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The Big Picture: Correctitude
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The only thing I want to say is that while I do agree with a good portion of this I also would like to point out that there are people abusing the politically correct shield on the opposite side as well, flinging the concept at anyone who lays claim to an opinion in direct opposition to their own. Yes, generally speaking, people bring out the term to defend uninformed statements concerning so-called "hot button" issues, but please do not discount the people who claim their opinion is fact and then labeling any counter-argument as politically incorrect so as to discount their opponents, with varying degrees of accuracy. A perfect example is RE4 and 5. There were those individuals that were claiming the very valid arguments that Bob brought up this week, but let us not forget the people who used it as an opportunity to make themselves appear as the victims of some strange white superiority conspiracy using video games to teach children that African and Spanish people are dangerous. After having three games (not counting the multitudes of spin-offs) set in white American suburbia I think we can safely assume Capcom is not supporting racism, they're just not terribly good at their portrayals of other cultures, but then seeing as Disney recently made a princess movie to provide an African-descent heroine and decided to make a southern Louisiana woman fend off a VooDoo priest, let's go ahead and say that large companies may have this problem on epidemic proportions.
Now, I'm a bit bothered by this Bob, because my complaints against the PC movement aren't anywhere addressed in this. The obnoxious minority (or so you claim them to be) who do shit like censure Huck Finn I argue against regularly and it's some small reassurance that you find their position indefensible, but my primary problem with the PC movement is that the majority of what they do is fucking pointless. It's founded on this bizarre and completely flawed notion that you can change what people mean just by changing the words people use. This is bullshit.
Well you have a right to your opinion but stating that all religions are harmful on the whole is quite a claim. I would be willing to concede that all religions can be harmful when misused for political or other purposes but I would not claim they had no positive value as your broad statement implies. Another thing to recall is that someones religion or lack of one is a personal choice. I don't really see why everyone has to make the same one.
Thank you! Totally agree, and I'm and glad you adressed this.
I still think the term can be used in a non-annoying way, such as describing different kinds of humour.
My favorite kind of people in the media right now are the very few that raises questions that are interesting and thought-provoking and are politically incorrect and does it without trying to protect themselves with the "you're just PC" shield.
I really liked this week's episode. Not because I agreed with everything, but just because Bob took time to express his viewpoints on a subject that's a guaranteed button-pusher for a lot of people. That takes courage and a resounding belief in your stance, which is something not seen often in public speakers.
That said, it did get a little militant in certain parts, and expressing your own viewpoint as cold hard fact is usually not the most enlightened view to take. In subjects where perspective and opinion play large roles in deciding what views are valid and which are not, there aren't many actual facts to state.
Case in point: Resident Evil 5. How do you place a game in those parts of Africa without causing controversy? Answer: You don't. Capcom did it anyway, and in that I applaud them. Backing away from controversy isn't a mature answer, either. Did they go too far by taking certain stereotypes and highlighting them? Answer: That's up to each and every viewer. Personally, I think they did. But if you don't, your answer is no less valid than mine.
That's my take, anyway. Some people won't like it, and that's completely their right.
I remember hearing it both ways. The bigger and more publicized angle was certainly the "white guy killing all the black people" side but there was definitely talk about the things Bob mentioned. I know G4 specifically mentioned this on several occasions.
I kind of see it more as recognizing great talent over a minor detail. Sure they're supposed to be Norse gods and I can see that point of view as well but, if someone who does not meet the ethnicity but in inarguably better for the plot in the minds of the casting people then that's just rewarding talent.
...and George Carlin just happens to be my patron saint. (Probably the patron saint of several people here too.)
I definitely agree with you, Bob. I think we need to show those who are trying to be Politically Correct, Politically Incorrect, or what have you just what they ARE trying to do and why we don't buy it.
You don't have the right to not be offended.
Also I'm still upset they made Nick Fury Black. Not because I'm rascist but because in every subsequent adaption of Nick Fury he will now be black. I just feel that it is disingenuous to the past Nick Fury and when a new generation of comic book readers that came out of watching the cartoons look on old nick fury they will go: "WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY?"
Just take a look at what happened with people who only watched the Justice League cartoon watched the new Green Lantern trailer. All i heard from them is "why isn't he black?"
Although they could have been trolls.
Well, that is a topic for another time.
little perplexed why you dug a picture of william f buckley who was by all accounts the most reasonable challenging political thinker of this century and was widely reguarded by his friends and enemies as a great guy and greater debater. what was the relevance of showing him with the agrro non pc hate wing?
seems this article was as much a rant about the hyper right, in some cases sure. but most cases stabbing the right via the pc leftists that attack everything they say and take stuff out of context even "jokes" used sarcastically or to make a point and omg the left goes nuts.
Words mean little and they mean less and less in an age where people can speak anyway they want in a public setting and do whatever they want out of the public light. you can find many instances on the right of people talking good moral values and etc and demonstrating anything but good moral values. you can go up on the left and find many instances of people talking about standing up for the underdog or common man or women and doing anything but that in their dealings and personal lives.
try to be a bit more even handed bob half the people you seem to be attacking ate not hate mongers they are sensationalist talk show hosts that are after the same thing you are ratings. and have a certain demographic that responds to certain themes.
and its not like the other side of the isle of isale is equally or more hateful, like that ever so nice incident when tony snow got cancer bloggers on huffington post rejoyced and hoped he would die soon and very painfully. you can dig up the most heinous hateful speech that is said in a serious tone and not taken out of context, then you got a more solid foundation to bash people on.
