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The seriously wounded suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, charged Monday with terror crimes that could carry the death penalty, has told investigators that he and his brother were motivated by religious fervor but weren't in touch with any overseas terrorists or groups, NBC News reported.
He said the pair conceived the bombing plot on their own and found bomb-making instructions online, according to several officials familiar with his initial interrogation.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is still being treated in a Boston hospital for wounds he sustained in the gunbattle with police that killed his suspected co-conspirator and brother Tamerlan, was cooperating with investigators, the officials told NBC News.
For full coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings investigation, visit NBCNews.com.
Tsarnaev, 19, was charged in his Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center room Monday over his and his brother's alleged plot. Although a gunshot wound to his throat prevents him from speaking properly, he has answered questions in writing and by nodding yes or no, federal officials told NBC News.
Tsarnaev was read his Miranda rights and charged by federal prosecutors with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction — a bomb — to kill, NBC News reported. Three people were killed and more than 200 wounded when two pressure-cooker bombs sprayed shrapnel into the crowd at the finish line last Monday.
The criminal complaint against Tsarnaev containing the allegations shed no light on a motive. But it gave a detailed sequence of events and cited surveillance-camera images of Tsarnaev dropping off a knapsack with one of the bombs and using a cellphone, perhaps to coordinate or detonate the blasts.
Federal investigators are hoping that the Massachusetts college student will shed light on his own motive in the attack he accused of committing — as well as that of his older brother Tamerlan, 26, who died Friday after a shootout with police.
Tamerlan is known to have spent six months in Russia last year, and authorities want to find out what he did there and whom he met. Investigators are also questioning Tamerlan's widow Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, who whose lawyer told the Associated Press that she had no suspicions her husband might be plotting something.
Although investigators have not yet spoken with her, details were already emerging about Tamerlan.
On Monday, a Boston-area mosque where the brothers occasionally attended prayers said in a statement that Tamerlan had twice angrily disrupted sermons in recent months, prompting mosque leaders to warn him that he wouldn't be welcome if his disruptions continued.
The mosque said that he first interrupted a sermon in November, disrupting a sermon about the significance of Thanksgiving to argue that Islam didn't allow such celebrations. He did so again in January, interrupting a sermon praising the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to call the preacher a "non-believer" and hypocrite, according to the statement.
As glimpses emerged of possible motives for the attacks Monday, federal authorities laid out its case against the surviving suspect — as well as what they described as the timeline of the Boston Marathon bombing.
"Although our investigation is ongoing, today's charges bring a successful end to a tragic week for the city of Boston and for our country," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
The charges carry the death penalty or a prison sentence of up to life.
In outlining the evidence against him in court papers, the FBI said Tsarnaev was seen on surveillance cameras putting a knapsack down on the ground near the site of the second blast and then manipulating a cellphone and lifting it to his ear.
Seconds later, the first explosion went off about a block down the street and spread fear and confusion through the crowd. But Tsarnaev — unlike nearly everyone around him — looked calm and quickly walked away, the FBI said.
Just 10 seconds or so later, the second blast occurred where he had left the knapsack, the FBI said.
The FBI did not make it clear whether authorities believe he used his cellphone to detonate one or both of the bombs or whether he was talking to someone.
The court papers also said that during the long night of crime Thursday and Friday that led to the older brother's death and the younger one's capture, one of them told a carjacking victim: "Did you hear about the Boston explosion? I did that."
The brothers are ethnic Chechens from Russia who have lived in the U.S. for about a decade. Investigators are focusing on a trip the older brother made last year to Chechnya and Dagestan, in a region of Russia that has become a hotbed of separatist politics and Islamic extremism.
In addition to the federal charges, the younger Tsarnaev brother is also likely to face state charges in connection with the shooting death of an MIT police officer.
The Obama administration said it had no choice but to prosecute Tsarnaev in the federal court system. Some politicians had suggested he be tried as an enemy combatant in front of a military tribunal, where defendants are denied some of the usual U.S. constitutional protections.
But Tsarnaev is a naturalized U.S. citizen, and under U.S. law, American citizens cannot be tried by military tribunals, White House spokesman Jay Carney said. Carney said that since 9/11, the federal court system has been used to convict and imprison hundreds of terrorists.
In its criminal complaint, the FBI said it searched Tsarnaev's dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Sunday and found BBs as well as a white hat and dark jacket that look like those worn by one of one of the suspected bombers in the surveillance photos the FBI released a few days after the attack.
Tsarnaev was captured Friday night after an intense all-day manhunt that brought the Boston area to a near-standstill. He was cornered and seized, wounded and bloody, after he was discovered hiding in a tarp-covered boat in a Watertown backyard.
He had apparent gunshot wounds to the head, neck, legs and hand, the FBI said in court papers.
The brothers' mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, told ABC News in a phone interview that the older of the suspects, Tamerlan, had called her in the moments before the firefight that killed her eldest son.
"'The police, they have started shooting at us, they are chasing us,'" she recalled him saying.
She told ABC News that his final words to her were, "Mama, I love you."
Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau has said that Tamerlan was killed after he and his brother battled police with guns, crude grenades and what appeared to be a pressure cooker bomb.
After Tamerlan ran out of bullets and was tackled by police, his younger brother ran him over during a getaway, Deveau told the Boston Globe.
At the scene of the shootout, the FBI found two unexploded improvised explosive devices, and remnants of several exploded IEDs, according to the federal complaint against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Later that night, after he was captured hiding in the Watertown boat, police found a University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth ID card, credit cards and other forms of ID, all in the name of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
"We're satisfied the two main actors, the people that were committing the damage out there, have been either captured or killed," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said on "Today" Monday. But Davis said he could not say anything "with 100 percent certainty."
Seven days after the bombings, meanwhile, Boston was bustling Monday, with runners hitting the pavement, children walking to school and enough cars clogging the streets to make the morning commute feel almost back to normal.
Residents paused in the afternoon to observe a moment of silence at 2:50 p.m., the time of the first blast. Church bells tolled across the city and state in tribute to the victims.
Standing on the steps of the state Capitol, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick bowed his head and said after the moment of silence: "God bless the people of Massachusetts. Boston Strong."
On Boylston Street, where the bombing took place, the silence was broken when a Boston police officer pumped his fists in the air and the crowd erupted in applause. The crowd then quietly sang "God Bless America."
Also, hundreds of family and friends packed a church in Medford for the funeral of bombing victim Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant worker. A memorial service was scheduled for Monday night at Boston University for 23-year-old Lu Lingzi, a graduate student from China.
Fifty-one victims remained hospitalized Monday, three of them in critical condition.
At the Snowden International School on Newbury Street, a high school set just a block from the bombing site, jittery parents dropped off children as teachers — some of whom had run in the race — greeted each other with hugs.
Carlotta Martin of Boston said that leaving her kids at school has been the hardest part of getting back to normal.
"We're right in the middle of things," Martin said outside the school as her children, 17-year-old twins and a 15-year-old, walked in, glancing at the police barricades a few yards from the school's front door.
"I'm nervous. Hopefully, this stuff is over," she continued. "I told my daughter to text me so I know everything's OK."


text:
Te Arāwa, Te Whākātohea
(1990- )
Joel's main medium is poūnāmu (New Zealand jade) however he has worked in other mediums, such as bone and other culturally important stones such as onewa (greywacke) and pākohe (argillite).
Spirit Wrestler Gallery
101-1669 West 3rd Ave.
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6J 1K1
Toll Free: 1-888-669-8813
Phone: 604-669-8813
one block West of the Granville Island gates
Between Pine St. and Fir St.
Tuesday to Saturday, open 10-5
Sunday and Holidays, open 12-5
© 2019 Spirit Wrestler Gallery. All Rights Reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Apple has released a security fix for its QuickTime media player software, fixing a critical bug that had been worrying security experts for nearly a month.
The update, released Wednesday, fixes a vulnerability in the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) used by QuickTime to handle streaming media.
On January 10, researcher Luigi Auriemma disclosed the flaw by posting proof-of-concept attack code that could be used to run unauthorized software on a victim's computer. For the attack to work, the criminal would have to first trick the user into viewing a maliciously encoded QuickTime media file.
With the attack code available, security researchers had been hoping that Apple would address the flaw. Wednesday's QuickTime 7.4.1 update is for both the Mac OS X and Windows operating systems.
It is Apple's fifth QuickTime update since October. The company has been forced to issue the flurry of patches as security researchers have taken a closer look at media player flaws during the past year. In December, Apple patched a separate RTSP vulnerability, which online criminals had already started to use in their attacks.
"In the past few months, QuickTime has been a prevalent target for security researchers," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations with nCircle Network Security, via instant message. "Internet media applications on the desktop have been a rich target for attackers and this trend is sure to continue as most users aren't yet accustomed to attacks arriving in the form of a viral video."


