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24 Jan 2018
MotoGP 17 Managerial Career Mode Announced
The Italian racing game developer Milestone has today announced and unveiled one of the most exciting developments in the MotoGP in years. The specialist racing game developer is pleased to announce the new Managerial Career game mode.
Having competed throughout the 2017 MotoGP championship as a rider, MotoGP 17 players will now be able to compete for the title as a Team Manager. The decisions made here will determine not just you as a rider's success, but the whole team.
The choices a Team Manager make are critical to the effectiveness of the team on track and it's the Team Manager's job to direct the people behind the pit wall. To start, the Team Manager will have to allocate resources in order to find the winning formula for the team. Each win under your guidance in MotoGP 17 will bring you additional credits and reputation points while enhancing rider performance all the while.
Every aspect of the team will be under the watchful eye and the responsibility of the Team Manager including:
- Sponsors – as reputations grow with each additional victory, increase your team's visibility in MotoGP 17 with offers from the Championship's official sponsors. Keep the sponsors happy and watch the credits roll in.
- Bikes – being successful and competitive is down to the machinery the riders have. As Team Manager, you will decide on what bikes the riders will take to the track. Unlock new bikes as you make your rise to the top of the Championship table.
- Riders – recruiting riders will be a big aspect of your debut season as Team Manager. Further to your own custom rider, you will need to hire 5 additional AI riders to compete through the various racing categories.
- Team Departments – as a Team Manager, part of the role is to oversee the general running of the team and manage each of the team's departments. With careful of management of the 10 different departments, including the likes of Nutritionists, Athletic Preparation Team and Sports Management, players can win the World Championship in 3 different classes.
- R&D Department – key to long term success is a strong package and it will be the Team Manager's job to invest in the Research & Development of not only bikes but components to ensure race win after race win in MotoGP 17.
Managerial Career mode gives players the opportunity to experience the thrill of the MotoGP championship in a whole new light. Available from June 15 2017, MotoGP 17 will be releasing on PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC.
Call of Duty: WWII Announcement & Release Details
CoD: Word War 2 Revealed
April 26 saw Activision reveal to the world what Sledgehammer Games have been working on for the last two and a half years. The latest instalment in the Call of Duty franchise takes us back to the era of World War 2 for the first time in 9 years. The dramatic return to the largest military conflict in history marks a return to the franchise's roots and offer rest bite from the ever more futuristic Call of Duty's we've come to know over the past few years. Call of Duty: WWII immerses players in gritty realism, authenticity and cinematic intensity of epic proportions.
No longer are we to see wall jumping and jet packs dominating multiplayer because CoD:WWII is all about boots-on-the-ground combat. The multiplayer promises to offer a host of new mode, system and gameplay innovations across the iconic Western Front of Word War 2. The return of the Zombies game mode is met with an all-new cooperative mode that is touted to unleash a new adrenaline filled story line and experience. Call of Duty: WWII is here to redefine the World War II gaming experience for a new gaming generation.
Single Player
The single player campaign story tells of heroism on a global scale, through the unbreakable brotherhood of common men fighting to preserve freedom in a world on the brink of tyranny. Players enlist in a gritty, intense campaign through the harrowing battlegrounds of war, facing overwhelming odds and hostile terrain across Europe, in a gripping experience that honours the history of World War II.
Blockbuster Action
Call of Duty: WWII takes the new generation of consoles even further with truly mammoth, cinematic moments and intensity that only Call of Duty can deliver. All this, while set against the largest global conflict in history.
Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg said, "More than two and a-half years ago we made the decision to return this franchise to its roots, and Call of Duty: WWII does so in epic fashion. The team at Sledgehammer Games is delivering an authentic, gritty, cinematic experience that honours both the epic scale, and the human struggle of the greatest war the world has ever known. This game will let longtime fans experience World War II like never before, and will introduce this historic conflict to a whole new generation of gamers in the process."
"Call of Duty: WWII has been a journey of inspiration and passion for everyone at Sledgehammer Games. The team is dedicated to delivering on the intense nature of war that focuses on the heroism and sacrifice of soldiers in WWII. Our rich narrative driven, action-packed campaign, and engaging and innovative multiplayer experience immerse players into the boots of a soldier fighting for freedom in a world on the brink of tyranny. And, our co-operative mode delivers a unique storyline that's an all-new take on Nazi Zombies that we think fans are going to love," said Michael Condrey, Studio Head and Co-Founder of Sledgehammer Games.
Glen Schofield, Studio Head and Co-Founder of Sledgehammer Games, added that, "the story we're telling is unlike anything that we've tackled before. It's such an amazing journey of common everyday people who became heroes. We want to respect this great generation of soldiers, tell a realistic story set in a true inflection point in human history, and deliver the best experience of our careers."
Call of Duty: World War II continues the trend of featuring Hollywood actors to cast the character from around the world. Players take the persona of Ronald "Red" Daniels, a young US Army private thrown with his squad into the action. Make the harrowing trek through the European theatre of war with the legendary US 1st Infantry Division. Join up with Allied forces from the UK and French Resistance across the beaches of Normandy before heading to liberate Paris and ultimately, Germany. Ronald "Red" Daniels' squad must fight alongside a global and diverse cas of characters to achieve ultimate victory.
The single player campaign delivers the gritty authenticity and cinematic intensity of WWII combat, honouring the unforgettable heroism of the Fighting First.
An Immersive Gameplay Experience
Call of Duty: WWII brings to life some of the most iconic moments of World War II, including the D-Day Invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, with incredible visuals and awe-inspiring sound that puts players in the middle of the action
Call of Duty: WWII Multiplayer brings Call of Duty back to its roots with heart-pumping, iconic boots on the ground gameplay, bringing new levels of immersion and excitement to the Multiplayer experience. Players will face grounded, chaotic combat featuring an arsenal of classic weapons across many of World War II's most iconic locations, bringing the harsh brutality of the war to life, while immersing the player in the intensity and emotion of the greatest conflict in history. Call of Duty: WWII offers players bold new experiences, exciting new ways to play, and innovative new opportunities to socialise and showcase their accomplishments with friends and the Call of Duty community.
Offering a robust social space dedicated to engagement off the frontlines, Headquarters paves the way for all-new avenues of Multiplayer interaction, recognition and awards unlike anything experienced in the franchise to date.
A new way to engage in a player's Multiplayer career – Divisions immerse players in the heroic journey of enlisting in the world's most historic war. Choose from a variety of Divisions, including Infantry and Armored Divisions.
A new Multiplayer experience that immerses players in iconic World War II battles, where Allied and Axis clash in team-driven gameplay in the fight for strategic objectives.
Multiplayer marks a return to iconic boots on the ground Call of Duty gameplay that fans know and love, featuring an arsenal of World War II-era weapons, and fast-paced, heart-pumping, intense run-and-gun action.
All New Co-Operative Mode
There aren't many details on this new mode at the moment, with more promised soon. However, what we do know for now is the Call of Duty: World War II's co-operative mode promises to unleash a new and original story that's packed full of surprises and moments to get the blood pumping. The new standalone game experience is said to take gaming to the next-level, we shall see!
Release Details
Call of Duty: World War II is set for release on November 3 2017. At release, 4 versions of the game will be available. These are:
- Base Edition
- Digital Base Edition
- Digital Deluxe Edition with Season Pass content
- Pro Edition which includes Season Pass content, a collectable Steelbook and more.
PlayStation 4 owners who pre-order can take part in Private Multiplayer BETA but it is unclear if Xbox One and PC will get a BETA as well. It may be that it is only available to PS4.
What is clear is that PlayStation 4 will get content before other platforms.
Call of Duty: WWII Reveal Trailer
Activision has given us our first glimpse of the latest Call of Duty today and it's very different. For the last few years, we've been subjected to more and more futuristic and, for some, less plausible and enjoyable version of Call of Duty. Today's marks the end of the ever more distant era and we're winding back to World War 2 for the first time since 2008.
At the moment, there's not an awful lot of information but with the official reveal, we will bring you all the info you need to know as we learn more.
What we do know for now is the game's description promises that players will be able to "play through the story of ordinary men turned soldiers in the 1st Infantry Division as they fight to preserve freedom in the face of tyranny."
Call of Duty: WWII is available for pre-order now, which gives access to a private beta before the November 3rd release.
For now, sit back and enjoy the reveal trailer released today.
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Wolfenstein: The New Order makes me thankful that the Nazi's never won the war. With all the weird weapons and merciless Nazi robot dogs that would have sprung up, I am glad I don't have to live on Hitler Crescent and work at Goebbels Inc. Those nightmares are fully realised in The New Order which see's the return of William "B.J." Blazkowicz who, after a failed assassination attempt on his old nemesis General 'Deathshead' Strasse, wakes up in 1960 to a world dominated by Nazi's and their robot dogs who think his limbs are Pedigree Denta-stix. Blazkowicz then sets about mounting a resistance against the Nazi empire with a small band of resistance members including Caroline Becker, last seen in ID Software's reboot, Wolfenstein, in 2009.
MachineGames have done away with dimension jumping where you were attacked by angry blow fish and everyone's eyed glowed. They have done away with weird crystals that not even Jesse or Walter would consider cooking up because of the absurd powers they gave you. Granted, Nazi robot dogs and a Nazi empire that covers the world is also a stretch but, what makes this Wolfenstein so enjoyable is the focus on telling a good solid adventure story, throwing in great gameplay mechanics and puzzles with a challenging AI system, something that lacked in the previous title.
MachineGames have also given BJ a substantial amount of dialogue which has been lacking considerably, meaning you are no longer in control of a cardboard cut out of human. His dialogue in both cut scenes and in game feel passionate and striking (it may also explain why, during cut scenes, BJ always looks close to tears). In game, a loss of an ally or seeing the Nazi's commit atrocities against unarmed POW's will trigger some sort of response from BJ, expressing anger, disgust or bitterness or questioning his own ability to save the World from Nazi rule through his thoughts and occasional murmurings. For a game full of laser touting, Aryan obsessed Nazi stomp machines, you can't help but share the emotions of Blazkowicz in his moments of anger or self-doubt.
Just like the story is pumped full of emotion, the gameplay itself is pumped full of action. The layout of the game is strictly 'on-the-rails' but each level has multiple ways to approach problems. For a franchise known for its all out action, the ability to stealthily bump off enemies by slithering out of a floor level vent and throwing a knife in their back is a welcome addition. Secret passage ways are numerous and varied and finding collectibles such as letters, maps, enigma codes and gold gives you an additional reason to explore the alternate routes. In each area you will also find commanders who, if you are detected, will call in reinforcements until you can eliminate them, meaning you don't have to always run around dual wielding shotguns trying to blast Fritz into bitz.
The Commander 'pen-pushers' who got promoted for their connections' (according to the in-game journal) will flee and let the grunts do all the work to try and take you down. In this sense, the game almost encourages you to become Ninja-wicz. Almost. The enemy AI for the grunts and cowardly commanders is extremely smart, something you'll quickly realise when being out-flanked for the fourth time. Their use of fire suppression and grenades is to be commended, meaning engagements are fierce and can turn desperate if you are down to your last mag. One significant criticism of the AI however, is that it can feel too good, sensing you through boxes and round corners, leaving you annoyed at wasting your time trying to sneak around the level. Perhaps the Nazis also have psychic powers? A nice addition is you don't simply rearm by walking over ammo; you have to physically pick it up. If pinned down behind cover, coming under fire from all sides; desperately trying to reach across to pick up a box of ammo or med-kit will feel like a whole new game in itself.
