text:
I originally promised an update this week. Unfortunately there isn't a lot to tell, I'm still hammering away at the goal of completing the gameplay functionality for the Beta. I should make some good progress next week with the closed testing starting shortly afterwards – I already have enough testers lined up for this (see the previous blog post). My plan is to have a gameplay video up next week, showing the "Pure Mode" in action – showing things like proper NPC behavior, quests and so forth.
This is a short post this time but I'm planning on having a blog post per week from here on out (or more when warranted), though some may be short and informal like this one.
I have enough people to test now, I will post another update next week. I will also make an announcement once the testing has actually started.
So I've been back to work on the actual gameplay side of things. I'm currently working on getting character generation to 100% completeness (class questions, all the UI working properly, custom class generation). After that I have to complete the Quest system.
Anyway, due to reverse engineering efforts, the "Pure Mode" will be really close to the original (source port close) – with the addition of fixing game breaking bugs. To that end I plan on having a small closed testing period, with just the Pure Mode enabled, in the next couple of weeks. The goal will be to a)make sure it works on a sampling of computers, b) make sure that there aren't any critical bugs that make it into the broader release (game doesn't start, black screen, crashes, etc.) and c) make sure the game is fully playable (even beatable if you're fast enough to get through before the testing period ends).
While this testing is being done, I'll finish up other elements needed for the Beta release (settings and options, remaining high-end terrain work, etc.). The full Beta release will be available to everyone, of course.
So I'll probably enlist about 8 people from here for this initial phase, which will start in a couple of weeks. Just post in the forum thread with this same name. Make sure you are willing to test, accept that this may be buggy and understand that only the Pure Mode will work (i.e. no fancy graphics, no advanced terrain, etc.). If you are interested, just post a response in the forum thread with system specs (you can PM me the specs if you aren't comfortable posting them publicly). Also this is only DaggerXL, though there will be similar tests for the other big releases as well.
Obviously progress has hit some snags in the last few weeks but things are continuing, if a little slow at the moment. However the Beta is still getting steadily closer. The gameplay in the Beta is the highest priority but I'm going to talk about something else today.
You've all read about the high-end terrain that will allow for greatly increased view distances, especially after the heightmap controversy. However, other then some heightmaps, I've never shown the feature in action. I've decided to rectify that today and show the current state of that system, which I plan on finishing for the Beta release – once the gameplay is complete. (For the record, the only heightmap used in this video currently is from Daggerfall itself). For terrain rendering, you'll have several options with DaggerXL:
* (Low) Daggerfall terrain – exactly as it is in the original Dos game. This terrain uses finer heightmap / tiles and ignores the large scale heightmap (for the most part). The good part is that it matches the original game. The bad part is that the terrain quality is low – the fine scale height data, due to how it was made and used, is not very good. That is why only the large scale height map (1000×500) is used in the following modes.
* (Medium) Improved terrain with increased view distance, which will work both in hardware and software modes. This is what I've shown in the past, including the last video. This should work for most people who want to use DaggerXL and currently is mostly complete, it supports foliage, locations, terrain types and so forth as shown in the last video.
* (High/Very High) High quality terrain – in most cases renders to the horizon and beyond, a view distance of hundreds of kilometers. This is still not finished and won't be until the gameplay is complete. However I did work on it a little recently so I've decided now is a good time to show it for the first time – in the form of a video. However, like everything, there are some downsides –
– the system requirements for using this quality level are higher, though Medium quality terrain still gives a large increase in quality and view distance over vanilla Daggerfall.
– the original textures are used, the original texel density is honored (mostly) but the mesh density is higher. This is a good thing for visuals but due to the higher detail (mesh and normals), it doesn't quite match the original look as well as Medium quality terrain. I think the locations and sprites still work pretty well with it but you'll have to decide for yourself.
In the video below you'll see several glitches due to the fact that the system is still not complete and that I did something recently to make terrain cracks show up again – which will be fixed for the build of course. However this means you'll have to put up with some issues when watching the video. In addition the terrain only has one forest section, in the northern Daggerfall province, and the rest of the terrain uses the same procedurals and textures (with no foliage). These issues will be fixed when the system is finished, allowing for much more variety and matching what the terrain is supposed to be like closer. Also no locations are loaded – mostly because the LOD system is incomplete – but they still work just fine for Low and Medium quality terrain, as seen in the last video, and will work for the build. Finally, this terrain uses only the large scale heightmap (the 1000×500 one) bicubically upscaled with procedural layers to provide additional detail. I still plan on upscaling that heightmap and applying some proper erosion in the future to make the terrain more realistic, but that is not done for this video. So the end result should be higher quality.
The video starts with the player inside a thick forest, testing how thick a forest can be – so its really dense. You'll see trees on distant hills/mountains as well. Later smaller plants/rocks will be added back in as well as using the other tree species as appropriate. But the main point was to test proper forests for DaggerXL. Once I leave the forest, I travel towards the coast, with Sentinel visible in the background. I then fly across the Bay to Sentinel, fly around the coast and eventually land at the tallest location in the map. Finally I fly up so you can see more of the map – with the Daggerfall province still visible once the camera is high enough in the sky.
(I would suggest watching this in HD)
I have recently taken a quick break for the Daggerfall specific work towards the Beta to change and improve the non-game specific UI system. I have integrated a Webkit based browser/UI system into the engine using the Awesomium library. Before I talk about specifics, I'll show you a preview – running in DaggerXL:
(click to see the full size image)
I will be using this to build cross-platform elements for XL Engine specific UI using HTML5/CSS/Javascript controls. This has several benefits:
* Anyone with knowledge of web technologies can edit or build UI elements using this system – no proprietary new systems to learn.
* I can embed useful elements directly into the engine such as in-game access to the IRC channel, documentation from the Wiki, the ability to search the forums to resolve issues or post about a problem while in game, tutorial videos built right in and more.
* Robust UI, text, language, formatting, layout and animation – all built in.
I am also planning on rolling the launcher into the main executable, allowing you to start the engine and switch games without having to exit out first. The flexible, robust UI system that this allows will be vital later, when its time to start working on the editing tools again as well. Another thing I am planning on doing is allowing game specific code/script to be edited and updated right inside the engine (WYSIWYG) – using CodeMirror.
Here you can see an early version of the code editor (still incomplete):
(click on the image for a larger view)
A while back I put up this post: DaggerXL Terrain in the Beta Part 1. I searched the internet for heightmap images (or as close as I could find anyway) of all of Tamriel in order to build the heightmap for the rest of Tamriel. I found such an image:
I then took this image, converted it into a heightmap, rotated it to fit the Daggerfall data while scaling and filtering it and then added in the heightmap data from Daggerfall itself. However, as it turns out, I did not do a very good job digging into who put this map together, thinking it was from earlier worked released to the public. It turns out it was put together by someone named Morcroft Darkes – which I didn't find out about until recently. Of course this is entirely my fault for not doing fact checking before using the map. To that end I will not be using this as a base for Tamriel, after all. I will attempt to find another decent source or merely leave it up to the community to help out later on. So until/if that happens, I will temporarily remove the extreme view distance feature, since basing it off another person's work, who does not necessarily wish for it to be used, is clearly unethical behavior.
Lesson learned: always figure out where a source is coming from. Usually I do this, but not in this case obviously.
On a brighter note, DaggerXL is still continuing – I will put up a more upbeat post shortly.
I'm posting another update to show a new screen from my reverse engineering efforts – "DaggerfallDOS." This picture is important, however – what this shows will be a feature in the DaggerXL Beta – DaggerXL will fully support Daggerfall saves as-is. I mentioned this as an "aside" in one of my previous forum posts but I wanted to explicitly announce the feature now that it actually works.
You'll have the option of pointing DaggerXL to you Daggerfall saves (as I've done in this screenshot) or specifying a new area for the DaggerXL saves. If you do the latter, you can still copy the saves over manually if you want to use them.
(click on the screenshot to see the full size version)
What you see here are my Daggerfall saves, from my current play throughs. (One "real" and one for testing some things). Of course this uses disassembled Daggerfall code in DaggerfallDOS to render this but it will look and act the same in the DaggerXL Beta (at least in "pure" mode at 320×200). There will still be the option of showing the date and time for the saves as well, like the current build of DaggerXL.
Once the Beta is released you will be able to continue the game from your current Daggerfall save games and play them in DaggerXL.
I've said in previous posts that I planned on completing the gameplay for the Beta – making DaggerXL a full DosBox replacement for Daggerfall. I also said that with the most authentic settings – extended features disabled – that DaggerXL would behave almost identically to Daggerfall, with the exception of fixing game breaking bugs like crashes and allowing the game to run at a fluid framerate without the gameplay elements messing up (no fighting with cycles or dealing with low framerate so NPCs can walk). What I haven't said is how I am accomplishing these goals.
In the past I've done some reverse engineering of certain contained elements (like reading some table data from the executable) and spent a fair amount of time puzzling through file formats, testing stats and their reactions and so forth. But I've been working on something else without telling a lot of people that will help me make DaggerXL as accurate an emulation of the original as I want it to be, literally. To put it simply I've been decoding the original executable and reconstructing it in my own C code – completely (not just bits and pieces). Then I take that C code and modify or write the systems properly in DaggerXL, fixing game breaking bugs and refactoring to fit the rest of the game/engine. What this allows me to do is make DaggerXL just as faithful and authentic as a pure source port would be even without having access to the original source code.