Eeeeeh. First time I find myself disagreeing with Bob here. I mean, yes, everything he said in this video is true, sometimes. But I really think political correctness shouldn't exist. It's true that words mean things. But, language is in a constant state of flux, and the meaning of any word is, to a degree, subjective.
Ok, you are correct only 50 percent Bob. Sorry but PC has done damage, and not in making people use culturally sensitive remarks.
I'm going to go ahead and just use the easiest and most important recent destruction political correctness has wrought on out civilization. And that is the publishing of a version of Huckleberry Fin with the removal of the "N" word, and replacing it with the word "slave".
Simply put, they have annihilated the language in what is one of the greatest pieces of ANTI RACIST literature ever created. I will give the brief of what is wrong with this. Huckleberry Fin refers to his FRIEND who he is trying to help escape from the evil clutches of slavery as "N" word Jim, but its just a word. Huck is ignorant to the cultural implications of the word he uses to describe his friend, and changing said word to something "less offensive" dismantles the important meaning of the story.
This version of the book is being created for schools, because it's too hard to explain the use of such strong language in such a context? Are our children that stupid? Or are we just that weak?
Every time a racial slur is bleeped out on TV, the person who made the remark is essentially hiding behind what he just said without facing the true context of his statement. Is the softened term they use negate the point? or does it simple let people continue to be racist with more subtle language that people might find less offensive, without realizing the cruel message has remained intact?
Words do have meaning, and it is extremely important that each word is contained and understood in it's complete cultural context. And sure bigots will use "PC" as a weapon to protect what they are saying. But at the same time a term needs to exist when people censor, smear, and fraud history, literature, and what is actually being said in the name of their personal agenda.
Okay that's incredibly offensive, slavery and race aren't inherently connected, hell African tribes supplied slaves to Europeans, Europeans were slaves, etc. Slavery is an evil institution going back the majority of human history, not just something that happen to America. Of course going by revisionist "Hollywood" history you'd never know that, it was all something cooked up by "evil white men to make a buck".
As for hard drives, it is a master/slave relationship, shepherd/sheep doesn't even come close to describing it accurately.
The very fact they wasted time and money on this crap offends me, there are better things to spend both on then some obscure (really how many non tech people even know that it is used?) terminology.
Carlos mencia and jeff dunham are not politically incorrect but they are funny.
God damn, Bob. You aren't automatically right about everything you know. I used to dislike bigotry too, but later I realized that just assuming their wrong is intellectually shameful.
Ok so for some perspective my general stance on most issues is that nether side is ever fully correct or conversely fully wrong. As a guy with a lot of time and an obsessively overactive imagination I tend to read a lot into things. So I am usually able to see both good and bad points in most arguments on both sides. Because from a practical stand point ANY defence people put up for their opinion could be considered a flimsy shield to protect their ego.
In that context I was a little baffled about where you were going with this one Bob. The list of people and arguments at the end definitely made things clear however. I can see your drawing a distinction between a thoughtful defense and a reflexive one with no effort behind it. Ok I can agree with that. 2 thumbs up.
I will admit that the first time I saw Jeff Dunham I ROFLMFAO'd and then felt immediately horrible about it. It's the kind of feeling you get when you see old WW2 propaganda posters of a very stereotypical Japanese guy in a straw hat getting punched with large captions reading "Gab a Jap" or something like that. It's funny for about 2 seconds cause pain inflicted on others is funny out of context of the real world, the three stooges taught us that. Then you realize just how mean and ugly the context of the poster is and feel bad. Then you think about it more and say to your buddies "I can't belive how racist people were back in the day. I'll never do that". Then several years later you find yourself laughing at Jeff Dunham and get a sick knott in yer stomic.
Again I need to give context. For me emotions are the genesis of thought. what do I mean by that? Well to put effort into thinking about something I first need to care. Ulness I'm emotionally invested in a topic I really only give a cursory glance. So with that in mind I hope you don't take offence at the next comment Bob cause it's ment to be a compliment.
I consider you to be the Rush Limba of the interwebs. Why? Cause you say things in a way that gets people emotionally involved in what your talking about. And then you follow it up with a genuinely solid argument and an honest opinion without trying to manipulate our emotions. This is something that makes a difference between a speaker that can hold the peoples attention and one that can't in my opinion. It's nice to hear someone in media who is left of center that can get me thinking about things. Again 2 thumbs up Bob.
p.s. I think I will get flamed for comparing MovieBob to Rush Limba but I don't really feel like defending this point as it's just my opinion and I may be wrong about it. I don't say that too often. I also realize that Rush Limba is sometimes a loudmouthed gas bag who does try to manipulate peoples feelings so the comparison is not entirely accurate. He is however good at getting people to listen to him(Rush Limba).
Dear Bob
I find that as a geek we often agree, but as far as social mores, and your high minded rage against people having opinions that you don't share, we couldn't be further separated. I agree with you that words have meaning, but that meaning is half what the speaker meant and half what the listener takes from it. People today have no ability to take criticism because they are raised being told their special. A good deal of our generation has gigantically inflated sense of entitlement. You aren't special, I'm not special, we're just a couple of smart geeks kicking around in a world and trying to define ourselves. You seem to want to go with the current understanding of "progressive" which to me is the opposite of progress, I tend to define myself as honest, because the world is a harsh angry place and the more you deny that truth the more you expect out of yourself and everyone else and the more you are let down and become bitter.