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Jane Flavell Collins / AP
In a courtroom sketch, Robel Phillipos appears before a federal magistrate last week. Phillipos and two other college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were arrested and charged with removing a backpack containing hollowed-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room.
A friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev charged with lying to federal investigators after the Boston Marathon bombings was placed on house arrest Monday after posting $100,000 bail.
The friend, Robel Phillipos, was ordered released into the custody of his mother. He will have to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and submit to drug testing. He will not be allowed to leave home except for court appearances and 911 emergencies.
Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Phillipos had filed a joint motion earlier in the day encouraging a judge to put him on house arrest after determining that he was not a flight risk.
Lawyers for Phillipos, 19, had said over the weekend that their client was "frightened and confused" when he was questioned by investigators days after the attack, and argued that he had nothing to do with the attack itself.
Phillipos is one of three friends of Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the bombings, who were arrested last week after they were questioned about the removal of a backpack and fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room three days after the blasts.
Susan Church, one of the attorneys for Robel Phillipos says, "at no time did Robel have any prior knowledge of this marathon bombing; nor participate in any of the planning done by defendant in case."
Phillipos spoke only once during his hearing Monday. When the judge asked whether he understood the terms of his release, he answered, "Yes." U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler set his next hearing for May 17.
Family or friends of Phillipos — it was not clear which — said they would put up real estate to meet the $100,000 bond.
Outside court, one of Phillipos' lawyers, Susan Church, emphasized that he is not charged with removing evidence. Two Kazakh students, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, are charged with that crime.
"Just like all Americans and all people from Boston, Robel is grieving at the tragedy and the lives lost forever," she said.
All three men knew Tsarnaev from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. In the court papers, lawyers described Phillipos as mild-mannered and peaceful, without a criminal record and with deep ties to his family, his church and the community in Cambridge, Mass.
The lawyers argued that Phillipos was questioned without a lawyer and made himself available to federal authorities at all times. The charge of lying has ruined what was a bright future, they said.
"This case is about a frightened and confused 19-year-old who was subjected to intense questioning and interrogation, without the benefit of counsel, and in the context of one of the worst attacks against the nation," the lawyers wrote.
The papers seek to distance Phillipos from the two Kazakhs and from Tsarnaev. Phillipos had taken a leave of absence for the spring semester and had not been in touch with the other three for more than two months, the lawyers argued.
It was only by "sheer coincidence and bad luck," the lawyers wrote, that Phillipos was invited to attend a campus seminar on April 18, the day the backpack and fireworks were removed from Tsarnaev's dorm room.
The lawyers also submitted 17 letters from people who know Phillipos, including his mother, attesting to his character. One was from a community soccer coach who said Phillipos was "very respectful" and excelled despite being the smallest player.
His mother, Genet Bekele, wrote that the family, which is of Ethiopian descent, looks forward to the marathon each year and cheers, on the sidelines or watching on television, as Ethiopians cross the finish line.
After the bombings, "We mourned for those who lost their lives and prayed for the injured," she wrote. "My son wants nothing more than the opportunity to clear his name."
Tsarnaev, 19, who is in a federal prison hospital in Massachusetts, has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and could face the death penalty. He was wounded in a firefight with police before he was captured April 19.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev's uncle is in Massachusetts to arrange his burial, but four cemeteries have refused to bury him and protesters have set up camp outside the funeral parlor where his body is being held. NBC's Katy Tur reports.
His brother, Tamerlan, was killed in the firefight. A funeral parlor in Worcester, Mass., accepted the body, but as of Sunday the Tsarnaev family had not found a cemetery willing to bury him.
Three people were killed and more than 200 injured when two bombs went off April 15 near the marathon finish line. Twelve people remained in Boston hospitals Sunday.
The One Fund Boston, which has raised more than $28 million for victims, plans to hold a town hall meeting in Boston on Monday to discuss plans for how the money will be distributed.
This story was originally published on Mon May 6, 2013 9:45 AM EDT


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Darts at the Legion
April 23, 2020 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
| Varies
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 7:00pm on Thursday, repeating indefinitely
Friendly competition in a relaxing atmosphere – if that's the kind of evening you enjoy – come out to Thursday night darts at Branch 164. More experienced players are patient and will certainly teach you the basics of the game. There are single and doubles competitions. Good fun and good sport; all are welcome.


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Island Modular Displays that Scale in Size
Bring your brand to more places with an island modular display that scales in size for use in smaller venues. Drive new business with a cost effective investment in a modular display that is distinctive yet practical because it is designed to adapt to ever evolving marketing challenges.
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text: I would suggest you use Sguil with Snort and you can launch wireshark from Sguil if needed. Or you could use an inline network TAP on the cable running from the SPAN port to the Wireshark box to "split" the signal so it goes to both the Snort sensor and the Wireshark box. Steve Mullins On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 12:01 PM, Sadanand Ghagare <sadanandgh at ...11827...> wrote: > Hi > > We are in process to implement snort as network sensor in our network. But > problem here is, we already have wireshark machine connected to monitoring > port of switch and we don't want to disturb existing setup. > So whether it is possible to integrate snort with wireshark so that snort > can analyze the packets captured by wireshark as per snort rule base. > If yes, how to configure it. > I hope I am up to the point for my requirements. > > -- > > > Thanks & Regards > > Sadanand G. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Crystal Reports - New Free Runtime and 30 Day Trial > Check out the new simplified licensing option that enables > unlimited royalty-free distribution of the report engine > for externally facing server and web deployment. > http://p.sf.net/sfu/businessobjects > _______________________________________________ > Snort-users mailing list > Snort-users at lists.sourceforge.net > Go to this URL to change user options or unsubscribe: > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/snort-users > Snort-users list archive: > http://www.geocrawler.com/redir-sf.php3?list=snort-users >


text:
Canon USA Announces New Executive Leadership Appointments
Adachi named chairman and CEO; Ishizuka named president and COO.
Canon USA has announced the appointment of Joe Adachi as the company's new chairman and CEO, effective April 1. Adachi has served as president and CEO of Canon USA since 2005, overseeing Canon's operations in the Americas; he will maintain his current responsibilities as CEO.
The company has named Yuichi Ishizuka president and COO of Canon USA. In his new position, Ishizuka will be involved in the management of new business projects while continuing his current responsibilities as executive vice president and general manager for the company's Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, where he oversees the inkjet printer, camera, and video groups.
"I look forward to my new assignment as president and COO of Canon USA," says Ishizuka. "Mr. Adachi has a strong vision for our company's future and I am honored to work together with him to take Canon to the next level."


text:
Quick start, wind help Brewers spoil Cubs' opener
CHICAGO -- Ryan Braun said the Brewers just needed a win. Considering all of the things that had gone wrong during a dismal opening homestand, they also needed a break, and they got one in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday when the Cubs' Starlin Castro lifted Jim Henderson's 30th pitch pitch in the air to right-center field.
Castro represented the winning run. Sold-out Wrigley Field began to roar.View Full Game Coverage
CHICAGO -- Ryan Braun said the Brewers just needed a win. Considering all of the things that had gone wrong during a dismal opening homestand, they also needed a break, and they got one in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday when the Cubs' Starlin Castro lifted Jim Henderson's 30th pitch pitch in the air to right-center field.
Castro represented the winning run. Sold-out Wrigley Field began to roar.View Full Game Coverage
"With the wind blowing today, I wasn't sure where the flags were going at that point," said Henderson, the Brewers' new closer after John Axford was removed from the role. "It was either going to be way out, or in [right fielder Norichika Aoki's] glove."
Aoki squeezed the final out of a tense, 7-4 Brewers victory that spoiled the Cubs' home opener for 40,083 fans. The Brewers snapped a five-game losing streak by sending the rival Cubs to their fourth straight loss.
After shaking hands with teammates, Henderson forgot to look up and check those flags. Had he done so, he would have seen them blowing in from right field.
For most of the afternoon, they had been blowing out.
"It started shifting throughout the game," Braun said. "We were fortunate in the ninth that it was blowing in. [Castro] hit that ball well."
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke could have done without the nail-biting finish, considering he had just removed Axford from the closer's role in the morning and then watched his team score four runs in the first inning and extend the lead to 7-2 entering the bottom of the ninth.
The day should have been about the Brewers offense, revitalized by Braun's return from three days sidelined by a stiff neck. Braun, leadoff man Aoki and fill-in first baseman Martin Maldonado each had three hits. When Aoki finally made an out in the ninth inning, it snapped his streak of reaching safely in eight consecutive plate appearances over two games. Maldonado led the way with three RBIs, all of them on a bases-clearing double in Milwaukee's four-run first inning.
And the day should have been about right-hander Marco Estrada, who became the first Brewers starter to work past the sixth inning. He held the Cubs to two runs on five hits in seven innings, with only one walk and six strikeouts. He also contributed with the bat, delivering an RBI double in a two-run seventh inning that gave the Brewers a seemingly safe, five-run lead.
"I still remember how good Estrada pitched, and I don't want to think about any of this other stuff," Roenicke said.
But it was impossible to ignore the bottom of the ninth, which began with three successive singles against Brewers reliever Brandon Kintzler, cutting the Cubs' deficit to 7-3. Suddenly, Roenicke found himself in a save situation and called for Henderson, the team's pick to temporarily take over for Axford.
Henderson allowed one run when a Nate Schierholtz single ticked off the glove of leaping third baseman Yuniesky Betancourt. Pinch-hitter Steve Clevenger struck out, but another pinch-hitter, Scott Hairston, hit a bouncer that snuck under Maldonado's glove for an error that loaded the bases.
Henderson struck out Dave Sappelt on eight pitches to set up another eight-pitch showdown with Castro, who fouled off four two-strike pitches before hitting a fastball in the air. Earlier in the game, with the wind blowing out, Castro had hit flies in the same general direction. Both struck the wall, one for a triple and another for a double.
What if the wind hadn't shifted in the ninth?
"Probably off the wall," Roenicke said. "Some things went our way, and that was good."
"That's probably the loudest I've ever pitched out there," Henderson said.
Conditions were much different when Cubs starter Edwin Jackson threw his first pitch with a 24-mph wind howling out to right field. The order of the day was to keep the ball down, and Estrada mostly did so, aside from Welington Castillo's two-run home run in the second inning, which turned around Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez before finding the basket above the Wrigley Field ivy.
"When I went out early to check the temperature, I saw the flags blowing in and I was like, 'All right, cool. Hopefully it doesn't change,'" Estrada said. "Then when I went out to warm up, I saw them blowing straight out and I just kept telling myself to leave the pitches down, especially the changeup. As long as I don't leave balls up, should be OK."
He was OK, in part because he worked all day with a comfortable lead.
Estrada had Jackson to thank for that after the Cubs right-hander had trouble finding the strike zone in a 33-pitch, nine-batter first inning. Aoki led off with a single, the first of four Brewers hits in the inning, and Jackson did his part with three walks, including back-to-back free passes to Jonathan Lucroy, loading the bases, and Alex Gonzalez, forcing home the Brewers' first run. Lucroy earned his walk on the ninth pitch of his plate appearance, and Gonzalez took six pitches more.
Maldonado needed one pitch to break the game open. He hit Jackson's first fastball with the wind to right field, where it one-hopped the wall. All three Brewers baserunners scored.
In the second inning, Braun made it 5-0 with a long double to right-center. He played for the first time since developing a stiff neck during batting practice on Friday and went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI.
"It's just nice to win," Braun said. "We needed to win."
Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brew Beat, and follow him on Twitter at @AdamMcCalvy.