During this process, I've been putting together a temporary executable ("DaggerfallDOS") which I can run and verify that I've interpreted the code correctly. This uses just the original Daggerfall code – decompiled and rewritten in C – with the exception of OS calls and Windows boilerplate. I don't plan on releasing this but all the code that goes into this is being used to make DaggerXL as authentic as a source port.
If you want an example, look at this page: Decompile-Example. It shows just one function, much much more of this process has been completed. And this code (and the functions that it needs that aren't shown) were used to render this:
This is being rendered directly from the decompiled Daggerfall code, in addition the mouse and keyboard input works, you can select the appropriate option from the keyboard shortcuts or mouse. I'm currently working through from beginning to end, making sure that each part works properly by using the new executable. This means that with the Beta, DaggerXL will be 100% vanilla Daggerfall gameplay complete – and will be nearly 100% authentic with the appropriate settings. Of course the extended features I've already shown will still be available – higher resolutions, color depth, texture filtering, higher quality lighting, bloom, large scale terrain rendering, improved terrain heights and visuals and much more. This process is going extremely well and should be complete in a few weeks, after which I can release the Beta – after a short period of closed testing to get rid of any remaining unknown issues.
So what does this mean for the other games? Its quite simple – every supported game will be as good as a source port when they reach Beta, DarkXL and BloodXL included.
As you may have noticed, I've switched focus a bit lately. I will continue with the terrain and post results in the relatively near future – much of the work is complete – and it will still be in the Beta as previously discussed. However I've spent most of my time lately figuring out gameplay elements, in order to get the final – proper – Daggerfall gameplay in pace for the Beta. This has involved additional testing of Daggerfall as well as debugging the executable running in DosBox and reverse engineering. There will be settings to determine how authentic the Daggerfall experience is in DaggerXL, or how enhanced – with the most authentic settings being very close to DOS Daggerfall – except for fixes to game breaking bugs (and things like modern compatibility, performance and so on that you'll get from the XL Engine). On the other end of the spectrum you can have texture filtering, bloom, smoother motion and control, extremely long view distances and more. The key is that you can pick and choose how authentic or enhanced you wish your experience to be in different areas.
Earlier today I took a small break from all the gameplay stuff to put the various texture filtering options in the engine again. Usually you get the choice between disabling filtering entirely – which gives you the sharp but blocky and jagged look to the textures and bilinear/trilinear which smooths out the jagged edges but blurs out the details in the low resolution textures. For the XL-Engine, I'm adding a third option: "Sharp Bilinear." Sharp Bilinear preserves the blocky nature of the original textures but adds smoothing to the edges, giving the cleaner filtered look without blurring out the texture details.
Click on the thumbnails for full size screenshots, the effect is somewhat subtle:
From left to right: Bilinear Upscale + Trilinear, Sharp Bilinear Upscale + Trilinear
Sharp Bilinear Upscale + Anisotropic
As you can see, assuming you looked at the full size images, "Sharp Bilinear" preserves the "pixels" when upscaling the textures but still applies some filtering to avoid aliasing and shimmering as you move around. In my opinion at least, this gives you the best of both worlds and looks much better then pure bilinear for older games with smaller textures. In addition it does not require any additional texture lookups, just some shader code that alters the texture coordinates to adjust the effect of the hardware bilinear filter.
In the past I talked about the terrain system as seen in the current release of DaggerXL. For the Beta, the terrain on older hardware will be done in a similar way, though with the enhancements as shown in the last video – improved coastlines, animated water, proper ground texture usage, etc.. In this post I will be talking about the system I hinted at in the Continuing and OpenGL Support post – "This renderer will feature view distances of greater then 100km as well as the highest quality rendering."
So you might be wondering, why bother extending the rendering distance so far when emulating an old game like this? To answer that we'll have to think about more modern Elder Scrolls games – Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim. The view distances in those games aren't much bigger then the current version of DaggerXL, smaller in some cases. Yet the terrain has more variety and interesting features. Why is that? To put it simply, these games – like many games – are like themeparks, packing all the interesting locations together and removing or drastically reducing the space in-between. In just a few hundred meters you can see entire biomes, an arduous climb up the tallest mountain takes minutes rather then hours or days. This allows these games to pack a lot of interest and variety into a relatively small view distance. Unfortunately this can also result in obvious absurdity if the designers aren't careful – like tripping over ancient hidden ruins constantly in Oblivion.
Daggerfall uses a realistic scale for terrain which has many benefits such as making the world feel much larger and more authentic. Unfortunately it trades the "themepark" feel for an environment that feels homogeneous and boring. One of the reasons is that the interesting features are spread over a much larger scale – so the proper thing to do is extend the view to realistic distances as well, this way one can appreciate the large scale vistas currently hidden in the fog. It is obvious why this couldn't be done when Daggerfall came out on DOS and of course the amount of the view distance can be extended on older hardware is limited – though still a significant improvement. But with modern hardware there is no good reason that we can't extend the view distance to realistic levels now.
Beyond the Map
But wait! What happens when you look over the edge of the Daggerfall map? With the previous DaggerXL view distances, stretching the height map and adding in procedural details was enough to be convincing – which I actually implemented, see the Terrain Beyond the Map Borders post. However when using realistic view distances this obviously doesn't work and looks downright silly. I considered other options, such as shrouding the edges in thick fog – which is something that is oftentimes done to artistically hide the edges of a limited map
(example Zelda map from http://www.zeldacapital.com – note this has no relation to this project, just a nice picture to illustrate the idea, though I am a big Zelda fan too)
However this would still result in really odd visuals and give the impression that the Daggerfall area is shrouded and cutoff from the rest of Tamriel – which was not Bethesda's original intent. So I decided on a new approach, with the help of suggestions from some others.
So what is beyond the edges of the Daggerfall map? The rest of Tamriel of course. So what I've decided to do is to put together a heightmap of Tamriel – at the same scale as Daggerfall – and fit it to the Daggerfall data. Below is a screenshot of that map, though still unfinished –
[img removed]
The actual height map is over 5000 pixels in width, where each pixel is the same size as the pixels in Daggerfall's 1000×500 heightmap. Daggerfall is inserted into the correct place, with the rest of the world rotated and scaled to fit. I consider the Daggerfall data to be 'correct' since this is for DaggerXL after all, so the Daggerfall data will still be pulled from the original data files, I inserted it into this map so I can fit the map to it rather then the other way around. There are several issues with this map still, I have to fix up coastlines and the Black Marsh area and fit the map to a 500×500 pixel grid, so that Daggerfall takes up exactly 2 grid cells. If you can see off the edge, it'll wrap to the other side – same for swimming, flying or sailing across an edge. This way only 9 heightmap cells need to be in memory at once in order to render the world. Of course, for now, only the area from Daggerfall will have locations. However part of the intent of this is that you guys will have the rest of Tamriel already available when the modding tools come online. Don't like parts of the heightmap – you can edit the file and distribute it. If you guys, as a community, come up with the definitive heightmap and it works with the existing Daggerfall data – then I'll replace this map with that one in the future DaggerXL releases.
That said wait until you get the final heightmap before doing anything with it. It will have to conform to the grid, which this one does not yet. Also there is a seperate map, not shown here, that contains data such as the proper terrain textures to use.
In Part 2, which should come out next week, I'll show the terrain system in action and talk about how it actually works under the hood.
In the last post, I talked a little about how OpenGL support is going to work and about extending the support to include Fixed Function and even software rendering (though that will come online a little later). In this post I will start a little about the architecture of the XL Engine and how supporting different games has been implemented.
The main XL_Engine executable contains the core engine, it contains all the platform specific code, OpenGL and other core systems (sound system, scripting engine, networking layer, etc.).
The engine also contains an "Archive" system, which transparently allows file handling code to lookup and read files from many Archive file formats – such as GOB, LAB, BSA, ART and so on. Then for files that perform specific functions – say image/texture files or level/location/chunk data – the system can transparently load the appropriate data and have it converted internally to the correct format based on the current settings and type. For example, when using the Software renderer 8 bit images are kept in that format but are converted to 32 bit as needed, based on the current palette and color map, for the OpenGL renderer. Currently the file format data is all internal but it is also possible to write Dynamic Library based plugins, similar to the way different games are supported (DLL/so).
Game code is implemented as plugins, each game consists of a game library (DLL/so), script files and any game specific assets (in the case of games like DaggerXL – these assets are things like icons, title screen, etc.). In addition there is a small text file that describes the game so that it can be added to the list of games in the launcher. The engine has a dynamic library handler that supports Windows, Linux and OS X – there is very little code difference between systems and it is all handled by the Plugin system built into the engine. So for game and plugin code, the engine is used to handle all the OS and engine work – including things like input, file handling, script engine and so forth – allowing the game code to be platform agnostic. Obviously the same is true for all the scripts written as well.