For a game that came on four discs (no, really) the graphics are good. No that is a lie, the graphics are incredible. All the set-pieces have been lovingly crafted for your destruction and they never feel half done or over-crowded. If you are a stickler for frame rates and high definition explosions, then this is also your kind of game.
On PC, the game is polished to perfection. I sometimes have to keep an eye on the temperature of my processor and graphics card but when playing such a huge (40GB!) game, I thought the demand on my processor and GPU would be too much. Amazingly I was utterly wrong and the game is so well optimised that temperatures for both components stay well within safe limits. Only the occasional graphical glitch spoils the atmosphere of playing fetch the grenade with a robotic pooch but I'm sure future updates will fix that.
Some will be surprised to hear that Wolfenstein: The New Order has not shipped with any multi-player whatsoever. I worry that this may discourage potential players but it is worth the money for a brilliantly dark and brooding storyline and gripping gameplay.
Overall, I have not had the pleasure of playing such a brilliant, story driven shooter in a long long time. The graphics, gameplay and the sense of adventure will have you hooked for whole weekends at a time. A few tweaks to the AI and a fix for the occasional graphical glitch would be appreciated however. The lack of multi-player is also disappointing but I'm glad that MachineGames didn't overreach – I'm looking at you Battlefield – and fall flat on their faces. The single-player is entertaining enough to have a great deal of replay and you will enjoy the twitchy nervousness of getting hunted by Robo-Rover for months to come.
Kaiser Baas Game Recorder HD
There's many a reason why you may want to record your gameplay and up until now, there's been two game recorders leading the charge from Hauppauge and Elgato. Late 2013 saw a new contender to the game recorder market from Kaiser Baas with the Game Recorder HD. Avanquest, the UK distributor for the Game Recorder HD, were kind enough to send over a unit for us to take a look.
I believe that with a game recorder, the most important criteria for a good recorder are quality of recording and ease to use the recorder. The Kaiser Baas Game Recorder HD's recording quality is brilliant and it has an ace up its sleeve that the competition don't, but at a cost.
Looking at the unit, it's not the flashiest or most trendy game recorder on the market but it does sit nicely next to whatever it is you've got it plugged in to, in my case, an Xbox One. The recorder is a much smaller unit than the likes of the Hauppauge or Elgato counterparts, probably about a quarter of the size, but then…the best things come in small packages! There's nothing really to write home about when it comes to the aesthetics, the Game Recorder HD is finished in gloss black plastic, the type that just loves to show off fingerprints and smudges. Put that aside, the controls, all three of them, are simple. The two buttons to control recording input type and whether you're wanting 720p or 1080p HD recording are on the top and a nice big "Record" button on the front.
In terms of setting everything up, it's a very simple affair. Power lead, HDMI from console and HDMI to TV all just pop into the back, as expected. For storing your recordings and capturing commentary audio, two inputs on the front take care of that. This is where is gets different. The Game Recorder HD lets you record directly to a storage device without the need of a computer. Simply connect a USB flashdrive or USB external hard drive to the Game Recorder HD and you're all set. This really is where Kaiser Baas Game Recorder HD comes into its own. My computer isn't near my Xbox and I don't possess a laptop so, what am I meant to do if I couldn't just put an external hard drive next to the recorder, plugin and go? I'd have to run a cable across the room or move everything closer to each other. Health and safety would have a field day! Once you've recorded some footage, take the drive and plug it in to the computer. There, you'll find all your recordings split into 2GB files ready for you to transfer to your computer's hard drive or upload. What I would say is this though. For the love of God get a USB3.0 drive. The transfer times are dramatically reduced. If you're not sure you've got USB3.0 on your computer, have a look at the USB ports and see if you have a blue one, compared to a black one. Blue USB port signifies USB3.0. If you haven't, don't worry, you're just going to have to wait a tad longer to transfer files.
It is worth noting at this point, that while set up is a breeze, there is a fault with the code of the Xbox One that if you're not familiar with, will leave you scratching your head. It took me several hours to research a solution. It's no secret and Microsoft have said they're working on it so we can expect a fix soon. What we know of the problem at the moment is that it lies with the "handshake" that takes place when you power everything up. When the Xbox One is in "Always On" mode, it doesn't perform the handshake process properly and what happens is that it treats all content as protected content. What this means is that, no matter what brand, your game recorder won't record. When using the Kaiser Baas, what you need to do is to turn the Xbox One into energy saving mode and go old school, using the controller to turn it on and off, and the remote for the TV. On top of that, if you do watch protected content such as a Blu-Ray, the Xbox One will need to be completely switched off and back on again before you can get your game recorder to work again for capturing gameplay.
Once you have got yourself set and started recording, everything works as expected and the results meet all expectations. The sound capture from a microphone is clear and crisp and video capture is perfect and smooth. The Game Recorder HD records at 60FPS which is perfect when games are running at 60FPS. There's no tear or stutter in frames. There's not much else to be said about what happens when you are recording, it does what it's meant to do.
While the Kaiser Baas Game Recorder HD is a very competent unit, there are some drawbacks and these come from the simplicity of the unit. With it being designed to work without a computer, it means there are zero settings for you to fiddle with. With other recorders, you have the ability to adjust in game volume and the like, so that you're not drowned out by the game's audio while you're trying to commentate on what's going on. This lack of ability goes further when the time comes to do something with the footage you've recorded. As videos are split every time they near 2GB, a game of FIFA14 or Battlefield 4 will leave you with multiple files to do something with. This means you're going to need to stitch the files together and edit them into one seamless video. No problem, but have you got a decent quality video editing program on your computer? I'm lucky, I have the full Adobe suite but not many people do and the free video editors that are available tend to leave a lot to be desired. With the lack of ability to set up game audio etc, it makes the choice of your microphone all the more important. You're going to need something that's sensitive and preferably, with an option to amplify the input. It's the only way to have control over the levels between what you're saying that's being recorded, and the volume of the game.
So, what's the overall impression that I've been left with after my time spent with the Kaiser Baas Game Recorder HD. Well, it's great being able to record to hard drive. It really is a big big plus not having to have a computer plugged in to it. Just search the internet for people in the boat where they don't have a laptop and the computer's in another room. However, the inability to plugin to the computer and have a plethora of options, settings and packaged editing tools, let's the Game Recorder HD down massively. It's just too simple and with the need to buy storage and an editing software package, the decision whether to buy becomes very simple. The additional costs involved will more than likely double the price of the unit. I'm using a 2TB external drive that's £75 from Argos and a simple video editing software package will set you back another £25. So that's £100 extra, in addition to the expense involved in purchasing a high quality microphone. As I mentioned, a good quality microphone is key and you're looking at something like the Rode NT1-A which is another £150. Not that you should skimp on a microphone but you could get away quite comfortably on a lesser mic on the Hauppauge due to being able to adjust the volume of the game on the fly via software. Add in the price of the Game Recorder HD, £140 which is pretty much the same as the rivals, a quick tally puts the initial start up cost for the Game Recorder HD at £390!!!
Maybe I'm putting too much emphasis on the importance of getting a high quality microphone, even though you should, and you could perhaps get away with one for £50 and yes, you could use a 64GB USB flash drive but you're going to be needing to transfer the data over to your computer for every 6 hours of gameplay. And of course, you can get away with using free video editing software but, there should be no need to compromise when there's a better equipped game recorder on the market for pretty much the same price.
Overall, I like the Kaiser Baas Game Recorder HD. It records well and is a breeze to use. I like the ability to record direct to storage but I can not ignore the lack of features compared to equally priced game recorders on the market. I'd have to give the Game Recorder HD an overall score of 6/10 and say, that it's perfect if your computer is nowhere near your console and you don't have a laptop but be prepared to put your hand in your pocket once or twice more after purchasing.
Titanfall – is this the full version?
Titanfall, one of 2014's biggest titles, has launched in the UK & Europe. The amount of hype surrounding Titanfall can only be described as ridiculous. It has to be one of the most anticipated launches in several years. No pressure then!
A brief look into the ancestry of the developer, Respawn Entertainment, quickly suggests that there is a serious pedigree at hand. This isn't Titanfall creator Vince Zampella's first rodeo. Mr Zampella did of course co-create Call of Duty as we know it today, before someone called someone a nasty name shortly after Modern Warfare 2 and everything went to shit.
Here we are, nearly half a decade later and we get to pick apart Zampella's latest creation, the most anticipated Xbox One game of the year with 80 awards being dished out, before it was even finished…never really understood that!
If you've followed any of our other reviews, you'll know that at UGP, we have a system for reviewing games. We believe that there are three key elements to make a game which if combined correctly, create a dynamite experience. These elements are the engine (visuals & how it plays), the scope (story, content & lifespan) and the effect (is it fun, does it keep you coming back for more?).
Titanfall is very nice game to look at. While not mind blowing visually, it certainly does feel like a nice place to be once you've got into a match. It's difficult to appreciate the detailed artwork that's gone into the Titans because if you're close enough to see it, you sure aren't going to hanging around long enough to actually appreciate it. And that's really how Titanfall plays, it's very smooth but very very fast. Absolute chaos in fact. I like it, and the game does it well. There's no bugs or glitches, random getting stuck, tearing of the map…it actually works. A shock in this era of games being released flat out broken I know! The controls are intuitive and very familiar, standard FPS stuff really. If you're able to master the double-jump and wall running element of Titanfall, while not new it is nice to see, you'll find that you can move about very very quickly, covering large spans in a short time. You do get rewarded for timing your jumps and runs and you can get a real flow going. Don't and you'll feel like you're trying to run around on a bouncy castle.
With regard to balance, the weapons are very nicely balanced, the limited number of them, and there's no obvious over powered strategy or loadout. There is no strategy to Titanfall to be fair so that's not going to be an issue. My only gripe is the accuracy of Titan weaponry. If you're spotted by a Titan as a pilot, you've had it. The weapons are so accurate, and cover so sparse, you're unlikely to get away. It would be nice to see Titan weaponry be a bit less accurate, it's not like the primary target, a Titan, is small and difficult to hit!
In terms of storyline, they might as well have not bothered. The campaign is next to non-existent and when you are playing it, you don't even notice it. The campaign in Titanfall consists of 9 mission for each of the two factions, the IMC and the Militia. These missions are basically just multiplayer game with some predictable audio overlayed at intervals during gameplay to make you think you're fighting for a cause. The cutscenes between missions honestly just get in the way. There's no depth to the story and it certainly doesn't leave you wanting to know more and wishing it went on. The only reason anyone would want to do the campaign is to unlock the two additional Titans that you are awarded for doing (doesn't matter if you win or lose) the 18 missions, which takes about 2 hours incidentally!
The lack of depth and scope to the storyline is a good marker for the rest of Titanfall, read on and see what I mean.