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Redesigned for 2013, the Acura RDX compact sport utility vehicle is slightly larger, with a more compliant ride, than its predecessor and has more power than ever while beating the popular Lexus RX 350 in fuel economy ratings.
The new RDX also has more front- and rear-seat legroom than a Mercedes-Benz GLK SUV and much more cargo space.
Better still, the revamped-for-2013 RDX is a recommended buy of Consumer Reports magazine, where it ranks above average in expected reliability.
Pricing is increased an average $1,013 across the four 2013 RDX models from 2012 prices, and the top RDX — with all-wheel drive and technology package — now is just over $40,000.
Specifically, starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, for a base, 2013 RDX is $35,215. This is a front-wheel drive RDX with 273-horsepower V-6 and all the standard amenities, such as leather-covered seats, heated front seats, moonroof, rearview camera, keyless access, push-button start, 360-watt audio system, Pandora Internet radio interface and SMS text messaging system. The lowest starting MSRP, including destination charge, for an all-wheel drive, 2013 RDX is $36,615.
But even with the price increase, the RDX remains one of the most affordable of smaller-sized, five-seat, luxury-branded SUVs.
As an example, the starting retail price for a 2013 Lexus RX 350 with 270-horsepower V-6 and front-wheel drive is $40,205, while an all-wheel drive, 2013 RX 350 starts at $41,605. The RX 350 is the best-selling, smaller-sized, luxury SUV in the United States. Meantime, the 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK has a starting retail price of $37,995 and comes standard with 302-horsepower V-6 and all-wheel drive.
Some fans of the first-generation RDX, which came to market in 2006 with a turbocharged four cylinder and a firmer ride that lent itself to sporty handling, might grumble over the changes for 2013.
But sales of the RDX peaked at 23,367 in 2007 and totaled just 15,196 in calendar 2011, which indicated that there's not a big market for a sporty-handling, turbo, compact SUV.
And by making the RDX more mainstream — with a smooth-performing V-6 instead of sometimes jerky turbo power and with a comfortable, refined ride that makes everything from city streets to concrete highways more tolerable — Acura is broadly expanding this SUV's appeal.
The pleasing ride was one of the first things noticed in the test RDX AWD Tech model priced at $40,315.
The new RDX suspension, along with slightly wider track and longer wheelbase, managed even potholes with ease, removed the sharpness of speed bump undulations and smoothed out the "whomps" of expansion cracks on bridges.
A three-hour drive on highways and country roads in the quiet RDX interior was fatigue-free on nicely supportive but not overly firm front seats. Driver and passenger remarked the trip could have gone on without a problem.
The suspension –MacPherson struts up front and a multilink design in back — use new dampers that will be put in other new Acuras.
These amplitude-reactive dampers are new to Acura and have a two-valve design that basically acts like two suspension systems. One is "soft" in situations such as small bumps and smooth roads and the other is firm, for big bumps and during aggressive cornering.
The driver, however, does nothing to activate these dampers, which work automatically.
Horsepower is boosted by 33 in the new RDX because of the 3.5-liter, single overhead cam V-6. This is the same engine that's in the Honda Odyssey. Honda is Acura's parent company.
Peak torque of 251 foot-pounds at 5,000 rpm from the V-6 is a bit less than the 260 foot-pounds at 4,500 rpm from last year's 2.3-liter, turbo four cylinder.
But the test 2013 RDX moved forward with spunk and merged well into traffic. Power came on smoothly through the new six-speed automatic transmission that includes paddle shifters on the steering wheel for drivers who want to experience some sporty shifts.
Sounds from the V-6 also were quieter and less frenetic than those that came from the turbo four.
Most impressively, the tester with AWD delivered nearly 24 miles per gallon in combined driving that was some 70 percent at highway speeds and 30 percent on city streets.
This is in part because of a fuel-saving, engine cylinder deactivation system that worked seamlessly in the test RDX to shut down cylinders that weren't needed at times.
Plus, the new RDX is more aerodynamic in its styling and weighs some 600 pounds less than the Lexus RX 350.
No wonder, then, that the federal government's fuel economy rating of 19/27 mpg for a 2013 RDX FWD is better than the 19/24-mpg rating for last year's four-cylinder RDX. And it's higher than the 18/25-mpg rating for the 2013 Lexus RX 350 FWD.
The tester's mileage gave a 380-mile range on a single tank, and while premium gasoline is recommended, it is not required.
Inside, the new RDX instrument gauges are a bit less sporty and more mainstream than before, which fits nicely with the new personality.
Most notable are the sizable buttons and controls on the center part of the dashboard. There's no hunting to find tiny knobs or subtly indented buttons.
The rearview camera comes standard with yellow lines that depict the width of the RDX along its projected, rearward path as the vehicle backs up.
Front and rear legroom of 42 inches and 38.3 inches is better than what's in the Mercedes GLK, especially the GLK's 35.1 inches of back-seat legroom.
The RDX bests the GLK in cargo space, too, offering 76.9 cubic feet behind with rear seats folded vs. just 54.7 cubic feet in the Mercedes.


text:
Did you
- Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London was used as a location for some exciting filming projects such as Spectre and Fast and Furious
- The building on the hotel site, also known as No 1 Westminster Bridge Road, had been disused since 1986 and had become a derelict eyesore before its demolition in 2006
is it?
200 Westminster Bridge Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 7UT
We Think You'll like
A beautifully sleek and modern hotel located along the One Blackfriars development.
Florentine Restaurant & Bar
Florentine is the new restaurant and bar in London's buzzing South Bank, just minutes from Waterloo station
at Park Plaza Waterloo
Florentine is an all-day dining restaurant and bar minutes from London South Bank's trendy Lower Marsh and Waterloo, opposite Lambeth North tube station.
Florentine serves a Brasserie-style menu and a bar featuring the best of British bubbles and craft beers as well as a range of signature cocktails, with DJ sessions throughout the evenings and weekends for a refreshing, relaxed vibe.
Florentine's menu is simple and eclectic, with a range of freshly-made dishes including flatbreads baked in our feature oven, a tantalising Ostrich egg dish to share and all-day classics from Eggs Florentine to our mouthwatering Tomahawk steak. We serve British bubbles by the bottle, such as Chapel Down and Camel Valley, craft beers by Brewdog and Portobello Brewing Co. and cocktails using our own homemade syrups and infusions.
Riverside Walkway
Take a stroll along South Bank's leafy riverside.
Take a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Thames as it winds through the capital. Soak up the South Bank atmosphere, London's home of art, culture and unique architecture. Cross the bridges for circular walks with spectacular views.
The Riverside Walkway attracts visitors from all over the world and is also a valuable resource enjoyed by all who live or work in the area. It is also used as a venue for unusual and unique events - keep your eyes peeled for exciting pop-ups.
The Green Room
A new dining destination located behind the National Theatre.
contemporary space
The Green Room is a contemporary restaurant, bar and garden developed by local social enterprise Coin Street Community Builders in collaboration with the National Theatre.
Serving delicious, ethically-sourced British diner food and roast dinners on Sundays, it's a unique temporary architectural experiment which offers an airy, contemporary space featuring props and scenery recycled from National Theatre shows.
View here for more information and to book
gallery@oxo showcases a varied programme of photography, contemporary design, architecture and issue-based exhibitions.
City Cruises
The No.1 sightseeing tour on the Thames - choose from afternoon tea, sundowner and even Elvis cruises.
Thames Clippers
Stylish river fleet, running every 20 minutes between key London piers.
Jubilee Gardens
Jubilee Gardens is a beautifully landscaped park situated in the heart of South Bank, behind the London Eye.
Gillray's Steakhouse & Bar
South Bank's premier steak restaurant and cocktail bar.
Steakhouse & Bar
If you're headed to Gillray's, bring an empty stomach and high expectations. Situated in full view of Parliament, the seat of British democratic administration, Gillray's fine food is as remarkable as its surroundings.
Everything about Gillray's is a seeming nod to British culture and heritage. Their meat is sourced from British farms. Their bar boasts not only fantastic staff but over 100 types of gin. Their service is of the highest quality in the British sense - subtle, yet polished. Even their decor is reflective of the old-world grandeur of the Houses of Parliament. During afternoon tea, a tray is neatly delivered to your table and drinks are filled (or refilled) in a smooth, near unnoticeable ballet of table service.
Their bar is open till midnight and serves a mixture of classic and contemporary cocktails, a wide selection of beers, wines, and spirits.
Kitchen National Theatre
Kitchen is National Theatre's all-day cafe.
National Theatre
Kitchen is the National Theatre's all-day café - it's the perfect pit stop for lunch with friends, tea and cake or a pre-show light bite.
The contemporary cafe serves up a range of freshly cooked meals - with a menu that changes daily, but affordable examples include tuna provencale linguine and steak and ale pie.
Alternatively choose a baked treat from the giant cake table which you can't miss in the centre of the cafe. With it's location directly opposite the river, enjoy the large outdoor eating areas in warmer months.
Sea Containers London
Seductive and striking, Sea Containers London brings a bold new energy to London's South Bank, blending the style and sophistication of the boutique brand with South Bank's artistic vibe.
National Theatre
The internationally-renowned venue presents new writing, classics, comedies and musicals.
BFI Southbank
A four-screen cinema venue showing a huge selection of classic and contemporary films.
IWM London
IWM London tells the stories of those whose lives have been shaped by war through the depth, breadth and impact of their Galleries, displays and events.
Pret A Manger
Pret A Manger, or 'ready to eat' is a hugely successful UK brand of cafes, renowned for its organic and fresh produce.
A Manger
Pret creates handmade natural food avoiding the obscure chemical, additives and preservatives common to so much of the 'prepared' and 'fast' food on the market. Pret operates a bit like a restaurant. They build kitchens in (or very near) every shop. They also offer their unsold food to charity at the end of each day rather than keeping it to sell the next day.
Pizza Express
Pizza Express Italian restaurants provide exceptional quality food such as pizza and pasta as well as live music, takeaway and table bookings, always in style.
Enviably located just off the Southbank Centre, directly opposite the Royal Festival Hall main entrance, Pizza Express is close to major attractions like the London Eye and the Aquarium. It's extremely spacious but with a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere – making the place ideal for every sort of occasion.
Ping Pong
Dim Sum, cocktails and tea with exotic flowers that bloom within the cup. Ping Pong is fresh and stylish. Outdoor seating.
Ping Pong
South Bank
The menu featuring delicious dim sum dishes is extensive and highly trained dim sum chefs and cocktail experts ensure continual taste innovation and faultless preparation.
The restaurant at Southbank Centre has two floors, featuring the floating Lotus Lounge, a buzzing cocktail bar and an outside terrace.
You can now enjoy Ping Pong's brand new rose bottomless brunch every Saturday from 12pm to 3pm latest seating. This includes 90 minutes of free-flowing beer, wine and bubbles served with a yummy dim sum menu. Sit in the Cheery Blossom Terrace or the upstairs trendy lounge, it's the perfect spot to spend your Saturday, while enjoying some house and funk music vibes.
Park Plaza County Hall's restaurant, specialising in contemporary Italian cuisine.
Park Plaza
Devour a truly authentic Italian supper in the stylish surrounding of L'Italiano, which can be found in Park Plaza County Hall.
Minutes from Westminster Bridge and South Bank, this sophisticated, family-friendly restaurant is ideal for hotel guests, after-work catch-ups and those who adore fine mediterranean cuisine.
Enjoy crisp pizzas baked to perfection in a clay oven, a delicious selection of anti-pasti or mouthwatering meat cuts from the grill.
L'Italiano has its own children's menu which offers three courses for £12.95. Children are also invited to special pizza-making classes most Saturdays at 3 pm.