Game plugins register various callbacks with the engine – so that they can receive input, start up game flow and UI scripts, handle pre and post render events, update and handle other events. The game will setup console functions (and potentially variables) and script functions, create entities and register game specific "logics." Logics are self-contained functional elements, written in code or script, that make objects do things. As an example, a "Door" logic will cause a door to open or close when it receives and activation message. An entity is controlled by one or more of these logics, which are either assigned by the game code itself, through scripts or from the level data. Entities are handled by the core engine but Logics allow them to be controlled from game code, scripts and even shared logics built into the engine.
Anyway, this description just scratches the surface – there is plenty more to talk about in future posts, such as threading model, resource loading, virtual processes allowing for multiple plugins to run simultaneously (such as the editor and one or more games), networking model, script based game flow, script based UI and more. Stay tuned for future posts.


text: This spiral-bound booklet is a reprint of History of Roberts, South Dakota, written by the Roberts County Centennial Committee, plus excerpts from South Dakota, a Guide to the State, a 1938 WPA project. The tri-color front cover is printed on 80# card stock and has been protected with a vinyl sheet. The text is printed on 60# opaque paper. Although the booklet count is 75 pages, it includes nearly double that number from the original source materials, as we were able to fit two pages of source material on each of the 11" x 8.5" sheet in the new booklet. The booklet primarily consists of a number of individual articles including: Dakota Missions by Martha Morris, Political History, Wilmot Tornado, Vern Sankey Kidnaper, and Reservation Run by Ralph Anderson, Ghost Towns and Additional Remarks on the Reservation Run by Alec McDonald, Wildlife by G.B. Reid, Early Days by Frank Lipovsky, as told by John Stolz, Agriculture and Business and Transportation by Elmer Foss, Windom 1894-1910 by Fred Trende, Military History by Vance Erickson and Lowell Werdal, Historic Sites by Jack Plut, Pioneer Blacksmith by Stewart Cameron, Pioneering in Roberts County by Bennie C. Hanson, Churches by Robert White, Human Interest by Alice Knight, Education by Oscar Swenumson, Grain Buying by Water by Frank Higgins, F and V Railroad by Orlando Bjork, The Coteau Des Prairies by Shirley Safgren, . There are brief histories of the following towns: Sisseton, Summit, White Rock, Corona, Peever, Hammer, Rosholt, Claire City, Victor, Wilmot, Ortley, New Effinton, and Diamond. Other articles include Sounds of an Earlier Day, Political Sidelights, Railroad Follows Steamboat, Dakotans Showed Zeal for Education, Forts Across Dakotaland, Steamboat Blazed Trail, Hart No. 2 (the Viking School), Roberts County Names, Music in South Dakota, the Forgotten Boy Scouts, Religion Pioneered in Dakota Territory and the History of the Pioneer Drug Store. The final part of the booklet is taken from the WPA guide book. The WPA books, produced during the depression, contain much historical material in the form of tour stops. For Roberts County, they include brief stops at the Sisseton Indian Reservation, the town of Sisseton, Coteau Des Prairies, Long Hollow, Red Iron Lake, Clear Lake, Summit, Rosholt, New Effinton, the Renville Monument, Hurricane Lake, etc. There is also a map of the area taken from the book.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Blight brigade
The smart money is shopping for bargains again at JCPenney.
At least two major hedge funds have amassed significant stakes in the troubled retailer, The Post has learned — even as billionaire George Soros last week revealed a surprise stake equal to 7.9 percent of the company.
One of the… …read more
Source: NY Post


text:
Nearby points of interest
Distance: 0.05mi
Distance: 0.13mi
Distance: 0.14mi
Distance: 0.15mi
Distance: 0.05mi
Distance: 0.13mi
Distance: 0.14mi
Distance: 0.15mi
Nearby points of interest
Distance: 0.05mi
Distance: 0.13mi
Distance: 0.14mi
Distance: 0.15mi
Distance: 0.05mi
Distance: 0.13mi
Distance: 0.14mi
Distance: 0.15mi
About Zodiac at Neiman Marcus – Downtown Dallas
For over 50 years, the Zodiac at Neiman Marcus in the Downtown Dallas location has been the place to dine in Dallas. Housed on the 6th floor of the flagship store, Stanley Marcus first conceived this restaurant as a convenience for out of town customers who were spending a full day shopping in the store.
Take lunching to the next level at The Zodiac®, our elegant restaurant in the original Neiman Marcus Downtown Dallas. This venerable dining destination, which has been serving fine cuisine for over 50 years, features an exquisite, classic menu selection. Taste one of our delicious seasonal entrée selections or experience the famous Mandarin Orange Soufflé again for the first time.
6th Floor
Dallas, TX 75201
Dining Style:
Fine Dining
Contemporary American
Hours of Operation:
Lunch: Monday - Saturday: 11:00am - 3:00pm
Special Event Price - Contact Restaurant
Cross Street:
Commerce and Ervay
Dress Code:
Business Casual
Price Range:
$31 to $50
Payment Options
AMEX, JCB, MasterCard, Visa
Phone Number:
(214) 573-5800
At your service. Tell us what you are looking for and we will find it for you.
Add a touch of luxury to a business or social luncheon at The Zodiac®. Or simply make your office lunch hour more efficient with upscale take-out. Whether planning for one or for 20, you will encounter the outstanding service and exceptional quality that are synonymous with Neiman Marcus.
Have cocktails with your crew or host the soirée of the season at The Zodiac. We pride ourselves on creating the perfect menu and ambience for your event in our chic and inviting atmosphere. Pamper the glowing bride- or mother-to-be in your life with the shower of her dreams or a lavish luncheon.
Parking Details:
We offer complimentary valet parking on Commerce Street adjacent to Neiman Marcus. Also on Commerce Street there is a parking garage available.
Public Transit:
DART stop at Akard and Elm Streets.
Executive Chef:
Chef David Crow
Private Party Facilities:
Need the perfect spot for a Rehearsal Dinner? Looking to celebrate and reward your team for a job well done? Dine with exclusivity in the Downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus Zodiac. Located on the 6th Floor, we are ready to treat you and your guests to a spectacular evening.
Private Party Contact:
Jeff Dains or Edgar Cardiel: (214) 573-5800
Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Menu, Non-Smoking, Wheelchair Access, Wine
Zodiac at Neiman Marcus – Downtown Dallas Ratings and Reviews
I took my boss for her birthday. The broth, spice tea and popovers were wonderful as always. My sandwich, on the other hand, was terrible. I had the turkey sandwich that was recommended. It was tasteless except for the spread that tasted a bit like old mayo. I was a huge fan of the old sandwich sampler, but that's gone and I hope the sandwich I had is not an example of the new standard. Had I not been with my new boss, I'd have sent it back. But she was in a hurry and I opted to take half of the sandwich (for later, but I actually threw it away).
I love the Zodiac and will give it another try. It's such a great respite for downtown workers!
The late seating for the Holiday buffet did not come with a notice that the "bar" would close at 4 pm so it was a little disturbing to see the food swept away before we were finished. We rushed up to the gather main course & the wait staff let us stay until finished. Otherwise lovely, albeit pricey.
It was fun to get together with friends for Christmas lunch. This has become our tradition over the last 5 years. The food and service was excellent. I did miss the small individual tasting deserts- they did not have those this year, but the deserts offered were very good.
Incredible experience during the annual month-long holiday buffet. Typically not my favorite way of dining, this buffet had something for everyone.
A table with every salad imaginable. And an amazing collection of entrees. Reservations are essential for this event.
Everyone seemed to be pleased with the entire experience. Hats off to the entire staff as they managed breakfast with Santa on weekends prior to hosting the buffet.
The Holiday brunch wasn't as good as years past. The cocktails are over-priced for what you get (not too surprising... It is Neiman's). The food was just okay. Pop-overs not warm and a little like cardboard. There is definitely room for improvement. I enjoy going to the Zodiac during the Holidays for the novelty.
Meeting a family member for the first time. The waiter was very attentive and even though they had an event scheduled immediately after our 12:30 reservation they did not rush us and let us stay as long as we wanted to talk
The Zodiac is a gorgeous restaurant with top-notch service. I had made a reservation ahead of time with a special request for my mother (she was visiting my fiance and I). They honored that request and I was floored! It was very sweet of them and I truly appreciated the effort. The food was wonderful, wine was tasty, dessert special of the day was delectable, and those POPOVERS!! I could eat them for days. All in all, great first time experience at the Zodiac. I will definitely return.
Some of the silverware was dirty. The waiter let us sit with empty broth Demitas cups for way too long. He only brought two berry butter crocks and put them in the middle of the table. There were three of us, so we had to get out of our chair to reach in to retrieve them and then share them. In stead each of us should have been served one by our butter plate. Cheap!
The check was presented in a tacky paper folder.. Not a leather folder .. This is not the level of service I expected from Neimans. Sad no one is training servers.
Such a great lunch (only) place. Great food and service (thanks, Victor). Easy to park, thanks to complimentary valet parking. Many Dallas lawyers and businessmen take lunches here, but still sees its share of Ladies Who Lunch. You must use delightful elevator to go to sixth floor where the restaurant is, but don't miss taking the vintage escalators down so you can shop every floor. Look for Audrey in couture, Sherry in shoes, and Daisy in the skin care department.
Excellent service.
Unfortunately, they were setting up for an event when we arrived so there were a great deal of distractions next to our table...moving tables, items rolled in on a large cart, decorations being moved around, lots of staff going back & fourth.