I've played Titanfall for about 6 hours over the 3 days since release before writing this. It's not challenging at all. Many other reviewers are seeing this as a positive, that beginners can jump in and survive more than 30 seconds before being annihilated. Well, that's not a good thing in my book. Honestly, if I'd known this game didn't really expand on the BETA, with which I was bored after 2 days, I wouldn't have bothered looking at this. Titanfall multiplayer, which is all there really is to this game, is a lot of fun. For a few hours. But, the complete lack of strategy and objectives or goals means that once you've unlocked most of the things to unlock, of which there's just 31, what do you do? Take the RC-101 rifle you get at the start. There's 2 attachments for it…2!!!! There is such scope available to make something awesome surrounding weapons, it's the future and there's fuck off great big mechs storming about the place. Why can't we have a Dead Space style weapon builder? If there was, this game would have a lifespan that extended past 6 hours. What do we do in multiplayer games other than unlock things and build classes? There's none of that in this. 5 hours of gameplay and I've unlocked all but 5 things in the game. It's poor, very poor.
The effect Titanfall has on me is one of massive disappointment, unrealised potential and boredom. The maps are very linear due to the need to allow for Titans and the lack of content in Titanfall is such a shame. As I've already mentioned, less than a day's solid gameplay and you'll have done everything there is to do. Battlefield 4 is a game where strategy and tactics require mastering, plus a shed load of stuff to unlock. Call of Duty: Ghosts, despite its faults, has clans, squads, and killstreaks. These things keep me entertained, and I'm not alone in my thoughts. Playing with a buddy of mine on Titanfall and after 1 day we both concluded that we'd probably only play this for a few days. He's ok with that, he's go a disc to sell. I on the other hand, have spanked £55.00. Fifty five bloody quid on this is not worth the money!
Titanfall was an immense amount of fun for a few hours but, as I realised this is as good as it gets, it got stale really quickly. There's no progression, I'm at level 30 at the moment. The last unlock is level 48 or something close. I'm not sure what I'm meant to do after that? The 5 game modes certainly aren't going to keep me interested. Particularly when two of them are just bits of attrition on there own.
Overall, Titanfall is a good game technically. It's built very well, works well, looks good and the gameplay is nice but…there's just no meat to it. I get the impression that they did all the tricky technical stuff. The engine, the graphics, the controls and software to build the models and simply ran out of time. There's potential for so much more. The Titans could come with so many more customisation options, the weapons are limited and the attachments for them are next to non-existent. We're in the future, there's no limit on what can be done. Where are the killstreaks? It's perfect for that. But no, all we get is a nice little voice in our ear telling us it's an impressive streak. I'm sorry but I need a bit more than that to keep me entertained.
Final verdict is this. Technically very very nice but a very lacklustre game. The lack of content and the potential to make a completely engrossing game is a massive massive let down. Yes there's DLC coming, but it'll cost £20 and it's only for 3 map packs. Doesn't really add to anything. It's not worth £50. Wait and pick it up for £20 when you need something for a weekend. Due to it's complete lack of depth and the fact I'm done with it after just a few hours play time, I'm going to give Titanfall 7.5 out of 10.
SimCity Cities of Tomorrow – How is SimCity 12 months after release?
About this time last year, new life was given to the SimCity franchise. To say fans of SimCity weren't chomping at the bit to get a glimpse of the new title would be an understatement. I was one of them. The marketing and preview material in the year leading up to release promised a whole new city building experience with detailed, awe inspiring graphics and a game that redefined the genre. For any of who you weren't party of the nightmare of release day, take a moment to read my SimCity launch review. It was horrible, nothing worked from the game engine to the SimCity servers, which kind of was a big deal as the game was, and still yes, online only. All save games are in the cloud so no internet or server means no playing SimCity.
In this review, I want to kind of bundle two reviews into one. A second look at SimCity and how SimCity Cities of Tomorrow is, and how it has improved SimCity in general. If that sounds a bit confusing, bare with me, all will become apparent as you read on. I'll do my best to keep it brief but there's a lot to talk about.
How is SimCity 12 months on?
Better, but nowhere near perfect and still with massive issues. Between launch and December 2013, there have been 9 major title updates plus countless smaller updates. That's right, the game is up to version 9 in 9 months! What's worrying though is that there's been nothing since December 2013 and there's still major issues in my opinion. Although they have been addressed in a round about way, stay with me.
I've been dipping in and out of SimCity since the beginning and to be honest, I've noticed little difference between how the game played when it was first launched and how the game plays now. I'm not surprised as the biggest issue is at the very core ethos of the game and that is population. What's a city builder all about if not about building population? Everything runs fine until you get a city that starts sprouting high density towers. There's 3 huge huge huge issues. Traffic, intercity commuting, stupid fake population and space.
Traffic becomes an absolute nightmare which is how it was on day 1 and it cripples the city. Yes improvements have been made but they have by no means fixed anything. Sims don't get to work or shops or services like hospitals so the cycle of never ending problems begin. Nothing moves, crime skyrockets, the city burns and everyone starts to die. It ruins your hard work.
So perhaps you build how you did in SimCity 4? One area of industry, one area of residential and commercial. Great idea apart from one problem. People will not commute. I've had cities with 10,000 unemployed next to a city needing 20,000 workers and yet, only a few hundred will commute. The whole point of SimCity was to bring multiplayer, co-operative city building into the world but if you can't get people from the city next door to run your industrial super power city…multiplayer and regions are completely pointless. As they are now, you basically have to build self contained cities that share emergency services and utilities. Sharing workers is a big no no.
And this brings me on to the stupid fake populations. I can have a city of 200,000 and yet, for some unknown reason, I still only have 30,000 workers for 50,000 or 60,000 jobs. It ruins the game but I can see why they've done it. With the space available, you simply couldn't sprawl a city to have a population of 200,000. There's been mods to help with this but it's no substitute for being able to build a region the same as you did in SimCity 4. I can not fathom why EA and Maxis won't let us build across the region. Apparently it's due to computing power required but that's rubbish. The only power needed is to render graphics and that's limited by resolution and screen size, i.e it doesn't matter how big the map is, not much more power would be needed than is needed now. The algorithms really aren't that complicated so I don't believe that as an excuse.
Overall, SimCity as the original title, with no expansion, is still as rubbish as the day it was released. It's impossible to fix the population mechanics of the game as they're at the core but, allowing region wide building and sorting the commuting issues are very very doable and if they were, this game would be much much better. March 2013 I gave this 4/10 and March 2014, I'd give it maybe 5/10, yes bugs have been fixed but it's still inherently broken. That is, until you buy SimCity Cities of Tomorrow.
Simcity Cities of Tomorrow expansion and how it changes SimCity
When I saw the announcement for SimCity Cities of Tomorrow as an expansion priced at what a lot of games charge outright, I thought it was some kind of sick joke. I'm expected to spend another load of money to expand a game that's broken? So I didn't buy it. And I still wasn't playing SimCity. That was till February just gone when I remembered I'd promised to revisit SimCity and put a quick call into EA who very kindly sent me a code for the Cities of Tomorrow expansion. I was curious to see how this expansion changed SimCity.
What I can report is that Cities of Tomorrow has made two significant changes. Firstly, Cities of Tomorrow really does expand SimCity. It's not just an asset pack that's got more of the same stuff the original came with but in different colours. No, Cities of Tomorrow brings a plethora of features that pretty much sends you off into a new game entirely. I was confused when I first loaded up SimCity after the expansion installed, there was no reference to an update or a new menu…nothing. But, get into the game and tooltips start to inform me that there's new buildings that do some really really cool stuff. I can have a whole new industrial fork of tech and buildings, research and development and of course, Mega Towers which are awesome. To get a city of the future, it's not just a case of selecting future city. You need to evolve your city, futurise it!
Build OmegaCo factories and see your industrial sector start to convert to the future as they receive deliveries of Omega. Take it a step further and get Omega into shops and homes to futurise those districts of your city. Plop an Academy and welcome a whole host of new technologies and modules available to research. Everything from MagLev transport (seriously awesome as it can plop on roads but not add to the road's congestion) to modules to increase power plant output. Mega Towers are the final major feature addition and they are perhaps not the prettiest of things, do provide some much needed heavyhitting control over RCI demand. With a quick click and no space used other than the tower's footprint, you can add a couple of thousand units to whichever residential or commercial class you wish. It sort of solves the inability to ever balance RCI demand.
This is the biggest thing you feel with Cities of Tomorrow. A lot of the features feel and work like fixes for the core game, just packaged in a manner that covers up what it really is and makes it interesting. The OmegaCo factories have a module to construct service vehicles that aren't effected by traffic, so perhaps now fire engines will actually get to fires? The Mega Towers can deal with the hugely imbalanced populations and the Academy can add things like the MagLev that moves people around over the cities roads without adding to the congestion or getting lost!
Visually, Cities of Tomorrow is stunning as I'd expect with the core game being equally beautiful. It does actually expand the game and increase its lifespan rather than just add content and assets which are, let's face it, boring after the first time of use. On merit, Cities of Tomorrow is good and I'm happy to give it 7 out of 10, and that's looking at it objectively without the fact it fixes things.
If you've got SimCity I'd suggest buying Cities of Tomorrow simply because it fixes so much that's wrong with SimCity. It does improve the game. And, if you've read this far, you'll see why I've written about what I have. SimCity is still very broken but, with Cities of Tomorrow, a lot is fixed. Now we just need EA and Maxis to sort out commuting and allow us to build across the region. Apparently version 10 update is out soon and it's earmarked to include offline mode, not really a big deal but let's hope there's some map size fixes now the servers aren't involved…something that's apparently limited things as well.
Final thoughts, SimCity is still really broken, Cities of Tomorrow fixes some major issues but there's still much to be done. Just hope EA and Maxis stay interested for another year. SimCity sold just over 1 million units to date so it may not make a huge amount of financial sense as I doubt 1 million units of expansion packs are being sold each time they're released! I would say that if they got the game sorted, people will buy it and play it. They need to because at this rate, there's not going to be another SimCity for a very very long time, the bean counters simply won't allow it!
Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends is the next generation incarnation of the much-loved and classic retro title of the same name. It should be noted that the new 're-boot' isn't entirely new; Rayman Legends was released last year for the Nintendo Wii U. That being the case, the developers took advantage of the latest tranche of next gen console releases in order to placate the masses – so to speak. However, the game has been rather low-key. Ubisoft, the developer, hasn't blown a fortune marketing the game. The title costs £ 25 from Amazon and the prerequisite 'update' when you first install the game takes less than a minute. How can a game that is literally ready to play, comes with a price tag that is nearly fifty percent cheaper than some other titles and is a bucket load of fun, not be a big hit?
There is something rather remarkable about Rayman Legends – it is a sequel to the Rayman Origins from 2011. However, the game is a somewhat 'stand-alone' title. Now I can understand why the criticisms. You're Assassins Creeds, Tomb Raiders and Battlefield 4s have a playability aspect that is truly freestyle – you can go and explore whatever you like. The 2D dynamic of Rayman Legends is a throwback and has probably hindered the game's wider successes. But read on fearless gamers; for this game, this pantheon of fun is in fact one of the best games available. The rendering is smart, the gameplay is fluid and it is a bucket load of fun. This title is completely epic.