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Product Details
HRA Photographic film consists of a polyethylene terephthalate base (80 weight percent), coated with one or more photographic emulsion layers that are mainly composed of gelatin (1-10 weight percent) and small amounts of light sensitive silver halide crystals (1-10 weight percent). In order to provide the desired physical and sensitometric properties, relatively small amounts of other components, such as e.g. dyes, matting particles, fillers, wetting agents, etc. can be added.
SAPHIRA HRA HNS 0558MMX60M 600BD is available for purchase in increments of 1


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Like the Bing website, there are new photos every day to serve as a background, but WP7 has one extra three squares on the photo, which give you three interesting facts about whats in the picture. The copyright sign in the bottom right also reveals the location of the photo (e.g. Waterfall on the Arroyo del Salto River).
Bing Search offers beautiful backgrounds and intriguing trivia
Its not useful per se, but its a nice Did you know...? type of feature for the curious-minded.
Much like any other Windows Phone 7, HTC HD7 has extensive voice recognition capabilities you just press and hold the Windows key and say your command. You can do things like Call Sarah at work, Open calendar and even What can I say? if youre not sure what commands you can give.
Windows Phone 7 supports voice commands
SkyDrive is Microsofts cloud storage service and they offer 25GB of free storage (individual files must be 50MB max). You can integrate it with desktop Windows Explorer and it has some integration with Windows Phone 7.
Right now, you can upload photos including auto uploading of all pictures you snap with the camera.
There are several HTC apps preloaded on the HD7 and weve already covered some of them. Now its time to look at the ones we havent covered yet.
The HTC Hub for a brief moment looks like Sense UI once that moment passes you see that the only thing borrowed from Sense is the clock with a weather forecast. A tap on the clock brings up a five day forecast. You can have multiple locations and the weather conditions are visualized in traditional Sense UI fashion.
The HTC Hub looks like Sense UI only on the outside
Its those prolonged animations that may be the Hubs undoing. Each time you start the app, each time you tap the clock theres an (admittedly attractive) animation thats several seconds long. The novelty of it will quickly wear out and theres no option to disable it.
Anyway, below the clock is a list of featured HTC apps the Get more button will take you to the HTC Apps section of the Windows Phone Marketplace.
The Converter has an easy to use, touch-optimized interface and can handle conversions in many areas.
The Connection Setup is a bit of an odd app it lets you pick country and carrier for the GSM connection. Its odd because it pretty much doubles functionality Windows Phone 7 already has in the settings menu (the country selection is new though).
The handy converter Connection Setup is useful when traveling abroad
The final preloaded app we havent covered is Stocks. It does what its name suggests you can track the stock exchange by adding companies and keeping an eye on the charts.
Stocks app will be appreciated by business types
The HTC HD7 comes with a GPS receiver built-in, which got an accurate GPS lock a little over two minutes. Cell tower and Wi-Fi positioning is available too it gets a lock almost instantly but its accurate to only 100-150 meters (good enough for location based services).
The native mapping app is Bing Maps it has two modes (regular map mode and satellite photo mode) and you can get directions and information on nearby businesses too.
Interestingly, when you zoom in down to street level, Bing maps automatically switches to satellite imagery. However, the cool Birds eye view from the desktop Bing Maps isnt available nor is Streetside view (Microsofts Street View alternative).
The new Bing Maps is very simple to use
The three softkeys available are for directions, my location and search. The extended menu has options to clear the map of any markers youve placed, toggling aerial view and accessing the settings.
Browsing the map is easy and relatively fast. Zooming is done by pinching, and for a bit of eye candy when new tiles are loaded they fade in smoothly instead of just popping up. Overall the effect is looks much smoother than on Google Maps for Mobile.
A press and hold places the marker on a specific location tap the marker and you get About (a map screenshot and the address, which you can send over a message or email) and Nearby, which shows nearby POI with a rating and basic info (like a phone and a web site).
Browsing around London with Bing Maps About Whats nearby?
You also get Directions from my location button, which will find step by step instructions to get you to your destination by either driving or walking.
Now for whats missing theres no Navigate from here option, which can be quite useful. For example, youre going to the theater, but want to check how far away the restaurant youre going to afterwards is from the theater.
You can still do that, but you cant pick it from the map you have to use the search to find that location. Another thing you cant add more than one destination when planning the route (Google Maps cant do that either though).
Unfortunately, there was no trace of voice-guided navigation either, even though Windows Mobile 6.x can do it. It would have transformed the HD7 into a 4.3 SatNav unit (which can run up a few hundred dollars).
Voice-guided navigation is another thing that 2011 is expected to bring, though it hasnt been confirmed officially.


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A complete team performance helped Bethel finish the MIAC
regular season with a 27-22 win over Saint John's on Saturday. The
Royals (8-2, 6-2 MIAC) held the Johnnies (5-5, 3-5 MIAC) to 52
yards rushing and 258 yards passing on 49 attempts, while totaling
484 yards of offense. Saturday's results gave BU a chance at a Pool
C bid in the NCAA Division III Playoffs, while also giving the
Johnnies its first losing record in conference play since 1973. In
addition, the win gives Bethel its sixth win over Saint John's in
the last seven years and helps the Royals finish the 2012 season
undefeated at Royal Stadium.
Erik Peterson (So., Orono, Minn.) was electric Saturday, finishing the game 22-of-33 for 267 yards passing, alongside 104 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Peterson and the Bethel offense drove down to the Johnnie 11-yard line on the first drive of the game, before Nathaniel Van Loon (Fr., Faribault, Minn.) kicked his second field goal of the season from 27 yards out.
The points continued on the Royals next drive when Jesse Phenow (Jr., Richfield, Minn.) plunged into the end zone from one-yard out to give Bethel a 10-3 lead late in the opening quarter. Phenow's touchdown was set up by a 28-yard pass and catch between Peterson and Brandon Marquardt (So., Champlin, Minn.) who was tackled at the SJU one-yard-line.
Saint John's tallied another 40-plus yard field goal thanks to kicker Jimmie Matson at the 11-minute mark in the second quarter, before Bethel put together another touchdown drive with 6:14 remaining in the half. An 11-play, 78-yard drive that included another Marquardt reception for 30 yards led to a Peterson rushing TD on 4th-and-1 to give the Royals a 17-6 advantage.
The Johnnies answered BU's score with a 12-play, 71-yard scoring drive that lasted 4:50. Harry Awe completed the drive with a two-yard draw, narrowing the gap to 17-13 in favor of the Royals heading into intermission.
Following the half time break, Bethel's defense came up with a critical play when senior linebacker Erik Smith (Henning, Minn.) intercepted a Connor Bruns pass at the Johnnie 37-yard line, which gave BU great field position to start the second half. The Royals executed nicely and finished with the second Jesse Phenow touchdown of the day, giving Bethel a 24-13 advantage.
Jimmie Matson kicked his third field goal of the game in the ensuing Saint John's drive, putting the Johnnies eight points back with 5:37 left in the third quarter. Royal Stadium then witnessed the game's first punt with 1:51 left in the third, when Philip Peterson (Fr., Richfield, Minn.) pinned the Johnnies inside their own 25-yard-line.
The Johnnies were forced into a 3-and-out before punting to the Royals, who then completed a 14-play, 75-yard drive with a Van Loon field goal from the Johnnie's nine-yard-line.
Trailing 16-27 with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter, Saint John's intercepted a Peterson pass at the SJU two-yard line and managed to score a touchdown on a Bethel prevent defense with 0:11 left in the game, giving way to the 27-22 final.
Bethel finished with 217 yards rushing, while throwing for 267 more. Peterson led all BU carriers with 106 yards on the ground, averaging 8.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Jesse Phenow carried the ball 24 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
Peterson connected with seven different receivers, with Mitch Hallstrom (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) leading the way with nine catches for 123 yards. Hallstrom continues to have the most catches in the MIAC with 61 receptions on the year. Brandon Marquardt also finished with four catches for 59 yards.
The Royals' defense was just as dynamic, holding the Johnnies to three field goals and a touchdown, before SJU's final touchdown with 11 second remaining. Brett Skoog (Sr., Long Lake, Minn.) finished with eight tackles, including one for loss as well as a pass breakup and quarterback hurry. Additionally, Trent Duppenthaler (So., Sherwood, Ore.) led the team with 11 tackles.
With Saturday's 27-22 victory, Bethel remains hopeful for a berth into the 2012 NCAA Division III Playoffs. There are seven teams included from Pool C in the postseason, which are all at-large teams hoping for a playoff game. The Royals will discover their fate tomorrow at 4 p.m., when the NCAA releases the 32-team field.