*And as an endnote I say nigger not the "n" word, because having to use little codewords like that is childish, we all know they word, and having to tiptoe around it is just showing how infantile the mentality of people discussing issues about it are. I am not a racist, I've dated women from handful of races and colors, I don't judge people by the color of their skins, but I will not give that word the power to frighten me out of saying it, especially when I'm just using it as an example, the fact that I feel the need to write this is enough to turn my stomach. Its a word, and words can hurt, but people can also get over it.
Quite a bit of a rant, and seeming to stem more from an attack against the Right Wing then a PC or Anti-PC debate... but all I have to say on it is there are plenty of jerks that will use 'You're being overly PC' to sway their argument... but there are just as many who say 'That's offensive, you need to be more PC' to back their own arguments... even if they are as wrong as the 'anti-PC' crowd. There's two shields in this fight, Bob, not a shield and a sword.
Frankly the PC crowd has done damage to free and open debate, you could come up with a reasoned, well argued, reason why you find (let's take a massive leap into the fire here) Middle Eastern Culture disgusting in parts, and bang, you're a racist, because you dared to have an opinion.
Yet take a shot at "white" culture and suddenly you're a champion for equality.
For a long time now I've held the unpopular opinion that RE5 was indeed fucked in terms of depictions of race.
And it's not even about a white dude killing black zombies. You encounter zombies, you're gonna kill them, no matter what race you or they are.
No. It's not about the zombies, but it is about this;
That's not sexy. It's just offensive.
I agree to an extent with Bob. Yes you should be nice and inclusive to people, you should be fair, you shouldn't be bigoted. But at the same time you should not be forced to be. Another poster mentiones Geert Wilders and that is an important point, people should be allowed to say what they want.
Is this the soap box of a white, (near) middle class, heterosexual male who's white knighting?
However during the last election, and sometimes even now, I've been required to 'justify' not voting for him or else someone tosses the damn race card in my face.
Now, answer me this:
Yet, at the same time, being white in a mostly Hispanic community I was called all sorts of slurs and if I ever used one against said Mexicans I was the 'real bad guy'.
Should I be penalized for the color of my skin while others get a free past just because maybe their parents or grandparents went through crap?
Double standard are BS - either we're all equal or we acknowledge someones' superiority.
Either a slut is a slut - regardless of genitals - or the person is just 'sowing the wild oats'.
When the ship is sinking it shouldn't be 'women and children first', it should be 'children and their parents first - regardless if they have an inny or an outie'.
1) Some of those 'stereotypes' are based on truth.
It probably also comes from the Spanish word for black...Negro. But a little context: I made that case after certain pundits called gringo a racial slur.
Holy crap Bob!
Why is that offensive and this
I agree with pretty much everything you just wrote, and especially this part. People tend to glaze over the fact that "benign" racism is still racism.
Well, no one said that racism is reserved for white people only. You have every right to be offended when they insult you based on your race, but it doesn't justify you using racial terms against them. You simply lower yourself to their level.
Nobody's stopping bigots like Geert Wilders from saying what they want, or any other bigots like the throngs who inhabit these forums. They just don't get a pass on being called out for it. They are free to say it, not free from criticism for it. What is so hard to grasp about that? Why is it always "help, help I'm being repressed" every time the subject comes up?
Do you know any comedians who are politically incorrect who are, you know, still alive? Just sayin...
Dude, this definitely needed said.
Gold star for the week, Bob.
Frankly I do agree with most of the points you make (glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks south park has a brain :D)
Because that's not offensive, it's tacky
I´m not from north america and i don´t know about half of the people that appear on this clip...
But that was an awesome episode.
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In the early stages of finding new drugs hundred thousands of molecules are tested for activity. This so-called high-throughput screening is performed using costly robotic equipment. Often it leads to wrong results, which could be false positives or false negatives. Computer-based virtual screening can reduce the high-costs and time required. However, it provides the same or even worse accuracy compared to lab-based screening.
Dr Andreas Kukol, a senior lecturer in Biochemistry at the University has developed methods that combine the results from different virtual screening algorithms in a consensus approach. The results show that some consensus methods can achieve a higher accuracy in predicting active drugs than individual methods on its own. Dr Kukol said that more efficient computational tools can revolutionise the drug discovery process and shorten the 15 years currently required to develop a new drug.
Read more
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Researchers warn about the online availability of the powerfulhallucinogenic drug 'B-Fly'
In a paper entitled Designer Drugs on the Internet: a Phenomenon Out-of-Control? The Emergence of Hallucinogenic Drug Bromo-Dragonfly in Current Clinical Pharmacology published in May, we describe how increased popularity of the drug has been associated with recent acute intoxications and deaths in a number of countries.
In a comprehensive review of both the peer-reviewed and the anecdotal online data on B-Fly, we explain how the web activity associated with the drug gradually increased since 2005. 'B-fly' can allegedly induce profound hallucinations, sound alterations and its high level of toxicity caused a series of hospitalizations and fatalities, especially among young people.
Designer drugs, such as B-Fly, manipulate brain functions in ways we know too little about, and might well have widespread and long terms effects on users. Most of these products are not been approved for human consumption, and they are available online at low prices and thus just a 'click' away from our homes. As a response, it is very important to pilot novel prevention and educational models as we are doing at the ReDNet project with the use of interactive technologies and the direct involvement of young people and professionals working with them in our Research Centres across Europe.