UGP believes games have three unique elements that, when combined, make a great game – even greater! Therefore, using the UGP Ozone review system, which means we focus on three elements that surround; the perspective (the storyline), the difficulty (how challenging the gameplay was) and how indulgent the game is – we decided to put Rayman Legends to the Ultimate Gaming Paradise test!
The storyline is bonkers! It's a collective of stand alone adventures that weave together to incorporate a wider narrative. However, you don't need to know too much about the storyline. In a nutshell, Rayman and his pals are, as usual wandering aimlessly around the forest, when they discover a weird and whacky tent which is filled to the brim with bizarre paintings – each painting holds a story surrounding a mystical and enchanted world. They are sucked into the first painting and thus the game begins. After that it's simple enough; Rayman and his buddies run and jump and punch their way through secrets and evil to save the day.
The 2D platform game is as old as the video game console genre. However, there is something rather unusual and therein nice about Rayman Legends. The lack of freestyle doesn't hinder the gameplay. In fact, the constant thrust and pace of the game delivers a challenge in another way. It allows you to engage with Rayman and his actions because the controls are totally reliable and trustworthy – there's no double tapping or missed actions like Tomb Raider or Battlefield. The platform genre, however, is challenged in this title. You see, Rayman does things Super Mario Bros didn't. It's a fluid gameplay that sees a plethora of different game styles. For example, you have all sorts of different challenges that really make it even more challenging – from puzzles to shooting – and it all helps create an atmosphere that sees you constantly challenged but in a way that is both responsive and reasonable.
Rayman Legends is part of the Rayman heritage. Rayman has been around for nearly twenty years. It is a game that generations have come to play and love. However, retro fondness is only part of the fun factor of this title. You see, what makes this an epic title is how successful and accessible it has made the gameplay experience. It is a stunning visual treat and offers the best platfomer experience ever. This is what makes it an epic game and it is nothing but hours and hours of fun – granted there is no co-op or multiplayer, but really who is going to play Rayman online? It is a solid stand alone title that you can jump back and forth to between other games. More games should be like it, less serious and a bit more fun and laid back.
Super Mario made the platform game. However, in an age of next-gen greatness, Rayman Legends really takes up the mantle of best platformer. It is a great game that brings a wondrous and brilliant world of imagination and fun to your Xbox One or PlayStation 4. It is not a serious title, you don't have to worry about patch updates or in-game purchases, all you do is simply pick up your controller and start playing. It is a rare game in a video game world full of such developments. Ubisoft and the team behind Rayman should be praised for this title. Yes, its 2D and yes it's a port from the Wii U version. Yes, graphics could be better. But these 'issues' don't hinder the gameplay. The game offers a solid balance of indulgence, challenges and an entertaining storyline. This is one of 2014's most surprising titles. As such, Ultimate Gaming Paradise can give Rayman Legends an epic review score of 9.5 out of 10.
Call of Duty has been with us as a franchise now for nearly twelve years. On over eighteen different (and even now defunct) platforms from GameCube to Xbox One, the franchise has sold over 100 million copies of the game. Infinity Ward and Activision have really pushed the boundaries of first and third-person shooter gaming. However, the latest release; Call of Duty Ghosts fails to really ignite the same passions as previous CoD titles. As a headliner of the next-gen consoles lineup, Ghosts has been caught with its pants down – to date the game has had over 3Gb of updates. Issues with multiplayer, single player and engine-based issues have caused the developers to issue patch update after patch update. This has really affected the game and how its been perceived. UGP has decided, in the post patch period, to put the game through its paces.
UGP believes games have three unique elements that, when combined, makes a great game – even greater! Therefore, using the UGP Ozone review system, which means we focus on three elements that surround; the perspective (the storyline), the difficulty (how challenging the gameplay was) and how indulgent the game is – we decided to put Call of Duty Ghosts to the ultimate gaming paradise test!
The 10th installment of the CoD franchise moves on from Captain Price and his cohorts. The next wave, after Black Ops, sees you experience the campaign through the eyes of one Logan Walker. It all starts when Walker's father, Elias, tells his son about the 'Ghosts'. These clandestine warriors become a legend the Federation enemy came to fear. This back story is told in tandem with an attack on a US satellite system and an assault to destroy the oil producing nations of the Middle East. This alternative World sees old superpowers destroyed. The rise of a new power, called The Federation, in South America assumes a global dominance. The Federation has an ace up its sleeve; the main bad guy is Rorke, an ex-Ghost turned Federation supremo. Walker and his team play a game of cat and mouse with Rorke across the globe from Antarctic oil refineries to desolate US outposts.
The story seems half-baked. The ending, without any spoilers affects the overall 'feel' of the storyline. The lack of a more defined prologue introducing the Ghosts and more of the actual history of the War means you're left guessing – and even Riley your pet dog doesn't really make a difference in terms of experiencing this lack of knowledge.
In an attempt to sex-up the gameplay, Activision and co have created a new type of gameplay format. This is called Squads mode. There is still the single player mode and the Multiplayer mode. However, Squads has been debated as the main 'killer' reason for the gameplay's successes. Or in my opinion lack of success. The challenging nature of CoD is stymied by this title. It ends way too soon. The online multiplayer and squads don't really offer anything different. It all seems like Activision and co are now simply in 'launch mode'. They're counting down to the next November launch and don't really care about the nitty gritty of gameplay. Modern Warfare 1 and 2 really changed the dynamic, Black Ops 1 changed the aspect of gameplay. However, Ghosts fails to really change anything. The lack of a storyline and a short campaign mode really means the title has a stymied gameplay. The lack of a challenge really focuses the title's failure to define itself in a better context.
Call of Duty Ghosts is however fun, regardless of a crap storyline and a feeling you're constantly being underwhelmed in terms of being challenged. The fun factor of the game does come out. This is a saving grace in terms of buying the game. The multiplayer game has its moments, as does squads and campaign. The killstreaks have advantages – from the dog to juggernaut maniac – it's all fun. It's a bad storyline concealed in a challenge-less context which is partially saved by a fun gaming experience. The guns, the dogs, the explosives, the maps and the kill streaks really do bring the game's fun factor to the forefront. However, is this enough to save CoD from ruin?
Call of Duty Ghosts is part of a long line of pedigree war-based first/third person shooter titles. The franchise is one of the gaming sector's biggest moneymakers. However, these aside, there is a sense that Ghosts is a shop/online store fodder filler. It's there because they have to release a title in November. The storyline is ill-defined and the context of structured gameplay challenges leaves little in the way of true gaming challenges. These two attributes, of the UGP review system, mean it has one possibility of a partial redemption. This comes in the guise of fun factor. However, the fun factor alone is not enough to really justify the game as a great game. The dogs, ODIN killstreak or the new guns aren't enough of an allure to really give the game top marks. It's not enough, winning a Juggernaut Maniac to justify a short campaign mode, a schizophrenic Squads mode or even the lack of any real gameplay challenges. As such Ultimate Gaming Paradise can give Call of Duty Ghosts a waning: 6 out of 10.
For those who have missed Lara Croft and her rather unique physiology – do not despair our Tomb Raiding heroine is back – and back with some serious attitude and some, well, serious balls! Lara Croft has returned after a long sabbatical. In late 2013, Square Enix released a 're-booted' Tomb Raider title. It was met with lukewarm reception on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. However, the release of the 'next-gen consoles' a few months later caused Square Enix a little headache; should they wait, or should they port? They ported and 'refined', which is probably the most apt description for Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition.
UGP believes games have three unique elements that, when combined, makes a great game – even greater! Therefore, using the UGP Ozone review system, which means we focus on three elements that surround the perspective (the storyline), the difficulty (how challenging the gameplay was) and how indulgent the game is – we decided to put Tomb Raider Definitive Edition to the ultimate gaming paradise test!
It all starts on a boat sailing to Japan – a young and fresh faced Lara Croft is with friends on a somewhat 'gap year-esqe' archaeological trip. This being a Lara Croft title, lets just say the boat doesn't quite arrive at it's intended destination. In fact, it sinks. Poor Lara, washes up on a remote island with her buddies. The island is inhabited, they soon discover, by tribal psychos and hordes of killer animals. The premise of the game, without giving too much away, is an introduction to Lara, before fame and fortune, and how she became the skilled tomb raider she later becomes. This is a brutal game – Lara starts the game in agony and it continues to get worse for the girl. Her survival skills – and yours as the game player – are tested to extreme limits. This is a dark period in Lara's life and as such, the storyline is a continuous survival centric affair. The peaks, the rapids, the wolves and upgrading equipment all make this 'survival' theme so pressing and yet so fulfilling. For fans of Lara Croft, this storyline will not disappoint.
The platformer format has for several years now been influenced – for better or worse – by the experiences of Assassins Creed. This 'freestyle' approach, many argue, has helped to 'speed up' the gameplay and thus, as some point out, has made old fashioned gaming functionality – like combo buttons – obsolete. For those who want good ol' fashioned platformer fun with ample challenges, you can do no wrong with Tomb Raider Definitive Edition. The game is really difficult, the lack of freestyle play attributes adds to this challenge. Many critics claim this is a reason behind the game's so-called failure. However, I disagree; the game is difficult, but it's a difficulty based on a more 'hands-on' approach. You need to hit the X button, for example, to grab ledges or pull on your axe to climb terrain. You need to cycle through your armory, you don't automatically switch to your gun when your bow runs empty. It's refreshing yet deeply challenging – and I'd even say this is what gives it its 'edge'. You see, this game is not like Mirrors Edge or Assassins Creed where our protagonist can accomplish great feats without any kind of issue or even breaking a sweat. Lara 'feels' everything and since you are in a perpetual 'survivalist' mode. It's not meant to be 'easy going'. This difficulty, whilst it can annoy the hell out you as you re-do some part three or four times before getting it right, this is what makes the game so epic. You feel accomplishment when you get there – and when you call the coast guard or other secrets you'll understand and feel the accomplishment of getting Lara out of there in a somewhat safe and sound manner.
Lara Croft is a legacy title that a generation of gamers can engage with. From the 90s PC or PlayStation One to the PS4s or Xbox Ones, Tomb Raider has a large following and it has a long and proud history of gaming excellence. This plays a part in the fun factor of this title. You see, it's bloody hard and in some parts painful to complete. However, as I have already said, this is all part of the charm. This is why Tomb Raider is fun. The Definitive Edition really brings the Lara Croft 'fun-ness' to the forefront. It allows a whole new generation to experience Lara – older gamers might feel though that they're next generation gamer counterparts might be loosing out, if one considers for a moment Lara's somewhat PC-inspired reduction in the boob department. That aside, the game is an indulgent title that echoes the successes of the past whilst rebooting a franchise that deserves a proud future.
A lot has been 'reported' about benchmark differences. There might be millisecond differences between HD gameplay on PS4 and Xbox One but I couldn't for the life of me really see a difference. It should also be noted that it is nice not to see a title with horrendous, Ryse-esqe, in-game purchases. It's a solid platform title and one that brings together a great storyline with challenging aspects that really puts gamers – especially in the post-Assassins Creed environment – on the back foot by really challenging their gameplay. Finally, this title is fun; you might not be thinking that as your racing down a rapid or climbing a huge radio tower, but it is – it's enthralling and full of suspense that really gets you on edge of your seat and this pushes you on. Its a great title only let down by on-screen instruction lags when in training camps. As such Ultimate Gaming Paradise can give Tomb Raider a solid: 9 out of 10.