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For the celebrations and simple moments of life, give with joy designs cards, invitations, journals, calendars, and wall prints that will be displayed and treasured for years. We create meaningful, hand lettered messages, laced with truth and beauty, that you can send into your world with joy!
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Navigation graph remains a useful alternative to navigation mesh and may offer certain advantages depending on a game's environment. This article discusses several approaches to navigation graph generation: from an automated one based on Delaunay triangulation to a completely automatic method derived from triangulation of navigable areas and dual graph of triangulation.
The article uses general computational geometry algorithms and also algorithms inspired by image processing. An open source computer vision library OpenCV ([Bradski2008], [OCV]) may be used to implement image processing-based techniques discussed here.
We also touch on hierarchical navigation graphs that open important optimization opportunities.
Introduction: Navigation Meshes and Graphs
There is a growing number of middle-ware products handling navigation of game agents. We are not going to review or even attempt to mention any of them. While they may provide solid solutions for many typical situations, building a custom navigation system may be still the only viable option for many projects. Hence it is important to understand what techniques engineers and designers can choose from.
There are two main approaches to creating and supplying navigation (aka "routing", or "pathfinding") information for game levels. One is based on navigation meshes and the other is using the navigation graph (see general overview of the methods to represent navigation data in [Stout2000] and also [Snook2000] for navigation meshes in particular). Figure 1 below shows examples of both kinds of navigation data representing a navigable area for the same test environment.
Figure 1. Navigation Mesh and Navigation Graph with a path connecting points A and B.
Navigation Mesh
Agents in game can use a navigation mesh to find the path from location A to location B by an algorithm which we outline in very general terms. First, given the initial agent's location A, the algorithm finds what triangle Ta of the mesh contains A and what triangle Tb contains B (the destination). Then, a shortest path across the mesh can be built. This path is a list L of connected triangles from triangle Ta to triangle Tb. Usually this is done using A* (a-star) algorithm (see [Matthews2002] for an excellent introduction into A*).
Since any paths inside navigation triangles are valid, knowing the list L allows us to connect A to B with a piece-wise linear path. Hence, the calculation of L accomplishes our task, at least in its first rough approximation. Usually further manipulations of the path are desirable as this rough path looks too robotic. This issue is quite obvious from the figure above. While improving aesthetics of the path is a fascinating topic, we will not go any deeper on this.
Navigation meshes can often be naturally derived from collision geometry in an automated or completely automatic manner. It can be updated in run time as well, but this may be challenging due to the performance constraints unless we deal with only small portions of the mesh at a time.
Navigation Graph
Navigation graph approaches the problem of building navigation data from a dual perspective. Yet the techniques involved are often similar in many ways to a mesh-based approach.
Namely, the graph is based on nodes, which are not intended to cover all navigable geometry but rather provide useful markers and serve as waypoints. A set of 2D primitives (circles, quads and the like) can be used to represent nodes in a navigation graph. Any path inside a node is considered valid. Also, a path (usually - a straight line) from any point in the environment to any point inside any node is considered to be valid provided it satisfies some additional constraints. The most common constraint is that the path does not intersect collision geometry. Additionally, we may exclude high drops, too steep slopes, water surfaces, etc.
More often than not, checking against collision and other terrain properties along the path could be expensive. Such checks can be replaced by checking against much simpler representations of un-navigable geometry via blocking primitives. The blocking primitives are by far less-detailed and are often limited to boxes (oriented or axis-aligned) and cylinders. This allows for very efficient testing of ray intersection against blocking primitives. Note that the navigation mesh usually doesn't require addition of blocking primitives as all information about the navigable area is already included in the navigation mesh.
Below, Figure 2 shows an example of blocking primitives which are semi transparent red axis-aligned boxes with white outlines placed along the walls, trash cans and other obstacles. The navigation graph has yellow-green nodes connected with bright yellow edges. The area shown approximately corresponds to the lower left corner of the test environment on Figure 1. (The door is not unlocked yet so there is no connection to the indoors part of the test environment.)
Navigation graph approaches the problem of building navigation data from a dual perspective. Yet the techniques involved are often similar in many ways to a mesh-based approach.
Namely, the graph is based on nodes, which are not intended to cover all navigable geometry but rather provide useful markers and serve as waypoints. A set of 2D primitives (circles, quads and the like) can be used to represent nodes in a navigation graph. Any path inside a node is considered valid. Also, a path (usually - a straight line) from any point in the environment to any point inside any node is considered to be valid provided it satisfies some additional constraints. The most common constraint is that the path does not intersect collision geometry. Additionally, we may exclude high drops, too steep slopes, water surfaces, etc.
More often than not, checking against collision and other terrain properties along the path could be expensive. Such checks can be replaced by checking against much simpler representations of un-navigable geometry via blocking primitives. The blocking primitives are by far less-detailed and are often limited to boxes (oriented or axis-aligned) and cylinders. This allows for very efficient testing of ray intersection against blocking primitives. Note that the navigation mesh usually doesn't require addition of blocking primitives as all information about the navigable area is already included in the navigation mesh.
Below, Figure 2 shows an example of blocking primitives which are semi transparent red axis-aligned boxes with white outlines placed along the walls, trash cans and other obstacles. The navigation graph has yellow-green nodes connected with bright yellow edges. The area shown approximately corresponds to the lower left corner of the test environment on Figure 1. (The door is not unlocked yet so there is no connection to the indoors part of the test environment.)
Figure 2 Blocking Primitives and Navigation Graph (Environment model: courtesy of Inna Cherneykina.)
Given a navigation graph and a set of blocking primitives, we can construct a path using the following algorithm: From starting point A we look for the closest navigation node Na such that the line of view from A to Na is not blocked by any primitive. In a similar manner we find node Nb for destination point B. Then using a-star we find a list of nodes connecting Na to Nb. On the figure below the navigation graph from Figure 1 is shown together with blocking primitives (pale pink boxes).
Figure 3 Navigation Graph and Blocking Primitives
Navigation graphs may offer certain advantages over navigation meshes. To start with, the graph can easily incorporate navigation slots of objects placed into the environment. Say, we need an agent to approach a door and orient itself in a certain way to successfully open it. With navigation graphs the slots indicating desired position near the door can become just another node in the graph, likely with some additional attributes (orientation, and may also contain an indication of what type of animation to use for opening the door, etc.)
Second, since the navigation graph is not tied to the level geometry in the same direct way as navigation mesh, it can offer extra flexibility during level design. The nodes are usually represented as objects in the level design tools. As such they can be easier manipulated than triangles in a navigation mesh where designers should care about preserving topological properties of the mesh. By tweaking graph nodes location the designer can introduce certain subtle (and not so subtle) desirable effects influencing pathing in the environment.
Needless to say, manual generation of a navigation graph and its tweaking can be very time consuming. Another downside is that such handcrafted graphs are difficult to update if the geometry changes during the design process and they require extra care in case of run-time modifications in game.
Summarizing, we may conclude that a navigation mesh is more appropriate when navigation data is generated automatically and a navigation graph may be more preferred when level designers' input is needed or necessary. This leads to the necessity of simplifying creation and maintenance of the navigation graph when it is subject to manual modification.
Manual creation of navigation graph and its validation
There are several technical considerations to take into account while creating a navigation graph.
Optimal density of the graph
On one hand the graph has to be dense enough in the environment to provide navigable nodes accessible from each valid location. On the other hand an excessively-detailed graph is hard to build manually and may lead to longer a-star calculation times. Also it tends to result in a robotic look of agents: they tend to stick to nodes without taking obvious shortcuts.
Surprisingly a sparse graph may also lead to an increase of run-time calculations or even breaking down of the algorithm if it does not take into consideration the following situation - see Figure 4.
Figure 4 Picking nearest node on the other side of the wall
On Figure 4 the agent is placed at location A. When looking for the nearest node it would pick the one highlighted in red. Obviously it is the wrong node to start a path with. Hence a sanity check for intersection of the ray agent-selected node against blocking primitives would be needed to prevent the agent running into the wall on its way to the highlighted node. But then, if the selected node is rejected, we need to find another one which is nearby yet reachable directly. There may be an expensive calculation involved in this additional search, depending on the complexity of the environment.
Hence an off-line procedure validating the navigation graph may also check for such gaps in the graph rather than rely on run-time code to recover from lack of nodes.
Taking into account finite size of the agents
Next, edges of the navigation graph have to be placed in such a way that following along them would keep agents sufficiently far from any collision geometry. Generally, as soon as an agent reaches node N[sub]i[/sub] on its path, it can immediately turn towards the next node N[sub]i+1[/sub], see Figure 5. On this figure collision with geometry outlined by a blocking primitive may occur along the highlighted path from A to B. On the left side of this Figure some paths between N[sub]i[/sub] and N[sub]i+1[/sub] are ok but many are blocked as shown.
Figure 5 Transition between nodes:
(left) the agent may turn at distance R from the node center;
(right) a wider corridor has to be clear of obstacles.
Thus, it's not only the edges of the graph but a wider area between each of the two connected nodes has to be clear of obstacles. This area is a 2D cylinder with the bases at the nodes and sides defined by external mutual tangents. It is not always easy to satisfy this requirement when creating a navigation graph manually.
A useful technique to keep agents from coming too close to the walls is a method based on Minkowski sums and is widely adopted in robotics [deBerg2010]. The main idea behind this approach can be explained in simplified terms as follows: Suppose that an agent has a bounding sphere of radius R, which we will also call the agent's radius. Apparently we want to keep an agent away from walls at a distance of at least R. Also suppose that originally blocking primitives were created exactly aligned with the collision geometry. If we "inflate" the primitives by adding R on each side along each dimension, and shrink the navigable area correspondingly by the same amount, we may represent the agent as a point. Conveniently this will keep the agent away from the actual collision geometry during navigation. The procedure of inflating blocking primitives and shrinking navigable areas can be done automatically in the development pipeline (preferably) or in run-time. The figure below illustrates this technique. Lighter-color blocking primitives were obtained from original ones using such inflation.
Figure 6 Inflated Blocking Primitives (light red) overlaid with original
primitives (dark red) and navigation graph
To summarize this section, it is better to avoid completely manual creation of navigation graphs as it is an error-prone and time-consuming process. As an alternative we should look for completely automatic techniques or, sometimes, the combination of manual steps with automated procedures. From this perspective it was worth outlining manual steps of navigational graph creation to flesh out the main constraints.
Connecting nodes via triangulation algorithms
Out of all manual steps, placing nodes without actually connecting them by edges is the easier and faster part of the task. Luckily it is possible to automate connecting existing nodes in an environment that already contains blocking primitives. Delaunay triangulation [deBerg2010] provides one of the possible solutions.
Triangulation of a planar set of points connects them by edges in such a way that no edges intersect each other (planarity of connection graph) and no more edges can be added without breaking this condition (maximal property). Delaunay triangulation offers some additional benefits: it maximizes minimal angle of all the triangles in the triangulation. Thus it tends to produce least amount of "thin" triangles. This property by itself may not seem to be very important but it comes from the fact that Delaunay triangulation is a dual object for Voronoi diagram [deBerg2010].
A Voronoi diagram of a discrete set of N points (nodes) on a plane can be defined as subdivision of the plane into N regions (aka Dirichlet domains) by finding the nearest node for each point on a plane. If a point is on equal distance d from two or more nodes N[sub]i1[/sub],...,N[sub]ik[/sub], and no other nodes are closer than d then it belongs to the boundary of the corresponding domains.
Figure 7 Voronoi cells and Delaunay Triangulation (no blocked edges
removed) for the graph nodes
Voronoi diagrams appear naturally in tasks like optimal placement of retail stores in a neighborhood to minimize travel distance to them, or placing re-translators for wireless networks. Pretty much any modern book on computational geometry has at least a chapter or two on both Delaunay triangulation and Voronoi diagrams so we will not spend more time on the definitions or examples.
A Voronoi diagram of the navigation nodes shows which node will be picked for each starting point when searching for the first node on the path hence its obvious importance for building navigation graphs and placing nodes. As a side note, consider Voronoi cells overlaid over blocking primitives in the problematic area from Figure 4
Figure 8 Voronoi cells overlaid over blocking primitives.
Blue shaded cell extends beyond blocking primitive and creates problematic
situation shown on Figure 4.
Such overlay of Voronoi cells over blocking primitives can easily reveal too sparse placement of the nodes with respect to the blocking primitives. A formal requirement for correct placement of nodes with respect to the primitives to ensure that all nearest nodes are immediately reachable is the following: If V is Voronoi cell corresponding to a node N, and Bi are blocking primitives, i=1,..,M, and \ is set-theoretical subtraction then we need a set V' = V \ (union of all Bi) obtained by subtracting from V all of the blocking primitives to be convex and the node N must belong to it.
There are a number of algorithms for building Delaunay triangulation and corresponding Voronoi subdivisions. For practical purposes we can use available implementations like the one coming with the OpenCV library [Bradski2008], [OCV]. Alternatively we can adopt implementations described in text books like [ORourke2000]. While sub-optimal in terms of complexity, these implementations provide sufficient performance for most practical purposes when the number of nodes is not too high. Using hierarchical graphs when possible will make Delaunay triangulation task tractable even for quite big environments.
After Delaunay triangulation is built, the edges of the graph intersecting blocking primitives are removed. Removal of edges intersecting blocking primitives may uncover nodes placed problematically from the point of view of finding the nearest initial node in the graph. Connection between nodes C and D is conspicuously missing from the graph suggesting that Voronoi cells for these nodes may not have enough coverage to include all points like A on Figure 4. There are few more similarly missing edges of the graph and sure enough all of them indicate problems with nodes layout.
Figure 9 Navigation graphs obtained from Delaunay triangulation by
removing edges blocked by primitives. "Missing" edges on the left (like
between nodes C and D) indicate problematic placement of nodes fixed on
the right version of the graph.
It is worth mentioning that hierarchical approach to graph construction and to the search of the nearest node alleviates the problem of picking the wrong initial node based on proximity alone. We will elaborate on this it in the section on hierarchical navigation graphs.
Sometimes it is necessary to include particular edges into the final triangulation. This variation of the Delaunay triangulation problem is called constrained and is considerably more difficult [Seidel1988]. However, for navigation purposes, we may have enough freedom to just add new edges after the initial navigation graph is built.
Navigable areas from collision geometry
It is useful to extract navigable areas from collision geometry as a polygonal mesh regardless of what is the target representation: navigation graph or navigation mesh. Navigation mesh can be directly created from this data but the navigation graph would require several additional steps that we will discuss later.
To create such polygonal representation we may consider rendering collision geometry into a sufficiently high resolution bitmap. It can be achieved by running rendering in the modeling application used as a level design tool or procedurally, directly from the scene data.
In most of the simpler cases the level geometry can be projected onto a plane without overlaps (e.g. a single floor of a building, or an outdoor terrain without caves or overhangs). The entire horizontal collision geometry can be rendered onto a horizontal plane using orthographic projection in one color (say, blue) and the vertical collision elements (walls and obstacles) can be rasterized as 1-pixel wide lines of different color (say, red), so that we can tell obstacles from navigable parts.
Since there are so many variations on the tools and modeling applications used in game development, we will skip discussion of the rendering step. We will assume that we already have a reasonably detailed map of flat pieces of collision geometry. It is also necessary to obtain a coordinate transformation allowing conversion of pixel coordinates into in-game coordinates (say, (x,y) scene coordinates).
Next after rendering, a flood fill algorithm in 2D raster image can be applied. Different variations of flood fill algorithms may work for this purpose. In OpenCV a result similar to flood fill may be achieved via (adaptive) threshold operation. (Look up cvThershold and cvAdaptiveThreshold: the first one will almost surely cover all your needs). We don't go into details because of highly diverse source of the bitmaps due to the diversity of modeling tools and methods but the idea behind converting the rendered image into binary image of navigable areas is mostly self-evident and technically not too difficult.
As an aside note, we may use the rendered source image to inflate one-pixel width blocking lines by half width of the max dimension of the agent radius. This can be done using OpenCV dilate operation. On the other hand, we can delay this until later steps when we obtain polygonal representation of the navigable area.
Polygonization of a binary image can be handled via contour detection. Here we outline the algorithm using Python (OpenCV now conveniently ships with pre-built Python binding).
- Create binary image of the navigable area (namely, 8bit single channel black and white image) by rendering environment with appropriate settings. We start below with ready image on Figure 10.
- Run contours extraction. This requires steps:
[bquote][font=Courier New][color=#000080]image = cv.LoadImage(navigableArea)
storage = cv.CreateMemStorage(0)
contours = cv.FindContours(image, storage,
[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]cv.CV_RETR_CCOMP, cv.CV_CHAIN_APPROX_SIMPLE)
contours = cv.ApproxPoly(contours, storage, cv.CV_POLY_APPROX_DP, 3, 1)[/color][/font][/bquote]
A call to ApproxPoly simplifies found contours by converting them to polygons, which is exactly our goal. After this call we will have polygonal contours as list of vertices as (x,y) pairs of the first top level contour.
Accessing siblings and nested contours via contours.v_next() and contours.h_next() would allow us to iterate through all the found contours. Another useful function is DrawContours. It provides an easy visualization of contours. Below on the Figure 10 we used custom visualization to show vertices.
Figure 10 Extracting contours from binary image. The contours hierarchy
has single contour on the top level and total depth =1 because of single
inner contour (rotated rectangle).
We have several options on how to proceed next with building polygonal mesh from the contours. Ideally we want to obtain triangular mesh, and this is a well known problem of polygon triangulation [dBerg2010], [Orourke2000]. Our situation is a bit more complex as our polygons may have holes. Also one of our objectives is to have triangulation similar to Delaunay triangulation (no excessively skinny triangles). Yet using constrained Delaunay triangulation may be an algorithmic overkill. Though not optimal in terms of performance (complexity is at least that one of Delaunay triangulation), we may consider the following step:
- Run Delaunay triangulation on the vertices of extracted contours. Tessellate Delaunay mesh using contours to include edges and corresponding triangles from the extracted contours (Figure 11).
Tessellation must ensure that the resulting mesh is flat and triangular. The easiest way to achieve this is to intersect all contour edges with Delaunay tessellation vertices to check if there are non-trivial intersections indicating that the current mesh is not flat.
Figure 11 Delaunay mesh with added contours on the left is not flat: points
A and B mark intersecting edges. Adding vertices at the locations A and B
and repeating triangulation flattens the mesh (right).
Finally, we complete procedure with the step:
- Eliminate edges and faces that are not covering navigable terrain (Figure 11 right). The result is shown on the Figure below.
Figure 12 Triangulation of navigable area. This mesh may be optionally
optimized or tessellated further.
Concluding our discussion of extraction of the navigable area as a polygonal mesh, we should mention that OpenCV algorithms work particularly well with computer generated images such as those obtained from level design tools. This makes them a robust element of the game pipeline.
As a side note, to compare this "sterile" setup with real world applications of OpenCV check out an article [Botana2010]. It provides an excellent coverage of contours detection and their handling. It is related to real-world images for augmented reality games. Working with images acquired with a camera is much more challenging.
Automatic placement of nodes for navigable areas
So far we completed triangulation of navigable area. Such triangular mesh can be easily converted into navigation mesh by augmenting it with explicit connectivity information if necessary. We could be done at this point if we decide to go with navigation mesh, but we can also use triangulation for building a navigation graph.
"Art gallery" navigation graph
Given some triangulation of the navigable area we can follow a minimalist approach and use the results of the art gallery theorem [deBerg2010], [ORourke200]. It asks for placing minimal number of guards in a polygonal shaped gallery so that all of the walls are seen by a guard. The additional twist here is that we may have holes in our polygonal representation so generally we are not dealing with simple polygons as in the basic art gallery theorem.
The requirement of visibility posed by the art gallery theorem is exactly the one we want to satisfy for nodes on the first step of path finding (find nearest visible). If the nodes of the graph contain all of the guard locations then we have a graph which allows getting to a node from any navigable location. Note that the guards are not required to see each other so we may need to place additional nodes to complete the graph.
The main step in proving of the art gallery theorem is to triangulate the polygon. Triangulation from inflated blocking primitives was completed in the previous section so we will use it to place the nodes corresponding to the guards. The vertices of the triangulation are valid node positions by construction.
We can choose the first vertex arbitrarily or pick one of the highest order to cover maximum number of triangles. Next node can be placed by finding first triangle that is not entirely visible from any of the existing nodes.
Next we need to check for visibility of nodes from each other and use mesh connectivity to place intermediate nodes to ensure that the graph is correctly connected. Below is an example of such graph.
Figure 13 Graph based on Art Gallery Theorem
Despite being very small and yet valid representation of the navigable area, such a graph is not very useful as is. One of the main reasons is lots of backtracking that will occur during navigation with such graph i.e. agents would be often moving towards a node that is not in the intuitively correct direction of the goal. We discuss this issue in more details in the next section.
Dual graph approach
Dual graph of a triangular mesh [deBerg2010] can be another candidate for the navigation graph. It is built by associating a node with each triangle and then connecting nodes corresponding to the adjacent triangles. Geometrically, the nodes are usually placed at some internal point of the triangle, say, at its center of mass. Obviously, in such dual graph at least one of its nodes is "visible" from any point of the navigable area. However such graph may have problems as shown on the next Figure.
Figure 14 Dual graph of triangulation. Red highlights show possible
intersection of edges with blocking primitives.
The problem we encountered on the Figure above results from possible intersection of the edges of dual graph with blocking primitives. This can be relatively easy to detect and correct by connecting two triangles via an additional one of their common vertices. Also we can use inflated by the agent radius primitives to ensure that the edges of the dual graph are sufficiently far from the collision geometry.
Additionally we can also include vertices and edges of the triangulation into the navigation graph. The result of adding edges connecting dual graph vertices with triangulation vertices and edges of the triangulation is shown below.
Figure 15 Extension of dual graph to corresponding navigation graph.
We can improve two aspects of the graph on Figure 15. Namely, both location and radius of nodes of dual graph can be picked more advantageously. Placing dual graph node at the incenter of the triangle (center of inscribed circle) and setting its radius to the radius of inscribed circle will give a better version of the graph (see Figure 16).
Note that overlapping nodes are not presenting a problem as any path inside a node radius is a valid path. Larger radius of the dual graph nodes would allow the agent to switch to the next node when following a path that includes dual graph node. Presence of the nodes corresponding to the vertices of the triangulated navigable area ensures that there will be no shortcuts across blocked areas due to too large dual nodes.
Figure 16 Placement of dual graph vertices at the incenter of triangle.
Radius of dual nodes set to the radius of the inscribed circle.
The graph shown on the Figure 16 may still present challenges in run-time: consider an agent starting path near the left-most bottom node of the graph and going into any other room. It would find the nearest node (left bottom node) and initially move towards it, and only after reaching it within the radius of the node the agent would turn to follow the path. This will present an obviously undesirable backtracking.
There are few approaches to this problem. One is to remove such redundant nodes (as obviously the graph will serve its purpose without corner nodes). But that will only make the problem slightly less obvious as there will be similar arrangements of nearest node and initial position leading to backtracking.
Another possible solution can be implemented in run time. After the path is calculated, we can check if the agent can start the path from Nth > 1 node by skipping the first few nodes. This will make pathfinding somewhat more expensive as we would need to run ray intersection tests against blocking primitives to ensure that shortcut is acceptable. On the other hand we would still need to do some path "beautification" to make it less robotic so this additional check may be not so expensive in comparison to other calculations we would need to perform.
In concluding this section we can tell that there are more ways to improve the graph on Figure 16, e.g. by reducing number of edges (redundant edges may result in slower run time performance of A*), better placement of nodes, etc. However the graph as we built it will perform reasonably well. Also it could be easily modified by level designers manually, if necessary, to meet their specific needs not covered by automatic graph generation.
Hierarchical graphs
Hierarchical navigation graphs come in handy when dealing with large environments with relatively loosely connected regions. In indoors environment, such connection is usually done via portals. Building "super-graph" with nodes corresponding to regions and edges to portals may greatly reduce load on A* when navigating between distant regions of the environment.
Indeed, first we can identify the super-node corresponding to the region where the agent is located and the super-node for the destination region. An A* run on super graph can return either "no path" if the regions are not connected, or a navigable path in super graph. This path consists of a list of regions the agent needs to visit in order to reach its destination. Navigation within each region is handled by a-star on regular graph.
Such optimization can be extremely helpful in particular in the cases when no path exists. Super-graph is much smaller and the absence of the path, if it happened to be the case, is learned at a much lower cost than exhaustive search on the regular navigation graph. This observation may seem not so important at the first glance but in practice most spikes in the navigation performance are usually coming from A* failing to find the path on a large graph.
Similar optimization is possible when we deal with open terrain and the regions are not so loosely connected. Still super graph would correctly reflect connectivity information on larger scale thus we can avoid expensive searches with negative outcome.
Figure 17 First super-level of navigation graph (left) of the graph on the
Super nodes of the next level of the hierarchy of the navigation graph don't have to be placed at specific locations. But they are in logical correspondence to the regions they represent. The portal nodes (smaller blue nodes) also have to be in one-to-one correspondence of the portal nodes of the base navigation graph. Note that regions on the right are connected with single edge. This simplifies structure of the super-graph. Super graph still has to provide functionality to estimate distances to allow A* heuristics work efficiently.
Partitioning of the level into regions corresponding to the nodes of super graph has additional benefits. One of them is that we can worry less about situations like on Figure 4 when the nearest node is picked across blocked terrain. If the search for nearest node is limited to the current region then such situations will happen much less often and the search itself will speed up.
Apparently two-level hierarchy can be generalized to more levels but this is rarely justified in practice.
It is possible to come up with an automatic procedure to build a super graph from the original navigation graph but it is also often done manually. Hierarchical graphs are natural notion for graph-based navigation and reuse most of the code of the underlying a-star-based framework. Thus adding and supporting super graph can be quite easy and straightforward while performance advantages can be really dramatic. This may be a strong argument in favor of choosing graph-based approach for many types of environments.
In this article we focused on navigation graphs as a still-frequent solution to represent navigation data for games. The discussion covered several topics related to creation of navigation graphs for game environments based on different representation of navigable geometry in the game. Each stage of navigation graph creation contains a number of problems with deep roots in computational geometry. As we showed, insights from image processing can also benefit navigation graph creation.
While presented material is not sufficient to build a complete system, by far, it exposes some of the interesting aspects of the process and provides pointers to further research to those who are not relying on middle-ware for their routing needs.
Some of the approaches discussed here were applied to one of the projects the author worked in the past. Those approaches proved to be practical enough, not just of academic interest. Also the belief is that there are many more interesting topics in the area of navigation graph generation that can benefit game developers who are adventurous enough to go after custom solutions for their navigation needs.
[Botana2010] C?sar Botana "Electric Eye: Pattern Recognition in Augmented Reality", Game Developer Magazine, December 2010, pp.22-25
[Bradski2008] Garry Bradski, Adrian Kaehler "Learning OpenCV: Computer Vision with the OpenCV library" O'Reilly 2008, 555 pages
[deBerg2010] Mark de Berg et al, Computational Geometry: Algorithms and Applications, 3d edition, Springer, 2010, 386 pages.
[Matthews2002] James Matthews "Basic A* Pathfinding Made Simple" AI Game Programming Wisdom, Charles River Media 2002, pp. 105-103
[Snook2000] Greg Snook "Simplified 3D Movement and Pathfinding Using Navigation Meshes" in Game Programming Gems, Charles River Media, editor Mark DeLoura, 2000, pp. 288-304
[Stout2000] Bryan Stout "The Basics of A* for Path Planning" in Game Programming Gems, Charles River Media, editor Mark DeLoura, 2000, pp. 254-263
[OCV] OpenCV, an open source computer vision library available from SourceForge http://sourceforge.n...opencv-win/2.2/
[Orourke2000] J. O'Rourke "Computational Geometry in C" Cambridge University Press; 2000, 390 pages
[Seidel1988] R. Seidel. "Constrained Delaunay Triangulations and Voronoi Diagrams with Obstacles." Technical Report 260, Inst. for Information Processing, Graz, Austria, 1988
- Eliminate edges and faces that are not covering navigable terrain (Figure 11 right). The result is shown on the Figure below.