If I had know we would have come another day for our mini celebration.
Please sign in to record your input. Thanks!
Report this review as inappropriate?
If you believe this review should be removed from OpenTable, please let us know and someone will investigate.


text:
Ajnara Group presents Ajnara Homes 2/3 bhk flats in noida extension are value for money homes that offer a complete modern lifestyle within budget. Ajnara Homes 2/3 bhk apartments in noida extension facilities take care of both the necessary and the luxury, bringing within reach a lifestyle that you have always been wanting to have. The homes here offer residential flats in greater noida west that are well planned to ensure maximum utilization of space. Apart from this Ajnara Homes residential apartment in greater noida west are facilities like AC Banquet Party Hall, Convenient Shopping Area and Family Club with sports & recreational facilities. Ajnara Homes is one of the most demanding projects in noida extension.
Ajnara Homes Noida Extension is strategically located on 130 meter wide road with Metro connectivity planned just opposite to project. Ajnara Homes Greater Noida west offers an opportunity for a luxury life at the handpicked location of the city. Ajnara homes Noida extension offers 2/3/4 BHK apartments in luxury form with all required amenities in reasonable prices. These luxury apartments in noida extension are well planned and designed to ensure the maximum free space in your home.
Noida Extension is a part of Greater Noida giving a tough competition to Noida's Sector-121 & 119 primarily in terms of price and location, which is far more affordable and convenient. To add to the fact is the 9 Acres of green stretch that brings along besiege of nature. Among projects in Noida Extension, Ajnara Homes is well connected to NH-24 and is situated on 130 meter wide road known as Noida-Greater Noida link road. A 100 meter wide commercial belt is also being planned on one side of this 130 meter road as per the master plan 2021 by Greater Noida authority. Noida's Sector-121 also lies in the close proximity to it. The planned metro connectivity in the region gives a further boost to Noida Extension in terms of better connectivity and location as compared to other parts of NCR.
And considering it superb located property in greater noida west, the opportunity becomes all the more attractive. Greater Noida is a location that offers great connectivity and is close to Delhi and other regions of the NCR. All these unique features make this property in noida extension the most desired 2/3 bhk luxury flats for your dream home.
Ajnara Group is a prestigious name in the realty division with numerous years of achievement and advancement. With 20 years of unimaginable execution by the gathering created in 1991, it is today a top positioned among the land engineer in the NCR. Quality advancement and execution, it is affirmed with ISO 9001:2000.
Ajnara is devoted to raise the positions of environment agreeable advancement and working practices to surety the upkeep of Natural magnificence of surroundings and keeping it set up & alive.
Ajnara Homes is situated at Noida extension. The project is having green belt stretch of 9 acres and has got an excellent location. Ajnara homes is is going to be built by one of the most reputed and renowned builder in Delhi/Ncr by Ajnara Group. The project is going to be built by the latest technology, design and has got the ultimate features. its an multidimensional project which offers you the prestigious life with best Natural surroundings. Ajnara homes is designed keeping in minds of the buyer views and all of their needs.
All trademarks, logos and names are properties of their respective owners. | All Rights Reserved. © Copyright 2017 | * Conditions Apply


text:
Embroidered Work Wear: Its Benefits for You
The typical suit and tie is not compatible with most jobs that you may have. There are more jobs that require a more comfortable and easy to wear uniforms. As a worker, manual jobs are typical jobs that demand its worker to be in their utmost physical comfort. However, there are lots of times that you may feel that your work uniform may be a less comfortable. As an employer, you may need to balance your employee's comfort and convenience with the assigned tasks that you have for them.
As an employer, you may be asking why you would need embroidered work wear for your employees. Or if you are an employee, you may also ask why you have to wear your company's embroidered work wear. You may not see it at first, but there are actually wonders that work wears do for you and your company. Now, take a look at these whys on wearing embroidered work wears:
Embroidered work wears are actually good advertisement for your company. Since embroidered work wears usually have the company's logo, brand name and the likes, customers are more likely to get to know your product or your company. It is a subtle way of advertising your company or your brand.
Second, embroidered work wears may be an avenue to get more customers for your company. Since you can also put your company's address and other contact information on the work wears, you get more customers and you can get more and more customers coming your doors. You see, now you have a wide coverage of reaching out to your customers.
Thirdly, the work wears for your employees may feature their individual names on it. This would help your employees and your customers feel closer with each other. In this way, customers can very much likely communicate with your employees easier and more conveniently.
Another thing is, producing such embroidered work wears for your employees is a venue for you to ask them of what they want with the designs of their own work wears. This would tell them that their opinions are also honored in the premises of the company.
Lastly, embroidered work wears provide the comfort and convenience for your employees. So, you are not just giving them a new, personalized work wear but also a convenient working environment. When they are comfy with their work wears, expect that they get more work done.
So, what are you waiting for? Join in the trend of in-style embroidered work wears best for your employees.


text: When I enter the command chkdsk /f it at first it tells me it needs exclusive access to the drive and must restart upon restart it says it still doesn't have exclusive to access to the drive and can't perform the task. What can I do to perform this ? ive taken Norton systemworks-I thought that was the problem.but it wasn't


text:
At Sorano's Greenhouses LLC, (Lena Farms) we offer healthy, quality plants grown from seed or rooted cuttings for you at reasonable prices. We support and promote local businesses, for other items we offer such as hay bales, corn stalks and fresh produce.
We use bio-control for pests and plant diseases. Because of our backgrounds, Steve grew up and worked at his family's African violet and gesneriad greenhouse operation and Judy grew up and worked on her family's dairy farm, limited pesticide use has always been a way of life. We are as concerned about health and environment as you are.
One of the nice things about being a small business is that you can quickly change and tweak, which we are doing. Some varieties of tomatoes and peppers have been eliminated due to being unpopular making room for new types of vegetables. Due to our limited space for plants if you see it, you'd better get it while you can. Thank you for understanding!
Our seeding and planting schedule is aimed for you to have plants that are the perfect size to plant in your garden and a manageable size for you to transport. Like we informed you last year, we have once again added some varieties and discontinued some less popular ones.
We are looking forward to seeing you this growing season!!


text:
Do you feel lost? Trying to keep it all together? Perhaps, every time you take 2 steps forward, you go 5 steps backward? And maybe you feel God has forsaken you although the Word says He will never leave you nor forsake you? Have you lost all joy and barely making it through the day? Would it be alright if I told you, "Everything will be okay"? I know what it's like, I've been there many, many times! There is a light at the end of the tunnel. God is walking alongside you, and whispering to … [Read more...]
God's Faithfulness To You
What has gotten me through some of my hardest time was God's unconditional love and His faithfulness. One thing I have learned about His faithfulness is that when I am unfaithful, He is still faithful. How else would I still be here, writing this book after all I had gone through in the past? Only God. Let His faithfulness carry you through this hard season. Ways to be reminded of His faithfulness: 1. Know that God's grace will empower you to walk through this season. By recognizing … [Read more...]
"Come Into The Abundance of My Love."
I hear the Lord saying, "Come into the abundance of My love. Do not believe the lies of the enemy, for they will steal from you the promises that I have made. Come fully into My love. Allow Me to lead you and guide you in this season. Allow Me to be one with you. Allow Me to show you that you can prosper and that you can live every day of your life in victory. Allow Me to bring you to that place of peace, in Me, and all things will then work together for your good. Live under the rule of My … [Read more...]
Enjoy Life
Did you know that it's okay to enjoy life and be merry? Many Christians feel guilty when God has given them a blessing or a peaceful life. They feel like they have to defend, explain or prove themselves to others. We really don't. The other day, a thought came to my mind about enjoying life. I'm not talking prosperity gospel stuff here. I was reminded this morning to read Ecclesiastes chapters 1-3. I came over some very powerful verses that spoke to me. I wanted to share them with … [Read more...]
Comfort Through The Word
Do you know how to comfort yourself using the Word? Let's think about this for a minute, are we quick to pick up the phone to call a friend, or worrying ourself to the point that we can't sleep or eat? Are you intentional about going to the Word to find the comfort you need? Walking in the Peace that God has provided for us? There's a quote from Charles Spurgeon that I'd like to share: "A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't." So, how does your bible look? :D … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- …
- 38
- Next Page »


text:
Contact Us
How To Find Us
Parish Council
What's On
Businesses & Trades
Clubs & Societies
Arts & Crafts
Food & Drink
Picture Galleries
Things to Do
Useful links & Contacts
Nympton News
Parish Hall
History of Kings Nympton
Citizens Advice Bureau
Businesses & Trade Options
Display #
Businesses & Trades Alphabetic Listing
Written by John Barnes
Hits: 3906
Businesses & Trades by Services Provided
Written by John Barnes
Hits: 3275
News Flash
Coopers X to Grove Inn road closure for sewer connection
Planned road closure for SWW utility works at Elmside
Western Power Distribution Affordable Warmth
Feedback required on proposed changes under North Devon Electoral Review
Volunteers needed by Devon Air Ambulance
Would you like to join the Devon Countryside Access Forum?