Dr Ornella Corazza at the University's School of Pharmacy is lead author on the paper.
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
New atmospheric remote sensing station
A Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) instrument has been installed - it is like the more familiar RADAR but using laser light instead of radio waves. It detects light from a laser beam reflected from small particles in the atmosphere and provides a profile of atmospheric composition up to an altitude of 20km. One motivation is to make observations of volcanic ash from future eruptions.
The LIDAR is in fact the second of five instruments planned. The station will be gradually enhanced with new instruments over the next twelve months. When the final instruments are installed, the station will be a unique facility not just in the UK but anywhere in the world.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Sheconomics: Why more women on boards boosts company performance
Women currently make up just 12.5% of the board members of FTSE 100 companies. Yet research by McKinsey found a strong link between gender diversity and above-average returns on equity. Data from Gavurin Intelligence revealed that 30% of women on the board tripled a company's profitability. A study from Pepperdine University showed that companies with at least three women on their boards outperformed competitors by at least 40%. The researchers also found that Fortune 500 companies with three or more women in senior management positions scored higher on measures of organisational excellence.
Three, it seems, is the magic number. In Norway one in every three board members is female, following legislative changes made in 2003. Subsequently Norway enjoyed 3% economic growth in 2009 and a budget surplus, while many of its EU neighbours were experiencing economic recession. The data may only be correlational but Norway is now the only country that can be said to have thrived during the economic downturn.
In the UK all FTSE 100 companies have to aim for at least 25% female representation by 2015. If this isn't achieved quotas will be introduced. I recently gave a talk to company secretaries from twelve of the UK's FTSE 100 companies. All were in favour of diversity but none wanted quotas. Government recommendations and accountability would alone bring about change, they felt. I wish I could share their optimism. According to a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, at the current rate of change it will take more than 70 years to achieve gender-balanced boardrooms in the UK's largest 100 companies.
As a psychologist I am interested in the dynamics behind groups that make financial decisions. Homogeneous groups are very similar in their values, beliefs, styles of communication, race and gender. Heterogeneous groups, characterised by wide diversity in these factors, make better decisions and are less at risk of group-think. By adding women to the board, heterogeneity is virtually guaranteed. Balancing male and female attributes and creating a more diverse mix may be the solution to many challenges facing organisations today.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
First images from VLT Survey Telescope open the way for UK-led surveysof the southern sky
The VLT Survey Telescope (VST), the latest addition to ESO's Paranal Observatory, has made its first release of impressive images of the southern sky. The VST is a state-of-the-art 2.6-metre telescope, with the huge 268-megapixel camera OmegaCAM at its heart, which is designed to map the sky both quickly and with very fine image quality. It is a visible-light telescope that perfectly complements ESO's VISTA infrared survey telescope. New images of the Omega Nebula and the globular cluster Omega Centauri demonstrate the VST's power.
Professor Janet Drew at the University of Hertfordshire is one of the lead astronomers on this study.
Read more
Professor Janet Drew at the University of Hertfordshire is one of the lead astronomers on this study.
Read more
KASPAR Robot celebrated as Big Idea for the Future Research selectedfor leading report
Big Ideas for the Future report.
The Hertfordshire team led by Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn at the University of Hertfordshire are using interactive humanoid robots as therapeutic 'toys' to help children with autism. They developed KASPAR (short for Kinesics and Synchronisation in Personal Assistant Robotics), a child-like robot.
KASPAR can be controlled and tailored to an individual child's development needs. While obviously non-human, it has simple human features, minimal expressions and predictable movements. The robot acts as a mediator, encouraging children to communicate with people, at first indirectly and then directly. The research has the potential to transform the social and educational development of children living with autism in the future.
The Hertfordshire team led by Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn at the University of Hertfordshire are using interactive humanoid robots as therapeutic 'toys' to help children with autism. They developed KASPAR (short for Kinesics and Synchronisation in Personal Assistant Robotics), a child-like robot.
KASPAR can be controlled and tailored to an individual child's development needs. While obviously non-human, it has simple human features, minimal expressions and predictable movements. The robot acts as a mediator, encouraging children to communicate with people, at first indirectly and then directly. The research has the potential to transform the social and educational development of children living with autism in the future.
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Secrets of Coffee Superbrands
In the last few weeks, however, we have had a slew of lionising stories about Howard Schultz, Starbucks' eminence grise accompanying the launch of his new book on how he revived the company. Things often turn around quickly in the coffee world – after years when stories about the crash in prices paid to coffee farmers surmised that their only hope lay in fair trade, now the huge spike in prices is generating coverage suggesting growers will not deliver on their contracts with the fair trade organisation as they chase better returns elsewhere.
As a coffee historian and commentator I try to bring some sense of perspective to these stories, focussing more on the long term processes of change that underlie them - such as Italian-style coffee's transition from a premium to a mainstream taste, and the rising demand for coffee in producer countries. What did I say last night? Click here to find out.
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December 06, 2019
Submitted by: Anthropologie
Categories: Philanthropy & Corporate Contributions, Academia
Posted: Oct 11, 2011 – 06:15 PM EST
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 /CSRwire/ - PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Anthropologie chose the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative to be their Washington, D.C., charity beneficiary with partial proceeds from their recent Penn Quarter store opening supporting the DC Collaborative mission to provide access to high-quality arts and humanities experiences for all D.C. students.
