of using cash. We just dont like Things be taken from us.!!!
- Make T34 Level 8 tank the way it was before. It was among the best Level 8 tanks for silver and now it aint good at all. I dont have the data about what GWT have done to make it this weak. I did not even notice before a short time ago due to i have not used this tank in a long time.
This is a tank that cost 12 000 gold and is bought due to the main reason the earn silver. Now when this tank is changed you want us to buy Mamuth or simulare silver tanks? No, this is not the way to treat the players.
- Make "push dead tanks" possible. I rly dont see the issue that this cant or wont be done. It is so fun and is a huge factor to make People love this game. For me personal i would love the option to push alive tanks as well. I know there will allways be players that are for and against it and that it is so important that voting is done. Let the majority deside. This way you will atleast have the majority With you.
- Make teams 5 vs 5 or 7 vs 7 in the night so the few players that still are online can get Battles. I think this is a good thing. I dont play that mutch late myself but when i do i would like to get a Battle without need to wait 15 minute before the Battle starts.
- Make it possible to sell CREW and CAMO just as you can sell tanks and assessories bought With gold. Half the value back?
I think this is a good thing also.. Ofcourse the obvious thing the GWT must think is that you will lose on this. But i bet you the oposite. In the long term you will gain on it. More players will join and "stay" so the amount you lose you will gain back again this way.
- Make Clear distinction between medium and Heavy and light tanks. YES, this is a MUST :-) Doing this, makes the game and tanks unique. And all the players will love it. Also New players will join GWT when GWT reputation goes up internationaly. Now in this digital world we live in, it wont take long before the more and more players will say and get to know that " GWT is the best tank game out there" But only ofcourse if the game lisen to the players. We need to be lisen to.
I will say honestly i might have wrong and i doubt you will lisen. So what happend NeXT is up to you.
Start atleast With a poll where you ask us the players what changes we want? This way you will get the feedback you need to keep the players.
Also remember that it is the players that actualy play the game that know what are missing or needs to be done to make the game the best.
Best regard from TaNkDesroYT


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Film Review - Next Day Air
May 07, 2009
Need proof marijuana kills brain cells? Catch "Next Day Air," a pot comedy trying to pass itself off as a Guy Ritchie/Quentin Tarantino multi-character crime caper. Weed is smoked liberally throughout the film, and I fear most of it was consumed behind the camera by director Benny Boom, who shows no discernable handle on the disorderly proceedings. "Air" is an interesting misfire, but often an irritatingly erratic viewing experience that would've profited greatly from a good old-fashioned dose of clear-headed concentration.
Leo (Donald Faison, "Scrubs") is a hapless delivery man, more interested in getting high than doing his job properly. Delivering a large box to clueless criminals Brody (Mike Epps) and Guch (Wood Harris), Leo doesn't realize the package was originally intended for the apartment across the hall, where nervous Jesus (Cisco Reyes) and girlfriend Chita (Yasmin Deliz) are waiting. Inside the box is a bundle of cocaine bricks, sparking dollar signs in the eyes of the petty thugs, with Brody calling his drug-dealing cousin Shavoo (Omari Hardwick) in to sell the stash. Frantic over the missing delivery, Jesus and Chita are visited by coldblooded drug lord Bodega (Emilio Rivera) to help retrieve the lost coke, chasing down Leo on the streets of Philadelphia and forcing him to right his original wrong.
While it might sound like a lightening-paced corker of a comedy, "Air" doesn't seem very interested in retrieving giggles. The screenplay by newcomer Blair Cobbs is more of a sobering, bloody cat's cradle of a caper, fixated on masterminding a tone of revolving danger and character idiosyncrasy over preserving a steady pulse to the storytelling. "Air" is all over the map, trying to horrify, tickle, and reassure in the same instant, and even after consuming the whole thing, I'm having difficulty understanding what Boom and Cobbs were aiming for with their motion picture. Every single subplot is malformed and increasingly tedious, with much of the primo comedic substance emerging from conventional drug jokes or silly criminal mishaps. The banter doesn't salvage much, as most of "Air" is handed over to actors with a limited hold on the art form of screen performance. Cobbs is scripting a whirlwind of violence and quirk, but it only manages to achieve a faint spark of enthusiasm.