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month for 2018
New Project for the South West's Woodlands
Free service to replace boilers in eligible homes
Bell ringers required at St. James's Church
New members needed for Kings Nympton Badminton Club
Kings Nympton Parish Hall 200 Club needs new members
Other News Items
Defibrillator Contacts Updated List
Download the latest Devon Smoke free Alliance Newsletter
Download latest edition of Pulse from North Devon Health Communications
Jobs and Courses available through Devon Communities Together
Read the latest South Molton Police monthly Report
Download Senior Siren which is packed with lifestyle and safety advice for the older adult population
Download your Waste & Recycling schedule. You will no longer be sent a schedule
How to report potholes and other road and transport problems to Devon County Council
Would you like to open your garden to raise money for Children's Hospice
Devon Air Ambulance needs Volunteers
Go North Devon can assist you in getting to Cancer appointments in Barnstaple or in hiring a mobility scooter
Would you like to help Beaford Arts record oral history?
Volunteer Befrienders wanted
All you need to know about the Chittlehamholt Community Shop
Get free Fire Check and free smoke alarm from Devon & Somerset Fire Service
Help Devon & Cornwall police stop poaching
Have your say in Devon County Council consultations
Find out about Adopting a Child
Free Highway Code training
Help fight Wildlife Crime


text:
Get frustrated that Windows Movie Maker is not compatible with Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4 video files? Don't worry. Just check this article to get the issue resolved quickly.
I wanna add and play some H.265 files in iTunes, but I can't find out any info about if iTunes is able to play H.265/High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)format. Searching further, I got some hints.
Apple supports H.265, but so far only in FaceTime on iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus. From iTunes
menu, H.265 video files can not be read since iTunes have no ability of playing HEVC/H.265 format. Sometimes, even you can add H.265 to iTunes, you still cannot sync them to Apple
devices. That is to say, users can't stream or even play H.265 video outside of the FaceTime environment. A quick workaround to get H.265 to
iTunes for playback and syncing is toencode H.265 to
H.264 video.
Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac is the ideal tool can help you out. It can convert any type videos like DivX, MKV, MPG as well as H.265 to iTunes supported format without losing any video quality. Apart from that, its built-in editor can help users to do some basic editing work before conversion, like trimming, cutting, adding audio information/watermark etc. What's more, it also offers the optimal profiles for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV and more. For Windows users, you can get Brorsoft Video Converter. Download the program to start the H.265 to iTunes conversion task.
H.265 to Final Cut Pro
H.265 Codec and iMovie
Play H.265 via Plex
Play H.265 in QuickTime
Play H.265 in VLC
Differences: H.265 and H.264
Convert H.265 video to iTunes for playback
1. Add H.265 videos
Install and run the best H.265 to iTunes converter and transfer your H.265 movies or video recordings like from Samsung NX1/NX500 to the program.
2. Select iTunes supported format
Since iTunes supports H.264 MP4, M4V and MOV formats, you can click Format bar and choose any of the three from Common Video as the output file format. If you want to add MP4 to iTunes for syncing to iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, you can directly select a format from special device column like iPad.
Tip: Click the Settings icon to adjust video and audio parameters, like audio&video bitrate, video size, channel as you need.
3. Start H.265 to iTunes conversion
Click the "Convert" icon after all settings, and the H.265 Video Converter will start transcoding H.265 to iTunes preferred format immediately.
4. Import H.265 files to iTunes library
After the conversion, get the output files by clicking the Open button. Now you can open iTunes 12 and go to File > Add File to Library or directly drag&drop the converted H.265 video to iTunes. In this way, you can transfer H.265 to your iPad, iPhone, iPod easily and enjoy them anywhere you like.
Related Guides:
Top 3 Best H.265/HEVC Encoder and Decoder Review
How to convert and play H.265(HEVC) on Roku 3
Transcode and Import H.265/HEVC to DaVinci Resolve
How to Get Windows Movie Maker Work With H.265 Footage
Editing H.265 files in Final Cut Pro
This article provides the ultimate solution to open and view MXF in VLC player
with the best quality.
You probably saved some MXF media your computer from a Sony XDCAM, Panasonic P2 or Canon XF camcorder. The problem is that it's a bit hard to open and play MXF files. Some guys turn to use VLC to play MXF files, which is one of the most successful free open source cross-platform multimedia player that plays most multimedia files, but some playback issues still exist:
"I read that VLC can easily play MXF but it's not working on mine. I have the latet VLC player. Any solutions?"
"I can play the MXF files from my XF-100 in VLC, but the audio is choppy or non-existant... The video plays without a hitch. But no audio. Any fixes for this problem, or am I the only one? :( "
Actually, the question is which kind of MXF files can be played in VLC. There are so many flavours, codecs, etc. I think it's nearly impossible to build a player, that plays all of them. The ultimate solution to get MXF files played in VLC media player is to convert the MXF files to common formats (like AVI, MOV, MPEG, MP4, etc) to fit the local VLC media player.
Brorsoft Video Converter is the solid tool to help users convert all types of MXF to VLC playable H.264 MP4 video on Windows (Windows 10 included) without quality loss. Besides, it also supports converting MXF files to iPhone, iPad, Galaxy Tab, iTunes, Windows Media Player, Avid Media Composer and more to meet your different needs. If you wanna solve the MXF in VLC playback issues on Mac OS X(including macOS Sierra, El Capitan), please turn toVideo Converter for Mac.
|VLC Play H.265
|VLC 4K Playback
|VLC MKV Playback
|VLC Play MXF
VLC Play XAVC
VLC Play MP4
Convert MXF for playback with VLC freely
1. Add MXF media
Run the MXF video converter and then import your .mxf files onto the interface by convenient drag-and-drop feature. You can add several videos for converting at one time as this video converter supports batch conversion.
2. Set output format
Click on "Format" bar to select output format. Here you can choose to encode MXF to mp4, .mov, DivX .avi for playing with VLC.
Tip: You can also check the "Settings" box , and set video codec, video size, Bitrate, frame rate to get a decent video you want on your VLC player.
3. Start conversion
Click the "Convert" button start encoding MXF files to VLC player. After the conversion, click the Open icon to locate the converted files there. Then drag & drop the files to your VLC, and you can play the converted MXF on VLC perfectly. Enjoy.
Editor's Note: As far as I know, in addition to playing video files, VLC can also convert kinds
of videos freely. Learn a full guide on how to convert videos using VLC.
Related Guides:
Editing 4K XAVC to PowerDirector
DJI Phantom 4 4K to FCP X/Premiere/Avid
Share GoPro Hero5 4K Videos in YouTube
Importing GoPro Hero5 4K to iMovie
Import 4K XAVC S from Sony a99 II to Davinci Resolve
Solve VLC MKV Playback Issues
Fix Corrupt MXF files on Mac OS X
Convert H.264 to H.265 Easily
Convert XAVC/XAVC S to ProRes Losslessly
Convert TiVo to AVI, MP4, FLV, MOV, MPG, 3GP, WMV
This article provides a simple solution to watch MKV movies on LG Smart
As a user of LG Smart TV, I love it so much, especially the fact that it comes with three USB ports, wired and wireless Internet access and ability to play back every single video file I've thrown. But when I transfer my MKV files to LG TV, the TV can not open the file. How should I do to play MKV movie on LG Smart TV?
Searching online, I've seen plenty of talk about problems when transferring MKV to LG TV from USB, especially no audio issue. Searching further and widely from Google and got some recommended solutions. The basic reason why LG TV refused to play an MKV file is that it may contain LG TV unsupported audio codec in the MKV video file. The MKV files with unsupported audio codec (i.e. MKV DTS files) certainly can't be played on the LG TV.
The quick solution is to find a third-party tool to make everything easy. The Brorsoft Video Converter is one of the best options. This video converter app helps you convert MKV to LG TV more friendly format i.e. H.24 MP4 and then play them on LG TV's big screen. Besides MKV, MTS, MPG, FLV, XAVC, MOV, AVI, TiVo and more videos are supported. Plus, it offers kinds of preset profiles for media players including iPad, iPhone, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, Nook HD, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Galaxy S7, etc to meet your different needs. If you are Mac users, please turn to Video Converter Mac.
How to convert MKV to LG Smart TV playable format
Step 1. Start MKV file converter and drag .mkv files to the software interface to import the file. It supports batch conversion.
Step 2. Click Format bar and choose H.264 High Profile Video(*.mp4), H.264 Main Profile Video(*.mp4), or H.264 Baseline Profile Video(*.mp4) from "Common Video", which can be recognized by LG smart TV perfectly. You can easily choose a decent profile "LG TV (*.mp4)" from TVs profile list.
Tip: With the right settings you can retain the quality of the original video while also saving space. This is particularly helpful when streaming over your network. Simply click Settings bar and you can tweak the settings to your satisfaction and even save it as preset.
Step 3. Convert MKV to a LG TV supported format by clicking the Convert button at the bottom-right corner of the main window. This MKV to LG TV Converter is highly efficient and it will finish the video conversion in minutes.
After conversion, click Open to get the converted videos and then transfer the MKV to LG TV via USB. Now you can play MKV movies on LG TV with ease.
Editor's Note: Addition to adding videos to LG TV via USB, but you can also stream MKV files to your LG TV as long as it has DLNA support. If not, it's okay if you have a streaming device like Chromecast, Roku, Xbox or PS3.