"We are very fortunate to be benefitting from Anthropologie's generosity. Theirs is an organization that understands how central the arts and humanities are to a high-quality education as well as the joy that the arts bring to life," said Louise Kennelly, Executive Director of the DC Collaborative.
Anthropologie supports arts education and aspiring artists not only through their charity and outreach, but through their blog series titled The Anthropologist. There are currently 11 artists featured on their page, showcasing their artwork and personal stories. You can also visit their community page called Etymologie, for word and people fun with juicy reads, photos and more.
"We select charity recipients that provide arts education services meeting a community need – and doing so in a systemic, impactful and wide-reaching way," said Amy Dorra, Director of Relationship Marketing for Anthropologie, at the new store opening that was packed with enthusiastic Anthropologie customers and DC Collaborative supporters.
The DC Collaborative Board of Directors was represented at the event by Gail Murdock from Peabody Elementary School, who is also an accomplished jewelry designer; Gina Sacripanti from The Washington Examiner; and Jade Floyd of Chlopak, Leonard, Schecter & Associates.
About the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative:
More than 60 members strong, the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative (DC Collaborative) provides equitable access to quality arts and humanities education for all D.C. public and chartered public schools for the growth of the whole child. Working with its partners, since its founding in 1998, the DC Collaborative produces such exemplary programs as Arts for Every Student, sending 30,000 students a year to member cultural institutions, and the Arts Education Initiative.
About Anthropologie:
Anthropologie is a lifestyle brand that imparts a sense of beauty, optimism and discovery to our customer. For her, Anthropologie is an escape from the everyday; it is a wellspring of inspiration and delight, where innovative merchandising, customer centricity and a curated array of products align to form an unimagined experience. Founded in 1992, Anthropologie currently operates 162 stores worldwide. The brand launched its mail-order catalog and website in 1998; eleven years later, its first international stores opened in Canada and UK.
For more information, please contact:


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OpenSolaris users group meeting
Just a few more comments about the OpenSolaris users-group meeting I attended recently.
First, I will say that I was impressed with the turnout and the overall presentation as put together by SUN. Clearly, SUN is trying to help the OpenSolaris community in a big way. Truthfully, I'm a little jealous of this, as I'm the group leader of the NY Metro POWERAIX/Linux users-group and I've yet to see a similar commitment on behalf of IBM to draw interest to our group.
Back to the meeting. There certainly was a lot of information presented and SUN clearly had hoped to articulate a vision of what their new world would like like. Unfortunately, most of their innovative vision was borrowed from Red Hat. The overall underlying message that most heard was, 'if you can't beat them, join them'. What they want to do is essentially copy Red-Hat's two-system model; Enterprise and Fedora (one for pay, the other community supported), using that model for Solaris. Further, instead of trying to compete with Microsoft, they continue to be preoccupied with Linux and showing why they are better then them. This strategy did not work with Unix, as Sun clearly has not dethroned AIX or even HP-UX for that matter and we're not certain why they think their new OpenSolaris model will dethrone Linux, or why they even feel they need to for that matter.
If I were SUN, I would just let the technology speak for itself, rather then try to reinvent other models.
Asigra announces 64-bit agentless backup for virtual servers
LinuxWorld vendor news:
Backup and recovery software vendor Asigra Inc. is targeting the increasingly virtualized data center with 64-bit agentless backup for virtual servers.
Announced on July 31st, 64-bit Televaulting for virtual servers offers N+1 grid-based architecture technology and allows system administrators to restore individual VMs without having to restart the entire physical server which could host serveral other otherwise unaffected virtual servers.
The pricing model offered by Asigra is very virtualization-friendly, based on the amount of data being protected and not on the number of virtual and/or phsyical servers. 64-bit Televaulting also boasts any-to-any restore capability, i.e. P2P, P2V, V2V or V2P, as well as hot backups.
Asigra's virtual server backup solution also offers bare-metal recovery and backup of enterprise apps such as Exchange, SQL Server and Oracle, giving it good potential to be a part of an IT department's disaster recovery plan. Also, when it comes to VMware, Asigra can be configured to back up only the VMDK file changes instead of the entire virtual machine every time a backup is performed.
Splunk to announce general availability of Splunk 3.0
LinuxWorld vendor news:
Splunk will announce the general availability of Splunk 3.0 this coming Monday at LinuxWorld. The 3.0 version of the IT search engine will include improved features such as search-based reporting, interactive summaries and filters, navigation capabilities and dashboards and more.
The beta version was available for trial from the Splunk Web site, and over 2500 users tried it out. An early press release reported that many customer ideas from the beta have been incorporated into the official 3.0 release.
The new interactive reporting feature allows users to analyze logs and IT data in real time while moving back and forth between unstructured search and structured reporting. Specific reports, charts, searches or alerts can be personalized and viewed in a dashboard. Search language is more specific. Splunk 3.0 also includes a deployment server, 64-bit multi-processor support and scripted inputs, and the Splunk IT wiki, SplunkBase 3.0.
More information and the Splunk 3.0 release (available for free) at Splunk.com.
Product Brief: ServePath will release Web-based multi-server system GoGrid at LinuxWorld
LinuxWorld vendor news:
On August 7th, managed server provider ServePath will reveal GoGrid, a Web-based system for buying and launching multi-server Internet architectures.