I will give Boom credit for refusing to spray his rap video education everywhere. It's an amazingly tempered directorial job, more consumed with the gritty details of amateur criminal buffoonery than hyper editing and stylish dabs of violence. While his reserve is appealing, Boom's inexperience shows nakedly throughout "Air," particularly in the critical moments where the script wants to dance between slapstick and aggression. Instead of clever transitions between light and dark to keep the film's flow preserved, "Air" is often stunned by its own erratic behavior, a paralyzing spell Boom is powerless to break.
"Air" does showcase a certain bravery for an urban comedy, retaining lengthy character beats that are usually shooed away to make room for extra thug nonsense. I also enjoyed watching Faison's outstanding comfort with the camera, making me wish he didn't have what amounts to a glorified cameo in the film. "Next Day Air" has highlights, a few unexpected turns as well, but it all seems trapped in material that's too determined, guided by a director who's too inexperienced.


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1.Warm your oven at 160C, prepare your baking tin...I decided to double this recipe and bake in a 9x12 inches tray and slice the cake!
2.Sift flour,cocoa powder, salt, bicarbonate soda in a bowl.
3.Whisk butter and sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, add egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
4.Add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with water and buttermilk, beating on low speed until just combined. Pour in cake tin.
5.Bake for about 35 minutes. Serve with Chocolate Ganache.


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The British enthusiast publication MCN posted a story on its web site earlier today indicating that "multiple sources" have indicated to MCN that BMW is in the latter stages of negotiating the sale of its Husqvarna brand to KTM. You may recall that BMW purchased Husqvarna just a few years ago, and has only recently introduced new Husqvarna models featuring BMW-derived engines, such as the Nuda 900. MCN claims some of its sources believe the deal will be announced this week. If true, this deal brings to mind Harley-Davidson's short-lived ownership of MV Agusta.
- January 29, 2013
- 43 Comments
Is BMW Really Selling Husqvarna to KTM? MCN Thinks So.
43 Comments
Their chainsaws are already orange.
wow, that was fast.
It's official BMW Sells Husqvarna to KTM CEO read the official announcement from BMW Motorrad here: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/723/15412/Motorcycle-Article/BMW-Sells-Husqvarna-to-KTM-CEO.aspx
The Dutch website Nieuwsmotor.nl is reporting that KTM CEO Stefan Pierer is purchasing Husqvarna from BMW through his personal company Pierer Industries AG and that the deal is not associated with Cross Industries Ltd the holding company in which KTM and Bajaj hold shares.
^This – saw the same story confirming the CEO of KTM is buying them through another company he owns.
Before much more time passes, motorcycles will be like Legos. Buy a rolling chassis and snap in your choice of Rotax engines.
More like choice of battery and electric motor!
Do any of you know if the Nuda is available in the US? My buddy claims to have seen one but I thought they were not available?
What would KTM possibly have to gain by buying Husky? Maybe by killing the brand and hoping to fill the majority of Husky's small market share void with KTM product? Can't imagine Husky has enough market share to make that worthwhile. Perhaps KTM wants the platform share relationship with BMW that might come with the Husky purchase to offer some more civilized street machinery. Hard to make sense of this deal from the outside.
When KTM was partially bought by Baja they needed the cheap labor. Now, it appears that Baja may well absorb all of them into the Baja name brand.
You mean Bajaj not Baja. Anway it was not cheap labor.. incase you have been paying attention India is becoming a big market for big displacement vehicles in addition to it being one of th elargest small bike market. Bajaj was buying in to future strategy of offering a higher displacement, higher quality, higher margin product for the growing consumer class in india besides its own portfolio of very profitable small commuter bikes (ofcourse in addition to KTM's global market)
You are right they could absorb Husqvarna into Bajaj, but inly if they believe there is synergies to be gained from KTM portfolio in rest of globe maret
The BMW suits may want out of Husky for profitability (or lack thereof) reasons and KTM could be interested in the production facilities or some other less obvious reason. Or maybe the price is too low to pass up. KTM already has bikes more than competitive with everything in Husky's line up except their 800 twins.
Skybullet Many BMW's over the years, current F800GS, R80ST, DR650, but I like my KTM SMT best.
Went to my local dealer to look at 650 Strada and he said he was very unhappy with Husky and he was sending crates waiting to be picked up back to them. He is also a KTM dealer. Wasn't KTM going to hook up with another company a few years back and then backed out at the last minute? I know the European companies are doing well in the U.S., but 20% of 10K units is still only 12K, and the market in Europe is in the toilet. Going to be an interesting year.