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What are some good questions to ask someone that you are just getting to know online through email and/or IM?
Have an opinion?
Why have you resorted to dating online?
I can't seem to meet any guys any other way. Online dating is not ideal but I have friends that are now happily married and met their husbands online. I am hoping that it will happen to me.
I see, thanks.
Ask to play a game. I used to play a game called 41 questions where you go and then he goes. Ask them the most important things to you. Your morals in life, religion, ESPECIALLY, where they want to go! Good luck~
You cannot undo this action. The opinion owner is going to be notified and earn 7 XPER points.

subset: commoncrawl


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Double the Church Sites, Double the Fun: Multi-Site Churches: Part 1
Over the course of the next few weeks I'll be looking at multi-site churches. They represent an increasingly popular phenomenon, aided in no small part by advances in technology. In this first installment, we'll look briefly at what multi-site churches are, with future installments looking at the arguments in favor of and against using such a medium as a way of doing church.
First off, let's define the terms. According to The Multi-Site Church Revolution, a 2006 book by authors Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird, "A multi-site church is one church meeting in multiple locations—different rooms on the same campus, different locations in the same region, or in some instances, different cities, states, or nations. A multi-site church shares a common vision, budget, leadership, and board." As you can see from the definition, there are a number of different ways in which multi-site can be done. In all likelihood, some of the churches you are familiar with—perhaps even your church—participates in something that might fall within this definition. The common thread between each of these different models is one church, multiple locations. Let's take a look at some of these:
Different rooms on the same campus. This model consists of multiple buildings or venues on the same campus which are all watching the same sermon at the same time (or with a slight delay). The audience in one building is watching the service, or at least the sermon, in person, while the other audiences watch a video feed. In some instances, each building will have its own worship team and only the sermon will be via video. An example of this format is Saddleback Church in Southern California. Some churches adapt this format because of spacing issues. Not everyone can fit into the main building, so other buildings on campus function as a sort of overflow. Others do this in order to format the worship (read: music) portion of their service to fit different genre tastes.
Different locations in the same (or distant) region. This is the format we typically think of when we hear the term "multi-site church". Two examples of this are Mars Hill Church, located (for the most part) in the Seattle, Washington area (pastored by Mark Driscoll) and Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota (pastored by John Piper). Each of these churches does the multi-site thing in their own unique way.
At Mars Hill, preaching responsibilities are shared between the main preaching pastor (Driscoll) and the other teaching pastors. Most of the time, Driscoll will preach live from one campus while the other campuses watch a video feed of the same sermon. The rest of the time, the other pastors will preach live to the other campuses individually.
At Bethlehem Baptist, the preaching pastor (Piper) preaches Saturday night to the congregation at the church's Downtown location. That sermon is recorded. On Sundays, he rotates preaching live between the various campuses. The campuses he's not preaching at on a given Sunday watch the video that was recorded at the Saturday service.
Both of these churches follow the different locations model, with their own nuances.
Different teachers at different locations. In this model, each of the various campuses of the multi-site church has a sermon delivered live by one of the pastors. This church doesn't employ the use of video streaming. Each of the campuses, though they seem to function as individual churches in a number of ways, are governed by the same leadership team. Though I hate to bring business metaphors into a church discussion, think of a company that has multiple offices. Each office is doing its own functions, functioning autonomously in a sense, but each is under the same board of directors. An example of this type of church is Community Christian Church in the Chicago, Illinois area.
As we begin our look at multi-site churches, it's important to note just how diverse this practice is. Before we could defend or critique the multi-site model, we needed to have a better understanding of it. In future weeks we'll look at the opportunities and challenges multi-site presents. Stay tuned.