GoGrid will enable businesses to launch servers and add or remove RAM without using customer service or support.
More information to come.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 beta announced
Red Hat announced today the availability of the beta release of 5.1 (kernel-2.6.18-36.el5) for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 family of products including:
– Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Advanced Platform for x86, AMD64/Intel(r) 64, Itanium Processor Family, and IBM POWER
– Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server for x86, AMD64/Intel(r) 64, Itanium Processor Family, IBM POWER,
S/390 and System z
– Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Desktop for x86, and AMD64/Intel(r) 64
Red Hat notes that the supplied beta packages and CD images are intended for testing purposes only and that this early access software is not supported and is not intended for production environments. The beta testing period is scheduled to continue through September 4, 2007.
Some new features:
Virtualization improvements
+ Completion of virtualization support on Itanium2 platforms: PV (para-virtualized) and HV (fully-virtualized) Itanium2 guests are now fully supported on Itanium2 hardware (HV requires hardware support)
+ Support for 32-bit PV guests on 64-bit AMD64/Intel(r) 64 hosts
+ Improved support for HV guests
– Hot-migration support for HV guests
– General performance improvements
– Host infrastructure for PV drivers (the actual drivers will be delivered separately in the context of the individual supported guest operating systems)
+ Update of the libvirt management layer
Storage Improvements
+ Improved support for autofs load balancing with replicated servers
+ Added replication and migration support for NFSv4 referrals
+ Support for installation to and boot from dm-multipath
+ Update of the Sata sub-system
+ Significant stability improvements to the GFS2 file system
+ Ext3 filesystem now fully supports filesystem sizes of up to 16TB
+ Updated CIFS to version 1.48aRH
+ Technology Preview of the iSCSI target device (iSCSI server)
Serviceability improvements
+ Improvements to the "crash"-analysis tool
+ IPMI and HPI updates
+ Added Kexec/Kdump support for the host in a virtualized environment
+ Update of the Infiniband support and addition of RDMA over Ethernet
+ Technology Preview of the new Devicescape wireless network stack
+ Expand in-kernel socket api
+ IPv6 improvements
+ Technology Preview of new mac80211 wireless stack (ipw 4965 wireless adapter) support. Note the iwl4965-firmware package is not in Beta ISOs but is available on RHN
Windows Interoperability
+ Samba update for improved interoperability
+ PAM/Kerberos and NSS-LDAP updates for improved integration in Active Directory environments
+ Improved auditing
+ Smartcard support for SSH
+ Integration of LSPP certification related changes
I added some emphasis to the Windows interoperability because when SearchEnterpriseLinux.com Site Editor Jan Stafford and I attended Red Hat's annual summit in May, it seemed like there wasn't much to their interoperability efforts beyond Samba. A continuation of that effort appears to be going on here.
Linux backup: Seven backup dos and don'ts
Ready for some quick tips? Here are six best practices for handling backup, compliments of Anthony Johnson, president and CEO of Storix Inc.
- Do get a full-system backup, not just your data.
- Do verify your backups.
- Do encrypt your backup data.
- Do always test your full-system recovery process.
- Do understand your recovery down-time restrictions.
- Don't assume your restore process will recover everything as it was.
- Don't assume your backup will always be restored to the same hardware.
Johnson shared these tips during a LinuxWorld 2007 preview interview. He also discussed the differences between handling backup on Windows and Linux, saying:
"Windows systems are typically configured for simple storage configuration — a single filesystem on each disk. After a failure, its simplicity means that customers usually must re-partition the disks and re-install the operating system from the original distribution, then restore other files from a backup."
Linux backup systems require more IT administrator know-how, but deliver greater flexibility and functionality. With Linux, said Johnson, savvy IT managers can take advantage of LVM (Logical Volume Management), software RAID and other options for higher performance, availability, recoverability and security. There is a catch, said Johnson:
"However, flexibility brings complexity, and re-installing the operating system in the same manner as with Windows systems is much too complex and time-consuming for most corporate environments. Linux systems typically come with no full-system recovery tools, so users must find the best backup product to suit their stringent backup policies and recovery requirements."
Looking for more Linux backup advice? Check out Linux backup software how-to on Alessandro Tanasi's blog.
'Big Four' systems management vendors ripe for open source shake-up
A new research report from the New York-based 451 Group has found that the 'Big Four' systems management vendors — BMC, HP, IBM and CA — are "ripe for a shake-up from open source systems management players."
In the past 18 months, open source options in the systems management space have grown to include a new set of vendors, including Alterpoint, GroundWork Open Source, Hyperic, Open Country, The OpenNMS Group, Qlusters and Zenoss. These vendors have made a business out of backing open source systems management projects with commercial-grade support offerings and subscriptions, al la Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
This combination of open source with enterprise services will have an impact on the proprietary systems management vendors, said co-author of the report Raven Zachary.
"Open source is breathing new competitive life into systems management, ultimately forcing the established vendors to respond in their products, pricing and strategies," said Zachary, the 451 Group open source research director.
However, both Zachary and the report's other author, analyst Jay Lyman, agree that open source systems management vendors still face an uphill battle against entrenched players with their existing integrated suites and established customers.
The 451 Group found the open source systems management category is dominated by systems monitoring, configuration, provisioning and patching components. That said, open source systems management offerings lack the full feature set provided by the leading proprietary systems management vendors. Still, these core features represent the primary demands from IT end users.