Best looking chainsaw I've ever seen!
Not being 6′ I liked where Husqvarna was going with the 650Terra and contrary to KTMs own vibro massage machines the BMW derived 650 is very smooth. Not everyone wants a dirt bike that you need a ladder to get on and off! If this report is true,afterall MCN is a sensationalist type of publication and not always reliable, I cannot see the benifit for KTM unless it wants to specialize each of the three brands. Pity,as I was very interested in the 650Terra
If KTM is really interested in expanding it's boutique brand names (Husaberg, Husqvarna), they should bring back Penton too. Maybe KTM becomes the street bike brand, Husaberg the enduro bike brand, and Husqvarna the MX/SX brand.
With Husky, BMW has recently tweaked the noses of its Beemer dealer network by building models that compete against their own G650 and F800GS lines. Perhaps Husky is being chased away from within.
Is this only the motorcycle division? Or did BMW own the outdoor power and machine tool sections of Husqvarna as well?
Husqvarna sold the motorcycle division to Cagiva in 1987 which BMW purchased from MV Augusta in 2007.
A company has to be pretty small to have been a subsidiary of MV Agusta!
Just sell it to the Chinese and be done with it!
You know, that is funny, since BMWs last adventure into the "dirt bike" realm with its 450 used an outsourced engine from KYMCO!
Kymco is a Taiwanese company, not Chinese. Yes, the citizens of Taiwan are ethnic Chinese, but having existed in a democratic, capitalist society for nearly a century, Taiwanese industry and technology is far ahead of mainland China. I think most people would compare more closely to South Korea in this regard.
Good point and in the area of bicycle manufacturing Taiwan is the industry leader producing many of the finest bikes in the world.
What did one boxer say to the other?
Girl friends come and girl friends go, It's Bros before hoes, and that is that.
Remember the 1997 to 2001 F650?
What about it?
The market for bikes is totally different that it is for cars and trucks. A certain red company has made the mistake of trying to sell bikes with the same ad strategies as cars.
We think it makes no sense at all for al of reasons. Maybe you can read our view using Google translator: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=nl&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nieuwsmotor.nl%2Fmotornieuws-motorbranche%2F12080-husqvarna-door-bmw-aan-ktm-verkocht.html&act=url
So, if this happens, will the Nuda be gone? After all, it uses a warmed over BMW motor, yes?
If that's true it is a terrible business move and could jeopardize KTM's financial future. It makes no sense and would be a waste of KTM's money…
You're probably correct…it makes just as much sense as most of the other motorcycle brand buyouts and mergers lately, i.e. none.
After a while, it just seems like a bunch of money trading hands to determine who gets to slap which badge on the same congealed mess of outsourced parts. Pretty much all of the smaller euro "boutique" brands have the same flavor to them. Do companies like Husaberg and Husqvarna even have a distinct identity anymore? Pretty much the same thing is happening here in the states with Indian.
Makes no sense. What would KTM get from this? They do not need the 250/310 engine platform. Don't need the 450/511 engine. Would not get the BMW motor. And for chassis, again what would they get? Dealer network benefits? Nope. Reach into a different country? Nope. See zero upside for KTM to do this deal.
Bummer. In a way, KTM would just be competing with itself. Would be cooler to see someone like Triumph buy it.
Yes, I wonder if it is the east Indian partner who is pushing this deal (if it is a deal)
if its true hope they KTM dont do the same as they did with Husaberg : (
I don't understand this move, unless maybe in the context of the Harley-Davidson reference. I believe HD's reasoning for selling MV and Buell was that the economic downturn was bleeding the company of cash, so it had to cut expenses and raise cash. Does this mean BMW's in trouble?
They are not in any kind of immediate trouble, far from it (obviously any car company faces great challenges in their future). But at the same time it doesn't make much sense for BMW to own a dirt bike company. They are not going to make much money out of it, they don't know the market and so on. KTM can and does, but for them it makes even less sense to own Husqvarna. KTM already has the brand, knowhow, production facilities etc. to grow organically. BMW must really be dumping Husqvarna for the deal to make any sense.