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Detectors for modular spectroscopy
Our modular spectroscopy systems are individual configurations. The range of spectrographs is complemented by detector technology for wavelength regions from the UV to the near-IR. We offer low-noise slow scanning CCD detectors for standard spectroscopy applications and high-performance CCD detectors for faster acquisitions. The EMCCD sensors are dedicated for measurements limited by read noise. The InGaAs photo diode arrays are ideal for wavelengths over 1000 nm.
For ultra-sensitive spectroscopy applications, Andor Technology offers the EMCCD cameras Newton 970 (1600 x 200 x 16 µm pixels) and the Newton 971 (1600 x 400 x 16 µm pixels) with USB 2 interface. The EMCCD sensor of the Newton detectors is placed in a sealed vacuum chamber so that temperatures down to -100 °C are achieved with thermo-electrical cooling.
The Newton series of CCD detectors is designed with the lowest noise and highest quantum efficiencies to provide highly sensitive and high dynamic range detectors for use in a wide range of spectroscopic applications.
In addition, the MHz AD converter provides very fast spectral acquisition. Multi-track and high speed spectroscopy are possible by special sensor read out modes.
Andor Technology offers InGaAs detectors based on the iDus spectroscopy platform. The user can choose between 512 and 1024 pixels of a photo diode array (PDA). Ideally suited for NIR spectroscopy, the InGaAs iDus covers a range of wavelengths from 500 nm to 1700 nm, or from 1000 nm to 2200 nm, respectively. The InGaAs detectors can be used stand-alone as a NIR line camera, or attached to a spectrograph or a monochromator.
The iDus and iVac CCD detectors are designed with the lowest noise and highest quantum efficiencies to provide very sensitive and high dynamic range detectors for use in a wide range of both conventional and demanding spectroscopic applications. While die iDus CCD detectors can be cooled to -100°C, the iVac CCD models achieve very fast spectral rates. The iDus and iVac series offer a variety of different sensor formats in order to optimize the detector for your specific application.