Thus far, Zachary and Lyman have suggested that the the cost savings and flexibility can make open source worth trying out. This is particularly the case when monitoring, configuration and other tasks are easier to swap than comprehensive systems management suites.
"What is clear from interactions with end users is that open source is now deeply entrenched in the software infrastructure of many organizations. End-user organizations that have seen benefits from open source software at the lower level of the infrastructure stack are now contemplating opportunities for open source software in systems management," Lyman said.
This 60-page report, 'Managing in the Open: The Next Wave of Systems Management,' also looks at the emergence of the aforementioned open source systems management vendors and the disruptive impact they are having on proprietary systems management vendors. It reviews the existing open source systems management players, and articulates the similarities and differences among these offerings. It also explores the noncommercial angle and leading open source systems management projects that are being rapidly adopted in the enterprise. The report includes a set of recommendations for end users with regard to open source systems management, as well as recent survey data on the topic.
For more information, visit the 451 Group at www.the451group.com.
10 IT system monitoring best practices
Here are 10 best practices for system monitoring that Javier Soltero, CTO of Hyperic Inc., has seen succeed in his years in IT.
- Define what it means for a given resource — a server, an application or a service — to be labeled "production".
- Figure out what monitoring you need to satisfy the production requirement.
- Implement the monitoring capability, either manually or with open source tools like Nagios or commercial tools.
- Define what it means for something to be "broken/unavailable/on fire" — also referred to as WARN/ERROR/CRITICAL.
- Implement alerts in your monitoring system to capture these thresholds.
- Define what process is to be followed for each alarm level.
- Make sure your alerting process follows that notification process.
- Create roles/responsibilities for groups of people to share alerts, control and detailed access to relevant their job function.Focusing individuals generally means better performance for their area.
- Designate a small number of super-users that architect your entire system of alerts, monitoring protocols, roles, etc., to ensure they follow a single blueprint.
- Lather, rinse, and repeat if necessary.
I pulled these tips from a LinuxWorld 2007 preview interview with Javier Soltero. In another excerpt from that interview — Virtualization boosts Linux adoption big-time — he talks about the synergy between Linux and virtualization and challenges posed in managing multiple-operating system environments and identifying and tracking virtual machines. Javier also offered some great comments on other subjects, which can be found in articles from our LinuxWorld and Next Generation Data Center Conference 2007 coverage here.
Red Hat talks the expansion of operating system-based virtualization
SearchEnterpriseLinux.com is prepared to go into LinuxWorld next week with guns blazing, but we're not going in so fast as to not post some preview coverage beforehand. Over at our conference coverage page, LinuxWorld 2007: News, trends and tutorial coverage, you can see what's live and get a feel for some of the trends that have materialized thus far.
One of major trends touched upon before the conference even begins is virtualization. It's not just for consolidation anymore, as many of you undoubtedly know already. Red Hat was one of the first Linux vendors to get something on this topic into my mailbox this week (Novell was the other), and it was interesting to see what they have up their sleeves right now.
According to Red Hat's Emerging Technologies Team, the company is finally starting to see how its customers are actually going to use virtualization ( a brief warning; after reading these you will have the uncanny feeling that Red Hat can do no wrong with virtualization):
* Customers are quickly realizing that Red Hat Enterprise Linux virtualization, which is provided as part of the base product for no additional cost, works really well. It's stable, mature and easy-to-mange.
* Para-virtualization, available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 & 5 guests, delivers performance that is close to bare-metal. So why not use it everywhere?
* Full-virtualization performance is dependent on the application – so it needs to be deployed with some care. But, enhancements due at the end of the year will close the gap with para-virtualization significantly. This will make Red Hat Enterprise Linux a terrific virtualization platform for any Windows system, with better storage virtualization and driver support than is available with proprietary virtualization products, at much lower cost.
* Consolidation frees up systems that can be redeployed as fresh Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers to handle rapidly growing IT requirements.
* The exciting uses of virtualization lie beyond consolidation – they are in areas of high availability, operational flexibility, resource management and enhanced development environment.
* Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform, with its comprehensive storage virtualization capabilities, can save you from having to purchase lots of other expensive software.
* Live migration, which is also included in the base product, is the key to flexibility.
We'll know more after a briefing or ten next week at the show to get a good, objective look at these various points. For now, however, I suggest you check out our preview coverage and wait for the live stuff as it trickles in from the show.
Virtual directories: Identity management and data integration panacea or placebo?
Virtualizing directories is an increasingly-deployed technique for handling some identity management issues, secure data sharing and centralization of data resources. Among other things, a virtual directory enables integration of user identity information in disparate applications in an enterprise.
In this post, I'll share some info about why virtual identity technologies are being used today, gleaned from some Web resources (see links at the end of this post) and my recent conversation with Dieter Schuller, Radiant Logic's Vice President of Sales/Business Development, and Dan Beckett, Technical Strategist.
Schuller, Beckett and I talked about the uses of virtual directories, and not specific products, although – of course – Radiant Logic has one in this area. I got a glimpse of Radiant Logic's RadiantOne VDS product at the recent Burton Group Catalyst Conference in San Francisco. Radiant's next SF stop will be the LinuxWorld/Next Generation Data Center Conferences Aug. 6-8.