From KTM's point of view I see the value in absorbing a competitor, but if Husqvarna is such an obvious poor fit for BMW then the only reason I can think of for them to have purchased the company is to flip it. I still think there's some sort of problem because as fanatical as BMW Adventure riders are it makes sense to me the company would offer dirtbikes.
I'm not that surprised that BMW may be selling off Husqvarna. The engines they (Husky) are coming out with seem superior to what BMW is coming out with on the same platform. Also, KTM is much more dirt oriented and this may be a better fit for Husky. -Tutt
Why would KTM spend millions for Husky, and then kill it off? Seems like an expensive way to do away with a very, very small competitor.
Yeah, your probably right. I'm just curious what they will do.
Didn't like where BMW was going with the TE650, but I must admit, it was affordable. Currently looking for dual sport as my third bike and the TE610/TE630 looks like the best option for a larger 6ft rider like me.
I hope this is a good move and KTM doesn't kill off the husky brand. I thought it odd that bmw dealers where not carrying newest husqvarna's.


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Microsoft could announce as soon as this week how it will implement the two most important user experiences in Windows 8.1 "Blue": Boot to desktop and the return of the Start button. But there's no need to wait: Mary Jo Foley cites very reliable sources who explain exactly how it's going to happen.
First, be sure to check out Mary Jo's post, Here's how the new Windows Blue Start Button may work. She's right to qualify it, as things change. But let's be clear here. This is almost certainly happening exactly as described.
Best of all, there are additional details about the UX changes coming in Windows 8.1. Here's the rundown.
Boot to desktop
In the so-called Milestone Preview (MP) version of Windows 8.1, which I know was issued internally at Microsoft about two weeks ago and could be released to the public as a "release preview," Microsoft has added the option to boot directly to the Windows 8.x desktop. You may recall that this was one of my key concerns in the Fixing Windows 8 series of posts. (I've also explained how you can add this functionality to Windows 8 with third-party utilities.)
Start button
This one is interesting: According to Mary Jo's source, the Start button will be enabled—on the desktop only—by default. It will look just like the Start charm in Windows 8, and be positioned in the same place as it was in Windows 7, but will of course trigger the new Start screen when clicked, and not the legacy Start menu. When you mouse into the lower left corner of the screen in any "Metro" experience, you'll see the new Start button instead of the Windows 8 Start tip.
But here's the trick: If you do click this button, it will remain displayed on the desktop going forward. If you don't, and instead use a hardware Windows key, the Start button will disappear and things will work as they do in Windows 8. You can of course manually enable and disable this button as you prefer.
Start screen
According to Mary Jo, users will also be able to replace the stock Start screen with the All Apps view, where you see tile-like icons for every installed application, but no live updating functionality. But there are changes: "Users will be able to arrange the icons by usage, allowing the most commonly used apps to be first," she writes. "This view is the closest users will get to the Windows 7 Start Menu, even though it will be full-screen, instead of a list."
Common backgrounds
Addressing another common complaint, Windows 8.1 will also apparently offer the ability to set the desktop wallpaper as the Start screen background too, making the transition between the two environments less jarring. This is an important change, I think, and I'm surprised it wasn't part of the original release of Windows 8, where you can only change between a bizarre set of supplied background choices.


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Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Japanese Nuclear Crisis Could Last for YEARS
As I've previously noted, many experts say that the Fukushima plants will keep on leaking for months. See this and this.
But Reuters reported yesterday: "I think maybe the situation is much more serious than we were led to believe," said one expert, Najmedin Meshkati, of the University of Southern California, adding it may take weeks to stabilise the situation and the United Nations should step in. "This is far beyond what one nation can handle - it needs to be bumped up to the U.N. Security Council. In my humble opinion, this is more important than the Libya no fly zone."
"Regrettably, we don't have a concrete schedule at the moment to enable us to say in how many months or years (the crisis will be over)," TEPCO vice-president Sakae Muto said in the latest of round-the-clock briefings the company holds.
"I think maybe the situation is much more serious than we were led to believe," said one expert, Najmedin Meshkati, of the University of Southern California, adding it may take weeks to stabilise the situation and the United Nations should step in.
"This is far beyond what one nation can handle - it needs to be bumped up to the U.N. Security Council. In my humble opinion, this is more important than the Libya no fly zone."Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. has conceded it faces a protracted and uncertain operation to contain overheating fuel rods and avert a meltdown.