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Guarding the Moon (Hardcover)
A Mother's First Year
William Morrow, 9780066213675, 192pp.
Publication Date: April 1, 2003
List Price: 16.95*
* Individual store prices may vary.
Not Currently Available for Direct Purchase
The author of the critically acclaimed, award–winning Weetzie Bat books offers a compelling celebration of the first year of her child's life.
Guarding the Moon chronicles the joys and terrors of motherhood, from the early stages of the author's pregnancy through her baby's first birthday. This unique but far–reaching story makes for a gem of a book.


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Do you have an aversion to selling or being in sales, because you are either afraid of rejection, or don't want to seem 'pushy' or 'sleazy'. However, when you come from a place of true intention, and most importantly, of service, you'll find that you're not really selling. You are simply guiding others towards a realization that what you have to offer can transform their life.
Sometimes it takes a drastic wake up call for you to re-align your priorities and start doing what is your true calling, what make you happy. For my guest Tracey Thompson, a cancer diagnosis led to her abandoning a corporate 9-5 job and doing something she always knew she was good at: coaching entrepreneurs on conscious selling techniques. Her 'wake up' call was the trigger that allowed her to create and effective, enlightening system to sell.
Episode #57: Conscious Conversions: Tracey Thompson
Here are some great tips from my interview with Tracey:
Tuesday Tips to Thrive:
1. Be the governor of your own state. You can't always control your circumstances, but you can control how you react and what you feel.
2. In the process of trying to make a sale, focus on asking powerful questions rather than by being pushy or salesy. Questions can influence too.
3. If you're questioning your own professional worth or value, go help someone with your professional skills. Let them mirror your own value back to yourself.
Click HERE for more of this inspirational checklist! 🙂
Love and light,


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The North Face Women's Boundary Triclimate Jacket is a 3-in-1 jacket system that can span more than just the winter season. Two jackets, three ways to wear 'em. Impressive, I know. The outer jacket is a DryVent™ 2L shell, for shedding snow, rain and anything wet. The inner jacket is the ultra-fuzzy Osito, made from high-pile raschel fleece. Snuggle into that to boost warmth in the fall, just add the shell for protection from wind and wet when winter steps in. Zippered pockets galore for all your little extras, cuff adjustments and a hood on the shell round out the fun.
So sorry, but only 4 items are allowed for comparison, so we're comparing the first 4. I blame the gnomes and so should you.
Would you like to compare the products you have selected now?


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|How do some plants switch photosynthesis modes?
A plant glows under fuchsia light in a chamber attached to countless cables and tubes. A line on a computer screen shows that the little tree, which STRI plant physiologist Klaus Winter has starved of water, has switched modes of photosynthesis. Instead of absorbing CO2 during the day, the Clusia pratensis now fixes carbon at night, allowing it to cut its water use by 80 percent.
"The most interesting plants are the ones that switch photosynthetic modes," says Winter, who has run variations of this stress-response experiment countless times in his career and published dozens of papers describing his findings. With next-generation genetic experimentation, Winter will take the science of photosynthesis to new levels of understanding that may help scientists to understand how plants adjust to climate change.
See scientist profile
Learn More


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Ernest Shackleton - Time Line
A biographical time line of Ernest Shackleton's life.
a printable version or use online.
geography, history, English
Download this page - as a Word file | as a pdf
Sir Ernest Shackleton Time Line
1874 - Born in Ireland 15th February 1874 to an English family, one of 10 children.
1884 - The Shackleton family moves to London.
1890 - Joins merchant navy at the age of 16.
1898 - Certified as Master Mariner.
1901 - First goes to Antarctica on board the Discovery expedition with Captain Scott.
1902 - November to February 1903 - Along with Captain Scott and Edward Wilson, reaches the then Farthest South coming within 530 miles of the South Pole. All three men suffer from snow-blindness, frost bite and scurvy, Shackleton is invalided home early on their return.
1903 - 1907 - Takes on a variety of jobs, none of which last very long, unsuccessfully stands for parliament, plans his next expedition.
1904 - Marries Emily Dorman.
1905 - First child, Raymond Shackleton is born.
1906 - Second child, Cecily Shackleton is born.
1907 - The ship Nimrod leaves Britain for Antarctica, the expedition is under the command of Shackleton.
1908 - October to January 1909 - With Frank Wild, Eric Marshall and Jameson Adams reaches a new Farthest South of 97 miles from the South Pole, the return journey was a race against starvation. He said to his wife "a live donkey is better than a dead lion, isn't it?"
1909 - Given national honours on his return home, made a knight becoming Sir Ernest Shackleton. Attempts to use his fame to make money in business, though lecturing about his Antarctic expeditions is still the main source of income.
1911 - Third child, Edward Shackleton is born.
1912 - The news that the South Pole had been reached separately by Amundsen and Scott caused Shackleton to turn to a plan to cross Antarctica via the South Pole.
1914 - The ship Endurance leaves Britain on Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
1915 - February - The Endurance becomes trapped in sea-ice. October - damage to the ship and the threat of more from surrounding pack-ice causes Shackleton to order the abandonment of the Endurance, the crew decamp to the surrounding ice. November 21st, the Endurance sinks leaving the crew stranded.
1916 - The crew of the Endurance make it to Elephant Island by late April. Shackleton and 5 others go for rescue in the lifeboat James Caird to South Georgia. August - the crew of the Endurance are rescued on the fourth attempt.
1917 - Returns to Britain and volunteers for the war effort, is later awarded an OBE for his efforts.
1919 - Publishes a book "South" about the Endurance expedition and resumes the lecture circuit to make money.
1921 - September - Leaves Britain for Antarctica on board the ship Quest.
1922 - January - Quest reaches South Georgia,
Shackleton has a fatal heart attack on the 5th
of January. On the request of his wife he is buried in the
whalers cemetery at Grytviken South Georgia.


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Outstanding a cappella group Home Free has been captivating fans since their 2013 debut on the NBC show "The Sing Off". Since winning their season, the country group has gone on to not only cover iconic hits, but to create some of their own original tunes!
The group members, not strangers to jokes and fun, drafted an original hit by the name of "Champagne Taste On A Beer Budget". The song captures the stressful life of a man whose wife has a terrible spending issue, ultimately running them into terrible debt. Seeing that the husband's name is on everything they own, he essentially becomes the individual liable for all the repercussions, despite the fact that his wife is the one with all the new toys!
The band hysterically sings,
"Now I'm headin' to the poorhouse/ Or headin' to jail/ And if I end up there I ain't makin' bail."
The song also elaborates on the extravagant clothing and brands that this man's wife has bought, in addition to describing the brand new Mercedes that his wife has taken upon herself to purchase. The song continues with,
"Cause I ran out of money/ Some time ago/ But if you look at my wife/ You'd never know."
The songs, full of hilarious and very true statements, is set to an exceptionally upbeat tune, making it impossible not to enjoy!
Check it out for yourself and tell us what you think!
Interested in becoming a partner?
Contact us for more info.