Related Guides:
Play MKV on Samsung TV
Play MKV on Sony TV
Play MKV on Philips TV
Play MKV on LG Smart TV
Play MKV on Panasonic TV
How to Watch MP4 Movie on Samsung TV
Viewing MOV Files on LG TV with Best Quality
You may find that FCP won't import DJI Inspire 1 4K videos smoothly. What you can
do to resolve the issues is to transcode DJI Inspire 1 4K to 1080p ProRes, which is more "edit" friendly for Final Cut Pro.
I'm working on a project shooting with DJI Inspire 1 and we are shooting 4K videos with it. Is there an easy way that allows easy import DJI Inspire 1 4K into Final Cut Pro smoothly? From someone's shared tutorial I know that we can't bring 4K footage from DJI Inspire 1 to FCP directly due to the codec incompatibility. As we know, Apple ProRes Codec is the best editing video codec for Final Cur Pro, so we can convert DJI Inspire 1 4K to Apple ProRes codec(1080p would be the best settings.), which will save you both time and trouble, and all you need is to drag the result videos for prompt editing.
To convert DJI Inspire 4K to 1080p ProRes for FCP as primary delivery format, you can get help from Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac, which enables you to achieve the goal easily.
Overall, this program is a completely professional Mac 4K video converter, player and editor. Unlike some free video converters, it provides hundreds of output format presets for 4K videos, such as Apple ProRes 422, Apple ProRes 4444 for Final Cut Pro, AIC MOV for FCE (Final Cut Express) and iMovie, for better editing and playing. This Ultra HD Video Converter is also available to customize the output resolutions to any size the users want. Thus, with the video converter app, you can fast transcode DJI Inspire 1 4K video to FCP, iMovie, FCE friendly format with ease.
Converting DJI Inspire 1 4K footage to FCP editable video
1. Launch the 4K Video Converter for Mac and click add button to import Inspire 1 4k clips to the program for converting.
2. Click "format" bar to choose the output format. You can freely choose Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov) for editing in FCP.
Tip: Click the Settings button; you can recommended to set the video size, bit rate, fame rate, etc. Here you are recommended to set the video size as 1920*1080 for Final Cut Pro 6/7, which can't support raw 4K video well.
3. Hit Convert button to start transcoding DJI Inspire 1 4K MP4/MOV to Final Cut Pro editable ProRes 422 codec.
Once the process completes, you can find the generated videos via "Open" button. Now, it is easy for you to transfer the encoded DJI Inspire 1 4K videos to FCP for further editing.
Related Guides:
Fast Convert H.264 file to HEVC H.265 4K Video on Mac/Windows
Bring 4K XAVC S from Sony RX100 IV to FCP/Premiere
Easily Import Canon XC10 4K XF-AVC MXF to Davinci Resolve for Editing
Premeire Pro Won't Import Canon C300 Mark II 4K MXF issue - Solved
Edit Sony RX10 II/RX100 IV 4K XAVC S in Premiere Pro CC/CS6/CS5
Solve Sony FS5 4K XAVC-L codec in Adobe Premiere CC Issues
Problems with DJI Phantom 4 footage in Windows Movie Maker- Fixed
Bring DJI Inspire 1 4K to FCP/Premiere Pro/Avid Media Composer


text:
Rice noodles are the primary ingredient in Pho, the national dish of Vietnam. The noodles are made by steaming a thin slurry of rice flour and water poured on a piece of cloth that has been stretched over a pot of boiling water. The pot is then covered and allowed to steam for a few moments until the rice slurry solidifies. The resulting disk is carefully lifted off and sliced into noodles.
Rice paper, also called bánh tráng , is used for making fresh spring rolls in Vietnamese cuisine. The cooking techniques is much the same and the resulting disks are dried on split bamboo racks.
Popped Rice, or puffed rice, is made by heating rice and sand in a wok over a burner heated by rice hull fuel. The hot sand allows the rice to pop more evenly and is then sifted away from the rice and used again with the next batch. The popped rice is often coated with a palm sugar syrup and cut into blocks and sold as a confection.
Snake Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by infusing whole snakes and/or scorpions in rice wine. The concoction is considered an important curative and believed to reinvigorate a person according to Traditional Chinese medicine.
Rice Husks are widely used for fuel for home cooking and even fuel the kilns at this brick foundry.
Rice Stalks are used for animal feed, thatching and in paper making.
There are more great travel photos of SE Asia and elsewhere here.


text:
Cookies at Routen Chaplin. We use cookies to help improve our site. If you continue, we'll assume that you're happy to accept our cookies.
Find out more
Specialist Vehicle Account Handler
Marketing and PR Manager
Accounts Administrator
Commercial Team Leader/Account Handler
Company Manager
Personal Lines Advisor
Managing Director
Commercial Account Handler


text:
2055 words - 9 pages
Bioethics, which is the study of value judgments pertaining to human conduct in the area of biology and includes those related to the practice of medicine, has been an important aspect of all areas in the scientific field (Bernstein, Maurice, M.D.). It is one of the factors that says whether or not certain scientific research can go on, and if it can, under which rules and regulations it must abide by. One of the most recent and controversial issues facing our society today is the idea of cloning. On February 23, 1997, Ian Wilmut, a Scottish scientist,View Document »
2792 words - 12 pages
The following bulletin was prepared from Grocery Industry Committee on Solid Waste October 24, 1991 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Solid waste composting is an important component of an integrated solution for solid waste management. Composting can divert organic, compostable materials, not otherwise recycled, from the solid waste stream and convert them into a useful product. Composting is environmentally sound, technically and economically feasible and meets local waste management needs. This report, from the Grocery Compost Task Force to the Grocery Industry Committee on Solid Waste (GICSW), is iView Document »
2353 words - 10 pages
In the 1950's, computers were a new race of machines and most common person did not know anything about them. Today, computers and new Innovation like the internet has changed the business world and even our daily lives. How did it change the business world and our own personal lives and is it for the best, that's what will be discussed in this report. How Computers changed our lives Introduction Large businesses now mostly depend on computers to stay competitive, they not only save time and effort, but sometimes they are used to do very complexe application that are necessary tView Document »
2343 words - 10 pages
In my short life on this planet I have come to question things that many take upon blind faith. We all know that we must some day die; yet we continuously deny the forces at work inside ourselves, which want to search out the answers of what may or may not come after. It is far easier for humanity to accept that they will go to a safe haven and be rewarded for their lives with pleasures and fantasies of an unfathomable scale than to question the existence of a supposed omnipotent being. Yet, there are a few of us humans who tend to question the why's and wherefore's that society puts forth toView Document »
1388 words - 6 pages
In his sixth meditation must return to the doubts he raised in his first meditation. In this last section of his sixth meditation he deals mainly with the mind-body problem; and he tries to prove whether material things exist with certainly. In this meditation he develops his Dualist argument; by making a distinction between mind and body; although he also reveals their rather significant relationship. Primarily he considers existence of the external world and whether our experience hold knowledge of this world or whether this knowledge is merely an illusion. He makes it quite clear how misView Document »
1551 words - 7 pages
OVERVIEW OF DIABETES TYPE I What is diabetes type I? In order to understand the disease we firstly need to know about insulin. Insulin is a hormone. The role of insulin is to convert the food we eat into various useful substances, discarding everything that is wasteful. It is the job of insulin to see that the useful substances are put to best use for our well-being. The useful substances are used for building cells, are made ready for immediate expenditure as energy and also stored for later energy expenditure. The cause of diabetes is an absolute or lack of the hormone insuliView Document »
1420 words - 6 pages
Does the Human Genome Project affect the moral standards of society? Can the information produced by it become a beneficial asset or a moral evil? For example, in a genetic race or class distinction the use of the X chromosome markers can be used for the identification of a persons ethnicity or class (Murphy,34). A seemingly harmless collection of information from the advancement of the Human Genome Project. But, lets assume this information is used to explore ways to deny entry into countries, determine social class, or even who gets preferential treatment. Can the outcome of this informView Document »
10042 words - 41 pages
Theories explaining biological evolution have been bandied about since the ancient Greeks, but it was not until the Enlightment of the 18th century that widespread acceptance and development of this theory emerged. In the mid 19th century english naturalist Charles Darwin - who has been called the "father of evolution" - conceived of the most comprehensive findings about organic evolution ever1. Today many of his principles still entail modern interpretation of evolution. I've assessed and interpreted the basis of Darwin's theories on evolution, incorporating a number of other factors concView Document »
1171 words - 5 pages
Questions on the origin of life and of the universe must have challenged human curiosity and imagination as soon as early man had time for activities other than survival. In 1859, Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species, and since then, people have debated between the creationism and evolutionism theories. The theory of evolution has been supported only through various religious writings, particularly the Bible. Creationists believe in a divine creator, God. Creationism has a broad range of beliefs involving a reliance on God?s miraculous work tView Document »
2827 words - 12 pages
Only once in a lifetime will a new invention come about to touch every aspect of our lives. Such a device that changes the way we work, live, and play is a special one, indeed. A machine that has done all this and more now exists in nearly every business in the U.S. and one out of every two households. This incredible invention is the computer. The electronic computer has been around for over a half-century, but its ancestors have been around for 2000 years. However, only in the last 40 years has it changed the American society. From the first wooden abacus to the latView Document »
1432 words - 6 pages
Biology (B3A) Assignment Human Disease and Their Control follow up questions 1a) When people refer to pathogens, they are talking about bacteria that cause disease. 1b)The toxins actually excreted by the pathogens are the main cause of diseases although thetoxins are only by-products of the pathogen's metabolism. 2a)In most cases, the toxins excreted by the pathogens find there way into the circulatory system. Thus, sometimes, the infection is caused somewhere else from where the toxins were excreted. An example of this would be Rheumatic fever. The toxins that cause this disease is excreteView Document »
1026 words - 5 pages