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Special Reports
Mayor in Utah defends police handling of Susan Powell case
A Utah mayor is defending his police department's handling of the Susan Powell case, insisting it did everything it could to resolve it.
After Friday's release of court documents linking Josh Powell to the 2009 disappearance of his wife, her family and prosecutors in Pierce County questioned why he wasn't arrested for her murder before he killed himself and their two young children two months ago.
West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder told the Deseret News (http://bit.ly/H5aPZq) that it's easy to go back and second guess police decisions, especially after the Feb. 5 death of the two boys in a gas-fueled house inferno in Washington.
"It is easy to Monday morning quarterback these things. It is easy for those of us who watch TV to say, 'Hey, there is plenty of evidence,'" Winder said. "It is a different matter if you are in the legal community to have enough evidence to go in for an arrest."
West Valley City police have repeatedly said they are treating the case as a missing-person matter. They still don't have a body, and no firm answers on where — and if — a murder took place.
Susan Powell's father, Chuck Cox, said he pleaded with police to arrest his son-in-law, and his two grandsons would be safe had investigators acted.
"I did everything within my power to ask them, would they please arrest him if they have enough, if they think they're even close, would they go ahead and do it. And they assured me they were doing the best they could at the time," Cox told the Deseret News.
Attorney Anne Bremner, who represents Chuck and Judy Cox, said she was shocked police didn't make an arrest given the information they had.
Among a heap of evidence, West Valley City police found Susan Powell's blood in the family home, a hand-written letter in which she wrote that she did not trust her husband and a young son who said that mom was dead.
"There was compelling evidence he killed her," said Bremner, a former prosecutor in the King County Attorney's Office. "I prosecuted cases on far less than that and won them. There was enough evidence to arrest Josh, and if he had been arrested, the boys would be alive."
But Winder pointed out that Washington state authorities were ultimately responsible for the safety of the two boys.
"They had that information, they had that knowledge that was revealed (Friday)," he said.
Winder said he's aware of the emotion involved in the Powell case, and the public is rightfully disturbed.
"We all just ache and grieve with the Cox family as we have watched what has unfolded," he said. "But I will tell you this: No one cared more about this case than (Police Chief) Buzz Nielsen and his officers.
"They put in many hours, and blood, sweat and tears. The last thing they were going to do is make a premature arrest and let someone slip through the fingers of justice," the mayor added.
Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com