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New top quality luxury modern style villa just completed and ready to occupy. Consisting of 4 bedrooms two with en suite, 4 bathrooms, large living room, dining room. Open plan kitchen. Fitted a/c in bedrooms & living room. Under floor heating. 10x4 mts swimming pool, garage, car port. Distance to the beach is 1 km and supermarket 0.4km. This villa is very exclusive and must be viewed to be appreciated for those looking for contemporary style living.
©2016 Gran Sol Properties (Europe) LTD. All Rights Reserved.Designed by KJ's Electronics
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I recently bought an Apple Watch, again (there's a long-winding story behind this; for another day, perhaps). I have now lived with Pebble, Fitbit, Android Wear and Apple Watch and have a pretty clear idea about what I want my smartwatch to do. With WatchOS 3 and Apple Watch Series 2, Apple too showed that they knew what smartwatches were best for – fitness and notifications (and watchbands, loads of them!) and I'm sure that they have a pretty clear idea about what they want to add, remove and improve in WatchOS 4 to make the Apple Watch experience even better. That said, as we count the days down to WWDC 2017 where we'll surely see the newest iteration of Apple's newest operating system, here are 10 of my thoughts about what I'd want to see on my Apple Watch the next time I raise my wrist.
1. My biggest want from my Apple Watch (which I use primarily for tracking my fitness-related activities) has to be a way to access my activity information someplace other than my phone. Apple, come on, you already have a robust cloud service in the form of iCloud. You could easily create an Activty Dashboard on iCloud.com. My friend, Matt Birchler, even designed it for you to make your life easier.
2. Another thing which can easily be and should be implemented (at the cost of a little battery life, I guess) is ambient mode to show time on the "watch" without having to raise it. The raise-to-wake feature always works without a hitch for me but when I'm not in a position to raise my hand and need to check them time, a sly glance at my "watch" should show me the time. Apple already has a very minimal (and I'm sure, battery-efficient) watchface in the form of Numerals. Time to take it to the next level, Apple.
3. Another must for me has to be a better implementation of the music-control widget/extension on the Apple Watch. The easiest, and arguably, the most efficient, way to get this done is by adding the music-control extension to the control center on the Apple Watch. iOS already does it quite well. I don't want to have to press the side button, swipe to the music-control extension, tap on it and then tap on 'next' every time I want to skip a song in the middle of a run. This is a must, Apple. Seriously, if this doesn't happen, I'll be flipping quite a few tables in frustration!
4. After talking about a few must-have changes, I'd like to focus on a few good-to-have changes in WatchOS 4 which would elevate the Apple Watch experience and leave competitors in the dust, the first being Activity Insights. Apple now has access to the activity data of millions of users over a couple of years. In addition to suggesting a new 'Move' goal every week based on my activity levels the previous week, it'd be great if I could see more insights based on the activity levels of people in my age, gender and height-weight group to spur me to better my activity routines.
5. If it is not clear by now, activity tracking is the single, most important feature of the Apple Watch for me. I'm addicted to closing my Activity Rings daily and the days I, somehow, don't wear my Apple Watch, I don't even feel like getting up and moving around. On that note, it'd be great if the Apple Watch could automatically track my exercise during the day (like Fitbit does) and show me a timeline of how active I was during the day (like Google Fit and S Heath). Automatic exercise tracking will be a boon for all the times I'm just walking around the house and reading.
6. Another fitness-based feature that the Apple Watch doesn't have (due to battery constraints) is sleep tracking. I, for one, won't be using the feature even if it makes its debut with WatchOS 4 as I don't like to be wearing stuff while I sleep. That said, I know that this is a feature many people are asking for and it will bring the Apple Watch to feature parity with Fitbit and other fitness platforms.
7. Speaking of fitness-based features I won't be using even if they are implemented in WatchOS 4, there is food-tracking. Apple could get into it (I highly doubt that it'll happen, though) but I'm sure I won't be able to use it well because logging Indian food on any platform (I've tried Lifesum, MyFitnessPal, Up and Fitbit) is always a nightmare. Still, if implemented, it'll be a good feature to have for the people who care about it and will make Apple's Activity and Health apps one-stop-shops for all our fitness-data needs.
8. Let's talk about a couple of features which aren't fitness-related. For one, I'd really appreciate some form of Proactive Siri incorporated through complications on watchfaces. I could, maybe, set up the biggest complication on my watchface to be proactive and based on the time of day or what I'm doing then, it could surface information which is useful (e.g. weather forecast in the morning, to-do and meetings during the day, quick-start workout in the evening, etc.). This would not only make the Apple Watch infinitely more useful but also help set Siri apart from other assistants.
9. One big feature on the Apple Watch that could use some reimagining would be apps. In their current form, emulating the experience on iOS devices, apps range from clunky and slow to downright frustrating to deal with. I have two, just two, third party apps installed on my Apple Watch right now (for their complications). I really liked the widget-implementation of apps in WatchOS 1. It was really slow at that time but it surfaced information and actions that were actually useful from apps. I'd love if Apple did away with the honeycomb menu and converted the press-digital-crown action to accessing app-extensions. They'd not only be more useful but also faster (they should follow the 3-second rule when it comes to interacting with a smartwatch) and light on battery and system resources, making the app and the Apple Watch, snappier.
10. To round out my wishlist for WatchOS 4, I'd like to talk about a feature everyone seems to be wanting but I'm quite wary of. An app store for watchfaces. I had a really bad experience with third-party watchfaces on Android Wear and I understand why Apple hasn't opened the floodgates here. I'm sure Apple will be able to implement this feature in a better way through their trademark walled-garden approach and we'll surely see some genuinely good watchfaces if an app store is indeed launched with WatchOS 4.
Bonus wish: Apple, please let me set my Exercise Ring goal to something other than 30 minutes. I want to exercise for 60 minutes, dammit!
Those were my thoughts about what I'd want to see in WatchOS 4. What do you think? What are the features that, if not implemented on WatchOS 4 will lead to a lot of frustrated-table-flipping from you?


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SNP back Labour plan despite fears it could wreck economic recovery
THE SNP faced a backlash last night over plans to bring back the 50p tax rate, prompting warnings it would spell economic disaster for Scotland.
Deputy leader Stewart Hosie
Deputy leader Stewart Hosie pledged to vote in favour of Labour's proposals to restore the tax for earnings over £150,000.
The rate, introduced by Labour weeks before the last general election, was reduced by Chancellor George Osborne to 45p.
Mr Hosie's announcement at the SNP spring conference in Glasgow is another sign of his party's desire to form a post-election pact with Ed Miliband.
He also said the Labour leader would have to clear his Queen's speech with the SNP in advance to secure the party's support for a minority government.
This appeared to contradict former SNP leader Alex Salmond, who last week said Nationalist MPs would keep Labour in power regardless of whether any of their demands were met.
Mr Miliband has already promised to restore the 50p tax rate if Labour comes to power. About 14,000 Scots and 300,000 people across the UK would be liable for the rate.
But last night, opposition politicians and UK business leaders warned such an approach would jeopardise the growing economy.
Scottish Tory enterprise spokesman Murdo Fraser said "This is an anti-business move which would harm job and wealth creation in Scotland.
"This is more evidence that both the SNP and Labour are determined to drag Scotland dangerously to the left."
The Confederation of British Industry also warned that it would put talented investors off coming to Britain.
A spokesman said: "The CBI recognises that higher earners have a responsibility to pay their fair share of tax, but a move to 50p would send out the wrong signal to talented people who invest in businesses and create jobs across the UK."
But Mr Hosie told delegates: "We still think that those with the very broadest shoulders should bear a slightly larger share of the burden."
And in a further pitch to Left-wing voters he also said SNP MPs would vote to up the national minimum wage, rising to £8.70 by the end of 2020, and would "vote for a tough tax-dodgers Bill".
Mr Hosie also pledged to scrap the bedroom tax and "end the use of zero-hours contracts".
Earlier, the Dundee East MP claimed an SNP preview of the Queen's Speech would be needed even though Mr Miliband has ruled out a formal coalition.
He told BBC Scotland's Sunday Politics programme: "It depends on what Labour offers and it depends on what Labour said. It also depends what was in the Queen's Speech.
"If Ed Miliband is seriously saying that he thinks he could run a minority government without speaking to the SNP, if the polls are to be believed, that's a very dangerous tactic for him to take."
But Lucy Powell MP, vice chair of Labour's election campaign, said the SNP were "not the kingmakers in this election". She told Sky News' Murnaghan programme that only Labour can beat the Conservatives.
Meanwhile, a poll published yesterday revealed that voters who have moved from Labour to the SNP have no intention of changing their mind.
A survey of 1,300 Scottish voters, conducted by the British Election Study, put the SNP on 44 per cent, Labour on 27 per cent and the Tories on 15 per cent.


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- 38 years old
- Date of birth: Apr 12, 1978
- Place of birth:
- Date of passing: Oct 14, 2016
- Place of passing:
|Let the memory of Rayan be with us forever
"Alaha mankhle"
"Alaha mankhle"
"There is no person who is just as wonderful as you, but I know that heaven has a new beautiful angel who takes over the stellar light
RIP aziza"
"ܐܵܠܵܗܵܐ ܡܲܢܸܚܠܘ̇ܟܼ ܚܘܿܪܵܐ ܐܲܙܝܼܙܵܐ"
"Alaha manekhlokh akhona aziza doktokh go nohra o pordesa hoya"
"Rayan you will always be in our hearts Rest in peace azizi"
"The most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said :( Rest in peace"
"i miss u khoneeeeee"
"A beautiful soul is never forgotten ...rest in peace angel"
"Ailha mankhly bronit khalty rayan doktokh go nohra o prdesa"
"Alaha manyekhle hawe go nohra o prdesa ."
"Alaha manyekhle Haweh Go Nohra w Perdesa""
"Alaha manyekhle go nohra w perdesa"
"Alaha manyekhlokh aziza etwa kha Nasha raba sipya w shareera w kha ammana milya min rekhshy. Doktokh go nohra w perdesa."
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Discussion in 'Starting a Lawn Care Business' started by Turfrific, Mar 22, 2008.
since i'm new at this what are some good tips you guys use to stay cooler on thoughs real hot days.
a truck with a good air conditioner. i recomend gmc trucks thier ac's work good
you'll get use to it.
Hire guys to do the work for you.
Ironically Beat the Heat is the name of my company. It suits the climate here in texas very well.
lol all in good time i hope, for right now i'm going to be small but not low ball.thanks for responces
Just get a good hat to protect you from the sun. Wear long sleeve cotton or under armour, you may think im crazy but it helps. Also DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!!!!!!!!!
ok good to know thanks again.
Long sleeve Under Armour shirt (light tan ), Long lightweight camo pants, floppy boonie hat ( with UV protectant ) and very expensive 100% UVA and UVB sun/safety glasses. A light application of Aveeno sunblock several times a day to face. Lightweight Mechanix gloves. Drink lots of water and Gatorade to replace electrolytes. Eat light and often. Several years in an extreme desert warfare environment as a medic taught me alot about taking care of yourself and adaptability. It takes time but you will adapt, starting now instead of the middle of summer will help too. This planet is not getting any cooler or more hospitable and skin cancer is no joke. I shake my head at the guys in shorts and a tank top, great tan but at what cost down the road. Take care and hang in there.
When it gets to upper 90's/100 go for Gatorade. Last year I began cramping with just water, and was drinking plenty. Gatorade made all the difference in the world.
Get the powder and mix your own ... waaaay cheaper.