Human visual hardware is a result of a billion years of evolution within the earths atmosphere where light is scattered by molecules of air, moisture, particular matter etc. However as we ascend into our atmosphere with decrease density, light distribution is changed resulting in our visual hardware receiving visual data in different format. Some Aspects to Consider: 1. Visual acuity is the degree to which the details and contours of objects are perceived. Visual acuity is usually defined in terms of minimum separable.Large variety of factors influence this complex phenView Document »
1191 words - 5 pages
Huntington's Background Huntington's disease is inherited as an autosomal dominant disease that gives rise to progressive, elective (localized) neural cell death associated with choreic movements (uncontrollable movements of the arms, legs, and face) and dementia. It is one of the more common inherited brain disorders. About 25,000 Americans have it and another 60,000 or so will carry the defective gene and will develop the disorder as they age. Physical deterioration occurs over a period of 10 to 20 years, usually beginning in a person's 30's or 40's. The gene is dominant and thusView Document »
2596 words - 11 pages
Marijuana can cause many harmful effects. There has never been a major test though. The ones they?ve used have shown very different things. I have been very surprised by what I have been reading. I cannot believe the difference in what different scientists think. One says, ?It's hard to know for sure whether regular marijuana use causes cancer. But it is known that marijuana contains some of the same and sometimes even more, of the cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be takingView Document »
1181 words - 5 pages
The cell membrane is a fluid structure that is made up of phospholipids and proteins. Its main function is to allow osmosis and diffusion to occur in a cell. It protects a cell from taking in molecules that are too large and other chemicals that are not permeable without energy being used. The cell membrane is considered to be selectively permeable because it does not allow the non-fat soluble chemicals and the larger molecules in, but it does allow fat soluble chemicals and small molecules to pass into the cell. In order for the larger molecules and non-fat chemicals to enter the cell prView Document »
2395 words - 10 pages
Technology has evolved from ideals once seen as unbelievable to common everyday instruments. Computers that used to occupy an entire room are now the size of notebooks. The human race has always pushed for technological advances working at the most efficient level, perhaps, the molecular level. The developments and progress in artificial intelligence and molecular technology have spawned a new form of technology; Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology could give the human race eternal life, or it could cause total annihilation. The idea of nanotech was conceived by a man named KView Document »
1646 words - 7 pages
Nitrates contamination of the world's underground water supply poses as a potentially serious health hazard to the human inhabitants on earth. High nitrate levels found in well water has been proven to be the cause for numerous health conditions across the globe. If we intend to provide for the future survival of man, and life on planet earth, we must take action now to assure the quality of one of our most precious resources, our underground water supply. Ground water can be defined as the water stored in the open spaces within underground rocks and unconsolidated materView Document »
5162 words - 21 pages
Of all gynecologic malignancies, ovarian cancer continues to have the highest mortality and is the most difficult to diagnose. In the United States female population, ovarian cancer ranks fifth in absolute mortality among cancer related deaths (13,000/yr). In most reported cases, ovarian cancer, when first diagnosed is in stages III or IV in about 60 to 70% of patients which further complicates treatment of the disease (Barber, 3). Early detection in ovarian cancer is hampered by the lack of appropriate tumor markers and clinically, most patients faiView Document »
1229 words - 5 pages
The human immune system is an amazing system that is constantly on the alert protecting us from sicknesses. Thousands of white blood cells travel in our circulatory system destroying all foreign substances that could cause harm to our body or to any of the millions of processes going on inside. Now imagine a condition where this awesome system turns against the most complex organ in the human body, the brain. Deadly as it is, this condition is known as Rasmussen?s encephalitis. The meaningful research on Rasmussen?s encephalitis was begun (unintentionally) by Scott RView Document »
2102 words - 9 pages
Picture in your mind the skyline of downtown Toronto. There's the CN Tower, of course, and the 72-floor First Canadian Place, the city's tallest skyscraper. Cascading from there are the assorted banks and hotels and insurance towers. Now, use your imagination to construct some new buildings, these ones reaching three, four and five times higher than the others. Top it all off with a skyscraper one mile high (three times as high as the CN Tower). Sound fanciful? It did 30 years ago when Frank Lloyd Wright proposed the first mile-high building. But not today. We are now said tView Document »
1937 words - 8 pages
Sociologists have embraced what is known as the comparative method as the most efficient way to expose taken-for-granted 'truths' or laws that people have adopted. But what is this comparative method and how does it work? Are there any advantages/disadvantages to exposing these false 'truths'. What forms or variations of the comparative method exist? In the pages to follow I will attempt to give you some insight and understanding of what the comparative method is, and how it works. The comparative method, simply put, is the process of comparing two things (in our caseView Document »
5705 words - 23 pages
Wireless technology can provide many benefits to computing including faster response to queries, reduced time spent on paperwork, increased online time for users, just-in-time and real time control, tighter communications between clients and hosts. Wireless Computing is governed by two general forces: Technology, which provides a set of basic building blocks and User Applications, which determine a set of operations that must be carried out efficiently on demand. This paper summarizes technological changes that are underway and describes their impact on wireless computing developmView Document »
2210 words - 9 pages
Science INTRODUCTION The topic of this paper is the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, and whether or not mutations undergone by the virus allow it to survive in the immune system. The cost of treating all persons with AIDS in 1993 in the United States was $7.8 billion, and it is estimated that 20,000 new cases of AIDS are reported every 3 months to the CDC. This question dealing with how HIV survives in the immune system is of critical importance, not only in the search for a cure for the virus and its inevitable syndrome, AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome)View Document »
1068 words - 5 pages
Research on animals is important in understanding diseases and developing ways to prevent them. The polio vaccine, kidney transplants, and heart surgery techniques have all been developed with the help of animal research. Through increased efforts by the scientific community, effective treatments for diabetes, diphtheria, and other diseases have been developed with animal testing. Animal research has brought a dramatic progress into medicine. With the help of animal research, smallpox has been wiped out worldwide. Micro-surgery to reattach hearts, lungs, and other transplantsView Document »
2836 words - 12 pages
Research on animals is important in understanding diseases and developing ways to prevent them. The polio vaccine, kidney transplants, and heart surgery techniques have all been developed with the help of animal research. Through increased efforts by the scientific community, effective treatments for diabetes, diphtheria, and other diseases have been developed with animal testing. Animal research has brought a dramatic progress into medicine. With the help of animal research, smallpox has been wiped out worldwide. Micro-surgery to reattach hearts, lungs, and other transplants are aView Document »
933 words - 4 pages
Water is the most important substance in our evolution and our daily lives. Without water, life as we know it would not have been possible. This essay will examine the water molecule in order to ascertain how it brought about Earth's thriving ecosystem and how important it is to us today. Each water molecule consists of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. The oxygen atom (or the apex of the water molecule) bears a slight electronegative charge while hydrogen possesses a more positive one1 (figure a). Because opposite charges attract, the water molecules are drawn together.View Document »
1395 words - 6 pages
The people of the world have always had a mysterious belief that Earth wasn't the only planet in the universe that supported life. This belief dates back to ancient times when heavenly and demonic stories were told of gods who strode across the skies on their golden chariots. Tales as far fetched as Zeus who threw lightening bolts from his fingertips to stories as credible as the American Indian's Cachinas, who supposedly taught them to farm and saved them from numerous disasters. The Egyptians, who built their mammoth pyramids with only the use of man power, used hieroglyphicsView Document »
1585 words - 7 pages
The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. The distance from Earth is about 384,400km with a diameter of 3476km and a mass of 7.35*1022kg. Through history it has had many names: Called Luna by the Romans, Selene and Artemis by the Greeks. And of course, has been known through prehistoric times. It is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun. Due to its size and composition, the Moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial "planet" along with Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. Origin of the Moon Before the modern age of space exploration, scientists had three majoView Document »
3469 words - 14 pages
Imagine being able to point into the sky and fly. Or perhaps walk through space and connect molecules together. These are some of the dreams that have come with the invention of virtual reality. With the introduction of computers, numerous applications have been enhanced or created. The newest technology that is being tapped is that of artificial reality, or "virtual reality" (VR). When Morton Heilig first got a patent for his "Sensorama Simulator" in 1962, he had no idea that 30 years later people would still be trying to simulate rView Document »
2460 words - 10 pages
For a fusion reaction to take place, the nuclei, which are positively charged, must have enough kinetic energy to overcome their electrostatic force of repulsion. This can occur either when one nucleus is accelerated to high energies by an accelerating device, or when the energies of both nuclei are raised by the application of very high temperature. The latter method, referred to the application of thermonuclear fusion, is the source of a lot of really cool energy. Enough energy is produced in thermonuclear fusion to suck the paint of 1 city block of houses and give all ofView Document »
1548 words - 7 pages
Hamlet one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, where the young prince of Denmark must uncover the truth about his fathers death. Hamlet a play that tells the story of a young prince who's father recently died. Hamlets uncle Claudius marries his mother the queen and takes the throne. As the play is told Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by the recently crowned king. The theme that remains constant throughout the play is appearance versus reality. Things within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality are infested with evil. Many of the characters withView Document »