Of course, if all goes well, the reactor cores and spent fuel rods should cool down considerably over the next couple of months. But the fact that the Japanese might need to sustain the cooling effort for years on end is stunning.
In an admission of how long the cooling process may take, Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Japan's nuclear regulator, said late Tuesday: "We will have to continue cooling for quite a long period. We should be thinking years."
Kuni Yogo, a former atomic energy policy planner in the Japan Science and Technology Agency, said: "There is some trial and error, but this is the beginning of a three- to five-year effort."
4 comments:
I was a little ambiguous on nuclear energy for a long time—leaning towards against. Now I'm thinking we need to have a serious global discussion of how to manage nuclear waste and stop making more of it. We already have an excellent fusion reactor 93 million miles away, we should take advantage of it.ReplyDelete
Yes, the cooling could take years....because it is an unknown to what degree the partial meltdown(s) have occurred, and unpredictable the resulting amount of ongoing fission clumps of melted fuel might produce (if any).ReplyDelete
Perhaps the best description of the situation is:
The fog of war.
I guess if it's radioactive for 80 million years, they'll need to keep it cooling for as much of those as they, and the rest of humanity, lasts.ReplyDelete
From what I understand, there are already multiple meltdowns, at least one of which appears to be out of control (whatever 'control' means in that context), and getting worse, so as far as I can tell, they are just trying to find new and creative ways to define 'hellish out of control disaster' as 'we got this!'. I see the Libya war as being motivated, in part, by a desire to get this out of the news. Remember, France is one of the leading nuclear power builders - that's a key 'industry' for them, a 'national interest' from their point of view.ReplyDelete
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Hot springs microbes hold key to dating sedimentary rocks, researchers say
Scientists studying microbial communities and the growth of sedimentary rock at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park have made a surprising discovery about the geological record of life and the environment.
Their discovery could affect how certain sequences of sedimentary rock are dated, and how scientists might search for evidence of life on other planets.
"We found microbes change the rate at which calcium carbonate precipitates, and that rate controls the chemistry and shape of calcium carbonate crystals," said Bruce Fouke, a professor of geology and of molecular and cellular biology at the University of Illinois.
In fact, the precipitation rate can more than double when microbes are present, Fouke and his colleagues report in a paper accepted for publication in the Geological Society of America Bulletin.
The researchers' findings imply changes in calcium carbonate mineralization rates in the rock record may have resulted from changes in local microbial biomass concentrations throughout geologic history.
A form of sedimentary rock, calcium carbonate is the most abundant mineral precipitated on the surface of Earth, and a great recorder of life.
"As calcium carbonate is deposited, it leaves a chemical fingerprint of the animals and environment, the plants and bacteria that were there," said Fouke, who also is affiliated with the university's Institute for Genomic Biology.
The extent to which microorganisms influence calcium carbonate precipitation has been one of the most controversial issues in the field of carbonate sedimentology and geochemistry. Separating biologically precipitated calcium carbonate from non-biologically precipitated calcium carbonate is difficult.
Fouke's research team has spent 10 years quantifying the physical, chemical and biological aspects of the hot springs environment. The last step in deciphering the calcium carbonate record was performing an elaborate field experiment, which drew water from a hot springs vent and compared deposition rates with and without microbes being present.
"Angel Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park is an ideal, natural laboratory because of the high precipitation rates and the abundance of microbes," Fouke said. "Calcium carbonate grows so fast – millimeters per day – we can examine the interaction between microorganisms and the calcium-carbonate precipitation process."
The researchers found that the rate of precipitation drops drastically – sometimes by more than half – when microbes are not present.
"So one of the fingerprints of calcium carbonate deposition that will tell us for sure if there were microbes present at the time it formed is the rate at which it formed," Fouke said. "And, within the environmental and ecological context of the rock being studied, we can now use chemistry to fingerprint the precipitation rate."
In a second paper, to appear in the Journal of Sedimentary Research, Fouke and colleagues show how the calcium carbonate record in a spring's primary flow path can be used to reconstruct the pH, temperature and flux of ancient hot springs environments. The researchers also show how patterns in calcium carbonate crystallization can be used to differentiate signatures of life from those caused by environmental change.
"This means we can go into the rock record, on Earth or other planets, and determine if calcium carbonate deposits were associated with microbial life," Fouke said.
Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


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By Melissa Rayworth
Design magazines and home decorating catalogs tend to feature sprawling backyards with big wooden decks and room for everything from decorative fountains to artificial ponds. But few of us have that much outdoor space.
Still, with a few strategic choices, you can create something truly special out of even the smallest yard or porch, said Los Angeles-based designer Brian Patrick Flynn.
Here, he and two other design experts — small-space specialist Kyle Schuneman and landscape designer Chris Lambton — offer advice on the best furnishings, plants and decorating strategies for making the most of a small yard, modest deck or petite patio.
"With a small outdoor space, I really like to think double duty," said Schuneman, author of The First Apartment Book: Cool Design for Small Spaces (Potter Style, 2012). Look for seating that has hidden storage space inside and tall planters that add privacy.
And choose items that can easily be moved, such as lightweight flowerpots or planters on wheels, said Lambton, host of the gardening design series Going Yard on HGTV. "It's an easy DIY thing," he said, to buy an assortment of inexpensive plastic pots and paint them to match your outdoor décor.
If planters are lightweight or on wheels, you can move them to get proper sunlight at different times of day, and rearrange them if you're entertaining guests and need more space. And, Lambton said, they can be moved inside to a sunny window or doorway when cold weather arrives.
"The easiest way to make small outdoor spaces appear smaller is to fill them with lots of pieces," said Flynn, founder of the design website decordemon.com.
"Instead, go big with sectionals, or flank perfectly square or rectangular areas with identical love seats or sofas. This not only maximizes the seating potential, but it also keeps the space from becoming too busy or even chopped up. In my outdoor living room, I used a U-shaped outdoor sectional which seats up to seven comfortably."
When arranging furniture, consider the view: If the home's exterior is more attractive than the outdoor view, Flynn said, consider positioning seats so that you'll face your home rather than looking away from it.
All three designers say your choice of plants is especially important when space is limited.
Choose plants with a purpose: "Lavender's great," Lambton said, because it's attractive, easy to grow and deters bugs. Marigolds will also help keep insects away.
Lambton also suggests putting up a trellis as a privacy wall, and planting it with colorful wisteria or climbing hydrangea. Or choose a tall holly or cypress plant in a large planter.
"Holly will be green all year round," he said, and can help transform an unappealing view.
None of these plants are hard to take care of, Lambton said. "If you're having coffee in the morning, just go out and dump a little bit of water in."
Flynn agreed and also suggests using potted grasses, which are "low maintenance and, as they grow, they create a full wall of privacy."
If you love plants but have minimal space, add a wall-mounted garden filled with succulent plants to one wall, said Schuneman: "It's a great way to add life and texture without actually taking any real estate up on your small balcony or patio."
He also suggests using narrow planters to create "long, narrow, raised flower beds that go the length of the space." They provide room for plants to grow, while also creating a ledge that's "great for coffee cups or a casual lunch," he said.
Flynn suggests playing up the height of your space by adding long outdoor curtains or hanging pendant lights.
"I usually paint concrete slabs (on the floor) a bold color or an accent color carried out from an adjacent room," Flynn said. "This helps the patio feel like an extension when you look out to it through a door. On the flip side, when seated out in the patio looking inward, the consistent use of color flowing inside and outside makes the patio itself feel much more open."
Flynn also suggests using outdoor curtains for a burst of color, and to block an unattractive view or hide items like electrical boxes and storage bins. "Outdoor draperies are, hands-down, the easiest way to soften an otherwise all-concrete and stucco space, while also being able to control how much or how little neighbors can see."
Or, he said, order a basic trellis from an online retailer like Hayneedle.com, then "paint it a bold color and use it to instantly make an outdoor space feel more room-like."
And for a burst of natural color, Lambton suggests adding a small, tabletop fire pit for a golden glow at night. "Some are small enough, and they don't put off a lot of heat," he said.
"Most people don't think of using art outside, but it can be done, especially in a DIY manner," Flynn said. "My favorite trick is to use tent canvas and stretch it across a DIY frame made from pressure-treated lumber, and add some gesso to the surface for texture."
Once you've created your canvas, he said, "pick up some exterior latex paint, then get as abstract as you want to play with color shape and texture. Once the art is dry, add a sealer to protect it from moisture, then hang it up to create a focal point, and/or add another layer of privacy." — AP