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The bathroom in this country home belonging to Emma Burns illustrates her role as one of the leading interior design directors at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler; the room is papered with a Colefax and Fowler discontinued design, 'Rameau Fleurie' (see how to protect bathroom wallpaper from humidity here).
Other design ideas to steal include the decorative mirror and framed artwork, while the pretty bottles of decanted toiletries are another inspired touch.
Taken from the November 2009 issue of House & Garden. Additional text: Liz Elliot.
Like this? Then you'll love Country Bathrooms


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- This event has passed.
Jessica Chao Art Opening + Glass Release
April 6, 2017 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Event Navigation
We're celebrating the release of our new pale ale Holstein and Hops, with one of Albuquerque's most celebrated artists, Jessica Chao! Come have a pint in her newly designed glass, check out the art on the walls, and stick around for music by Jir Anderson Project.


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Process Party – Episode 22 – Joe Decie!
Study Group Comics has a podcast! Join hosts Zack Soto (Secret Voice, Power Button) & Mike Dawson (Rules For Dating My Daughter, Troop 142) as they discuss their own creative processes, comic art, family life, and a ton of other stuff.
Each episode finds a new guest from the world of comics joining Mike & Zack for an in depth conversation, and occasional guest segments from their pals around the world. Subscribe via iTunes, or a podcatcher of your choice, or via the embedded audio in the posts themselves. (Yes, all those links below are Amazon Affiliate links that kick a little bit our way if you click through to buy them. Mea Culpa) Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
This episode: Joe Decie!
This week we welcome "Our British Guest" Joe Decie! He's the author of a bunch of mini comics, the Retrofit published Pocket Full of Coffee and his first proper "graphic novel", Collecting Sticks from Jonathan Cape. Joe will be a guest at this years TCAF, thanks to support from Lakes International Comic Art Festival and Jonathan Cape.
We talk procrastination, vacation, working long form after only working in short stories, light boxes, inking, "yobbos", and Brexit. That old friend anxiety and his buddy OCD make a special appearance, and we talk about the comics scene in the UK. A lovely chat indeed!
BUT FIRST! Zack checks in from the road. He's just attended ECCC and has a bit to say about it. The big news is that he bought a page of Atari Force art and some old comics, but there's some general-use information about the show too. Mike goes into detail about how he's trying to indoctrinate the kids in his neighborhood with his filthy political views, and there's a hiss in the air because Zack is sitting in an empty indoor pool room.
Episode 22 – Joe Decie! England's own Joe Decie joins us on the party floor to chat about his forthcoming book from Jonathan
Cape, Collecting Sticks. We talk about why he made the switch from short-form to long-form work, family vacations, and Brexit. Joe fills
us in on how making the shift from a part-time to full-time artist has affected his ability to do DIY jobs around the house, and he confesses
he'd never go to a campout in his town for fear of a gang of yobbos coming around to kick the tent down. Plus: Zack reports From the
Road, on his way back from ECCC in Seattle, and lets us know how that all went down.
Like the podcast? Want to help out with our costs?
Then use our fancy new Amazon Link when shopping the the US, UK or Canada!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download


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Painting by Amanda Herrera of Alicia Riveras 2nd Grade Class at Chaparral Elementary School
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Q: What are some foods you consistently see triathletes eating that they should avoid?
I love this question! Here are three of my top "skip 'em" foods:
1. Reduced fat peanut butter.
At a quick glance it sounds promising, but look further and you'll find that reduced fat versions of this favorite food will only save you 10–20 calories per 2 tablespoon serving, and will cost you in terms of more carbs, more total grams of added sugars and an ingredient list that starts with corn syrup solids and sugar, rather than peanuts!


text: I have heard of people using different string tensions on mains and crosses. Does it really make any difference at all? If you string a racket with 58 on mains and 60 on crosses wouldn't it be the same as stringing a racket at 59 pounds. Do any pros do this?


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View your results for more genetic factors linked to hemochromatosis in your account. Not yet a customer? Visit our store!
Editor's note: Pending an FDA decision, 23andMe no longer offers new customers access to health reports referred to in this post. Customers who purchased prior to November 22, 2013 will still be able to see their health reports, but those who purchased after that time will not. Those customers will have access to ancestry information as well as access to their uninterpreted raw data.


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Gov. Jay Inslee took steps to clarify his position on a school grading issue today. Giving public schools an A through F grade on performance was something he had backed as a candidate, backed away from last week and now seems to be supporting – if certain conditions are met to allow more nuance in the grading.
Pete Callaghan of the News Tribune wrote a column Sunday that carried a headline suggesting Inslee's position deserved an F for fuzziness. The Democratic governor gave a briefing today to clarify – telling three reporters covering the issue that he would support a grading bill that met certain conditions.
Reports on what Inslee now is saying – to reporters and lawmakers – are here from the Associated Press and here from Brian Rosenthal of the Seattle Times. Rosenthal got into it in more detail, describing the governor's conditions this way:
First, the governor said, each school shouldn't receive one A-F grade but five of them, based on different factors — progress in closing the achievement gap, scores on state tests, school performance relative to similar schools, graduation rates and college and career readiness.
Parents should weigh those grades themselves, Inslee said.
The system must acknowledge differences in student learning, including English language learners, students with disabilities, poverty and demographic situations, the governor said.
The grading system must be created with stakeholder input, he said.
And it must come with funding for schools that get low marks, he said."
That sounds a lot more complicated than the grading spelled out in Senate Bill 5328, which appeared to die in the House Education Committee last week.
Inslee's choice of direction on education has come into question in another area this week – his decision to replace half of the members of the still-new Student Achievement Council, including a former congressman, Brian Baird.
As Calllaghan reported Monday here, Inslee's positions on several education issues were captured in the interview he gave to the Washington Stand for Children advocacy group during last year's campaign. See it here:


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VideoHive Repair of Car 3 9563947
Stock Footage \ Vehicles
Repair \ EquipmentJack \ Journey \ Replacement \ Engineer \ Cockpit \ Challenge
Stock Footage - Repair of Car 3 9563947 by VideoFond @ VideoHive
Stock Footage \ Vehicles
Jack, car repair on the journey, wheel replacement.
Alpha Channel: No; Looped Video: No; Frame Rate: 25; Resolution: 1920x1080; Video Encoding: Photo JPEG; File Size: 400mb; Number of Clips: 1; Total Clip(s) Length: 0:29.
The Barge is Floating on the River; Butterfly on Yellow Flower; A Man Swims on a Kayak; Window Blinds; Little Girl ; Feet of Pedestrians; Green Leaf Rowan.
Keywords: auto, automobile, busy, car, challenge, cockpit, damage, detail, Diagnose, diagnostic, drive, driver, engineer, equipment.


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I Wonder Dose Any One Have Convictions Any More
Personal Stories, Advice, and Support 4 People
We Know Those Voted Into Office Lost TheirsIt is very sad to think that the very people who should be setting the example for all of us are the very ones who are encouraging bad behaivor. If our elected officials can't even follow the rules and conduct themselves in an apprropriate matter. How are we to teach our...
Grits4life 46-50, F 1 Response 0 Feb 3, 2009
I Have TwoI was convicted of vagrancy twice.
levin60kitty 61-65 5 Responses 0 Feb 4, 2009


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Paterson Museum 150th Anniversary Exhibit
Expand Messages
- Just finished visiting the exhibit in Paterson. You guys did a fantastic job of covering just about everything! One scary thing is that I do remember many of the items from my early days with the company or when meeting my dad after his shift ended. As a child I often went shopping with my parents at the A&P on Kinderkamack Road in River Edge, which would be the first store I worked in. So many of the packages and brands are forever engrained in my minds eye and the exhibit brought back fond memories. Employees and customers young and old would get a kick by traveling back in time. Thanks for the memories.
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1960 · New York
by Kauffman, Henry J.
New York: Bonanza Books, 1960. Hardcover. VG- (Slight foxing along edges of book block and on flyleaves; interior pages are clean; lavish signature of former owner on first page.). Dusty rose cloth, 374 pp., 293 BW illus. A history of this signature piece of American history. "The rifle was originally an inventio of craftsmen who lived in central Europe; and because many of them settled in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania became famous for its rifles and riflemakers. The great demand for rifles in the new world created a need for these Pennsylvania products in other areas of America; and there is no doubt that Pennsylvania riflemakers emigrated to Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, and the New England states where they continued to work in the tradition of the craft which they learned in Pennsylvania. ... No contemporary record of the eighteenth century is known to indicate the names attached to the rifles made in any of these regions in America; however, in the decade after the Battle of New Orleans a ballad was written abuot the battle and Andrew Jackson and his riflemen from Kentucky. This romantic description seems to have started the practice of calling muzzle-loading rifles 'Kentucky Rifles,' regardless of the place where they were made." (preface). (Inventory #: 155007)