1171 words - 5 pages
Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one man's decisions. This fictitious man is Lear, King of England, who's decisions greatly alter his life and the lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King he is, as one expects, a man of great power but sinfully he surrenders all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him. (Cain) This untimely abdication of his throne results in a chain reaction of events that send him through a journey of hell. King Lear is a metaphorical description of one man's jourView Document »
1852 words - 8 pages
Peasants of the early sixteenth century are often pictured carrying a bundle of limbs tied with vines on their backs. This is a perfect metaphor for the events in Macbeth. Macbeth is one of many thanes, or limbs, bundled together. The thanes are united by the king, or the vine. Scotland, or the peasant, carries the bundle by the sweat of his brow. They carry the bundle for fires on cold nights, or wars, and to build homes, or castles, to protect them from the elements, or invaders. If the limbs are tied improperly, one limb may slip to the side and cause the peasant, or nation, to stumble or fView Document »
1815 words - 8 pages
Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear is a detailed description of the consequences of one man's decisions. This fictitious man is Lear, King of England, who's decisions greatly alter his life and the lives of those around him. As Lear bears the status of King he is, as one expects, a man of great power but sinfully he surrendered all of this power to his daughters as a reward for their demonstration of love towards him. This untimely abdication of his throne results in a chain reaction of events that send him through a journey of hell. King Lear is a metaphorical description of one man's journeView Document »
1376 words - 6 pages
In Shakespeare's "King Lear" the issue of sight against blindness is a recurring theme. In Shakespearean terms, being blind does not refer to the physical inability to see. Blindness is here a mental flaw some characters posses, and vision is not derived solely from physical sight. King Lear and Gloucester are the two prime examples Shakespeare incorporates this theme into. Each of these characters' lack of vision was the primary cause of the unfortunate decisions they made, decisions that they would eventually come to regret. The blindest of all was undoubtedly King Lear. Because of his higView Document »
1210 words - 5 pages
King Lear, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic tale of filial conflict, personal transformation, and loss. The story revolves around the King who foolishly alienates his only truly devoted daughter and realizes too late the true nature of his other two daughters. A major subplot involves the illegitimate son of Gloucester, Edmund, who plans to discredit his brother Edgar and betray his father. With these and other major characters in the play, Shakespeare clearly asserts that human nature is either entirely good, or entirely evil. Some characters experience a transformative phase, where by somView Document »
1223 words - 5 pages
"This dead butcher and his fiend like queen", is the way in which Malcolm describes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Describe the way in which these two characters changed during the course of the play. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is seen as a courageous soldier who is loyal to the King but is corrupted from the witches prophecies and by his and Lady Macbeth?s ambition. This is because of the weakness of Macbeth?s character and the strong power of Lady Macbeth and how she is easily able to influence him. Her strength motivates him at the start but after he realisView Document »
1596 words - 7 pages
"I am not what I am." What is Iago? -- as distinct from what he pretends to be -- and what are his motives? In Shakespeare's, Othello, the reader is presented the classic battle between the deceitful forces of evil and the innocence of good. It are these forces of evil that ultimately lead to the breakdown of Othello, a noble venetian moor, well-known by the people of Venice as a honourable soldier and a worthy leader. Othello's breakdown results in the muder of his wife Desdemona. Desdemona is representative of the good in nature. Good can be defined as forgiving, honest, innocent and unsuView Document »
1285 words - 6 pages
King Lear is a play written by William Shakespeare that focuses on the relationships of many characters, some good, some evil. This is a great tragedy that is full of injustice at the beginning and the restoring of justice towards the end. The good are misjudged as evil and the evil are accepted as good. It is not until the end of the play that the righteous people are recognized as such. There is great treachery and deceit involved in the hierarchy of English rule. The great mistake in this play was made by Lear when he decided to divide up his kingdom to his three daughters. In order to deteView Document »
1044 words - 5 pages
Revenge. Revenge causes one to act blindly through anger, rather than through reason. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye, but this principle is not always an intelligent theory to live by. Young Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their fathers. They all acted on emotion, and this led to the downfall of two, and the rise to power of one. Since the Heads of the three major families were each murdered, the eldest sons of these families swore vengeance, and two of the three sons died while exacting their acts of vengeance, revenge is a major theView Document »
1070 words - 5 pages
It is curious to note the role of women in Shakespearean literature. Many critics have lambasted the female characters in his plays as two-dimensional and unrealistic portrayals of subservient women. Others have asserted that the roles of women in his plays were prominent for the time and culture that he lived in. That such contrasting views could be held in regards to the same topic is academic. It is only with close examination of his works that we are able to suppose his intent in creating characters that inspire so much controversy. Two works, Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night, standView Document »
2023 words - 9 pages
In Hamlet, Prince of Denmark the protagonist exhibits a puzzling duplicitous nature. Hamlet contradicts himself throughout out the play. He endorses both of the virtues of acting a role and being true to oneis self. He further supports both of these conflicting endorsements with his actions. This ambiguity is demonstrated by his alleged madness, for he does behave madly, only to become perfectly calm and rational an instant later. These inconsistencies are related with the internal dilemmas he faces. He struggles with the issue of revenging his father's death, vowing to kill Claudius and thenView Document »
996 words - 4 pages
Antonio is a wealthy merchant in the city of Venice. Although central to the play, Antonio is portrayed by Shakespeare as an 'outcast'. It seems that Antonio is chronically depressed and is not involved in the social atmosphere that is thriving in Venice. - "In sooth, I know not why I am so sad: It wearies me; you say it wearies you; But how I caught it. Found it, or came by it, What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn:"1 Along with Shylock, both men seem bitter and have difficulty in expressing their emotions. On many occasions friends, such as Salerio and BassaView Document »
1222 words - 5 pages
A fool can be defined in many meanings according to the Oxford English Dictionary On Historical Principles. The word could mean "a silly person", or "one who professionally counterfeits folly for the entertainment of others, a jester, clown" or "one who has little or no reason or intellect" or "one who is made to appear to be a fool" (word originated from North Frisian). In english literature, the two main ways which the fool could enter imaginative literature is that "He could provide a topic, a theme for mediation, or he could turn into a stock character on the stage, a stylized comic figureView Document »
975 words - 4 pages
William Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatist and poet who lived during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. Shakespeare was born to middle class parents. His father, John, was a Stratford businessman. He was a glove maker who owned a leather shop. John Shakespeare was a well known and respected man in the town. He held several important local governmental positions. William ShakesView Document »
2725 words - 11 pages
The original A Nightmare on Elm Street was inspired by an extraordinary series of unnoticed stories in the Los Angeles Times. A young immigrant male, early 20 s, usually from Southeast Asia, a son, would have a severe nightmare where he would wake up screaming. The next day, he would tell his family it was the worst nightmare he d ever had, and he had been terribly shaken by it. The next night when he went to sleep he died. Six months later I looked in the paper and there was a very similar story. I clipped it out and put it with the other one. Then the third appeared about a year and a half fView Document »
1376 words - 6 pages
In 1949, George Orwell wrote 1984, a stunning novel envisioning haunting images of the future. Fifty years later, The Matrix, a movie directed by the Wachowski brothers, debuted on the big screen featuring mind-blowing special effects and complex kung-fu choreography. There are many obvious similarities between these two works of fiction. For example, both 1984 and The Matrix are dystopian visions of the future, which is to say, both deal with the maintenance of an imperfect society. The word dystopia is the antonym of utopia, which itself means a perfect society; therefore, a dystopia is theoView Document »
1883 words - 8 pages
Music as defined by its legal definition in the dictionary is the art of arranging sounds in time as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre, however, music is much more than this. Music is the aforementioned as well as the universal language that is understood by all persons no matter their race, color, creed, or gender. Music is also a form of self-expression that has been used by all musicians known to mankind, past, present, and future. Whether music is only a language or just a means of self-expression is let for one tView Document »
1019 words - 5 pages
At the beginning of the 20th century the Western world was decorated with machines that rapidly distorted man?s view on his environment. Significant technological innovations had taken the place of the Industrial Revolution, creating a new excitement in the air. This dramatically changed the type of output from the avant-garde of the art world. After Cézanne, the viewfinder of painting compositions had left from landscapes to that of the urban scene, recording and depicting man?s new day-to-day interactions with surrounding machines. The advent of the ever-improving machine had also broughView Document »
1686 words - 7 pages
Throughout history all cultures have been influenced by music. Since the Baroque period music has evolved and changed to meet the needs of the composers, listeners and of the culture as well. Ever since the monolithic chant of the previous millennia the western musical tradition been a mirror to the turmoil and the triumph in the European society. Influenced by religion, nationalism, geography, living conditions, imperialism, pragmatics, social mores, traditions, etc? western music has evolved into a mighty being that still will endure for centuries. Before the Baroque era in music there wView Document »