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Almost every birder who has birded within in the range of Megaceryle alcyon, better known as the Belted Kingfisher, knows the drill. The first moment you are aware of a nearby kingfisher is when you hear its rattling call as it takes off away from you. If you try to get closer looks it just flies again. Eventually, if you persist, it will find a way to get around you and back to its original perch and you find yourself on the banks of a creek or the edge of a lake, having wandered hundreds of meters out of your way, and, if you're lucky, you might have some long range, lousy pictures to show for it.
You can imagine my utter amazement at my most recent encounter with a Belted Kingfisher. Not only did I notice her* perched near me before she called, but she noticed me noticing her and DID NOT FLUSH as I worked my way around to get the sun behind me, set my tripod down, got my camera attached to my scope, and started taking pictures.
Not only that, but when she switched perches, which I am convinced had nothing to do with my presence, she let me switch my perch – so to speak – as well and digiscope some more!
Why? Why would a Belted Kingfisher behave in a way that is so out of character? For one, she was at Van Saun Park, which is not that big a place, and is a park that is pretty well visited by people who aren't paying much attention to birds, so she may have become acclimated to people passing without molesting her. Also, after a cold night the night before, there was not a lot of open water suitable for a kingfisher to fish in, so she may been loathe to leave her prime foraging habitat. She did seem healthy and I later watched her take a fish further downstream, so it seems that she was getting enough to eat.
Whatever the reason was, I certainly enjoyed the chance to get some decent shots of a Belted Kingfisher, finally!
*You can tell a Belted Kingfisher is a female by the orange-ish band across the chest. Males have only the blue.
If you liked this post and want to see more great images of birds make sure to check out 10,000 Clicks, our big (and growing) page of galleries here at 10,000 Birds.
Holy moly!
Nice ones!
She def. wanted some Portraits taken by you to find some partner for coming spring 😉
Awesome! You nailed the common dilemma and fate was on your side that day!
Really nice shots. What size lens were you shooting and how close were you?
Nice shots! Glad to see that you finally ran into a friendly, obliging Belted Kingfisher.
Lovely, didnt know the existence of a belted KF. only recently did I see a black-capped one.
Sweet photos Corey! I know "the drill" all too well.
WOW!! We always end up with a branch across our kingfisher pictures! This must be the start of Chinese New Year luck for you! 🙂
I'll call all your pics and posts lousy so long as you lead in our little competition here. Hope you don't mind.
Lousy pics, lousy post!
Thanks for the great pics and the info on the rust colored breast for the female. Guess I have mostly seen males, and NEVER with a camera in hand. Marvelous!
a good look at kingfisher?
Near NYC one surviving bird here heard occasionally is the kingfisher and he flies over the unfrozen water and along the stream. A charmer for sure and welcomed mightily.
Just a week or so ago I saw a small hawk which is so common, but then I heard the kingfisher and became alarmed. This was in an open area and flying low over the stream he landed across the narrow stream bed on a solitary tree, quite visisible. Since I ALWAYS loved the kingfishers I actually backtracked to the other side as I feared for the life of this tiny bird.
I could not find the hawk but I know it landed near, I reluctantly left but used my cell phone to take a pic, I hope the fisher made it.
Oh she is gorgeous!
I love belties 😀
GREAT shots! I, too, have been trying for quite awhile to get some decent shots of a Belted Kingfisher. You perfectly described my "adventures" on many, many quests! Your success is fantastic and you got some beautiful pictures – kudos!
© 2013 10,000 Birds. All words, images, and opinions are the property of their respective authors unless stated otherwise.


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WILKES-BARRE - The Department of Environmental Protection invites code enforcement officials, builders, contractors and designers to a Thursday, Feb. 21, training workshop in Bethlehem, Northampton County on the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
The workshop will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sands Casino Resort at 77 Sands Boulevard. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and breakfast and lunch will be provided as part of the $40 registration fee.
The IECC is updated every three years by the International Code Council. In Pennsylvania, it is considered part of the Uniform Construction Code (UCC), according to Act 49.
The workshop will focus on energy code compliance for commercial building. Participants will learn about the commercial provisions and basic requirements of the IECC, data input into COMcheck software, and proper review of COMcheck compliance certificates. The Pennsylvania Housing Research Center is leading the course.
Attendees will receive six UCC continuing education hours for completing the training.
Funding for the workshop is provided by the state through a U.S. Department of Energy State Energy Program grant.
For more information or to register, visit www.dep.state.pa.us or www.paconstructioncodesacademy.org, or call 717-763-0930.


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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer set the tech world on fire this morning when he said sales of the Surface tablet were "modest."
The Surface tablet is Microsoft's bold attempt to go toe-toe with the iPad. Microsoft is making the PC software and the hardware for pretty much the first time in its history.
Ballmer admitting that Surface sales were "modest" was something of a surprise, because, well, it doesn't sound all that good.
Microsoft is now trying to clarify what Ballmer was trying to say. Here's a statement it gave PocketNow:
"When asked about Surface, Steve's use of the term 'modest' was in relation to the company's approach in ramping up supply and distribution of Surface with Windows RT, which has only been available via our online store and certain Microsoft retail stores in the U.S. While our approach has been modest, Steve notes the reception to the device has been fantastic' which is why he also stated that 'soon, it will be available in more countries and in more stores.'"
Got that? Yes, Surface sales are modest, but that's because Microsoft only has a "modest" distribution plan for the Surface. It's only selling the Surface online and in Microsoft's limited number of retail stores.
If your looking for actual details on Surface sales, we suggest making a friend inside Microsoft. The impression we've gotten from talking to PR is that Microsoft won't be releasing real numbers anytime soon.