For background, Becket and Schuller shared this sound bite about virtual directories from Burton Group analyst Dan Blum:
"As e-business usage expands, and as the enterprise evolves internally through mergers, acquisitions, and other change drivers, directory architecture inevitably drifts in and out of sync with the users and applications. The ability to 'virtualize' directory services — to not care which directory product (or database product) is employed or how many are employed — has become an important capability for IdM infrastructure, which must mediate between the changing applications and the stable directory services."
Beckett further explained that virtual directories can be used to leverage identity management initiative by virtualizing information from several sources within an enterprise. Essentially, virtual directory technology consolidates data while removing inconsistencies and duplications within lists and enabling customization of authentication and modification functions. The end result should be reduction in memory used to store and share that data and, therefore, an increase in memory available to use for other purposes.
"Businesses have built up silos of data. Each silo is valuable and critical to the business, but the silos usually have restrictive rules about how that data can be used by other initiatives," Beckett said. "Examples would be the security data inside a mainframe system or in Active Directory. To leverage that data for a portal or collaboration or another initiative would be difficult."
Usually, said Schuller, the silos were built up because internal departments or individuals had a job to do, or a money-making initiative to deploy, and didn't want to wait for corporate IT to set up their database or other application. Also, mergers and acquisitions create silos. He explained:
"Even if you build using legacy tools like Active Directory, you can end up with silos in a homogenous environment that can't work with each other."
So, how do you consolidate all that data without people having to give up the ownership of that data? Virtualization can make that data available to all, but the data owners are allowed to enact rules about how that data is shared and used.
"What's needed is single directory with a single schema. Virtualization makes that data available via a single protocol, such as LDAP," said Beckett. "Virtualization makes all the disparate silos look the same, and it's easy to share and manipulate them to meet the needs of applications coming in."
Usually when identity management problems came up, Schuller said, people took two approaches: use a metadirectory, which enables data flow between directory services and databases to maintain synchronization; or create an operational data store (ODS), a type of database in which contents are updated through the course of business operations.
Unfortunately, said Schuller, business requirements come down the pike faster than most IT shops' infrastructure team can handle. ODS and metadirectories both create "a monolithic view that can't flex with business requirements; but virtualization allows you to create multiple views that can flex for future apps and permutations."
(Not everyone agrees with this assessment, as you'll see in this post: Virtual vs. meta.)
Active Directory (AD) users, in particular, could benefit from virtual directories. "Active Directory isn't going away anytime soon, so you need to leverage the data inside AD for all apps," said Beckett. Schuller noted that AD isn't designed to hold huge customer profiles, and people end us creating a huge database to do that. It's easier, he said, to virtualize info from all silos. Also, people are reluctant to extend the AD schema. So, being able to virtually extend the schema is much less intimidating.
Schuller and Beckett told me about their work on a virtual directories project for a large cable services company, which had many separate authentication silos and many databases. Customer data was parsed out in separate databases by, say, customer name, address, location of devices (like set-top boxes) and services provided.
"They needed a unified picture of that customer, and that unified customer profile was only achievable via virtualization," said Schuller. "There was no way –physically and politically — that they could create the mother of all databases and have that all in one place. Via virtualization, you can gather the data in one place and correlate each bit of data one to another."
SearchEnterpriseLinux.com News Writer Jack Loftus will be covering this topic in more detail during the LinuxWorld and the Next Generation Data Center Conferences and afterward.c. So, drop Jack a line at firstname.lastname@example.com if you're using virtual directories, know a lot about them or think they're not what they are cracked up to be.
Here are some links to more information on virtual directories:
- How to find anything in LDAP.
- Virtual Directories in Apache
- Oracle virtual directory resources
- Microsoft virtual directory information
Please feel free to share more links with us.


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When I first moved into a position of leading developers I experienced a fair amount of good natured teasing that I'd do my best programming via Outlook and Omnigraffle. While this has been true (thankfully only to a point!) it has been outweighed by the ability to have a far greater say into the resourcing, architecture and implementation of projects and how my company does its work.
One thing that I've become painfully aware of is that the operational aspect of this position has a larger 'people management' aspect to it than I had previously thought. This is especially true when you extend your view to include recruitment, appraisals, motivating staff and the like and not just setting up your teams to deliver quality code as fast as they can. The soft skills of leadership tend not to come easily to those with a natural technical focus (describing almost every developer ever) so it only makes sense to take advantage of psychology research in the areas of skills assessment and motivation. These is a wealth of knowledge out there and I thought I would discuss a few of the more interesting/useful ones that I have come across.
Judging Ability – Dunning-Kruger Effect, Impostor Syndrome and the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition
In theory you should be able to assign any part of a project to any developer. The holy grail is that is shouldn't matter which developer takes which task but we know that it does. When we can share the work around evenly it ensures that we share the project knowledge around the entire team and don't create knowledge silos but the reality is that you need to make sure that the story is appropriate to the developers level of ability. There are some stories that can be done by anyone. There are also some stories that you know are a little more complicated and will have much greater knock on effects that you know should be done by more experienced developers and we know that that doesn't always mean the senior developers.
Recruitment also requires you to judge ability very quickly and ideally very accurately. HR screening and blunt telephone tests may provide a simple barrier to the wildly inappropriate candidate but nothing will replace sitting down with the candidate and doing a face-to-face interview.
When you know the technical topic judging how good someone is is fairly simple and intuitive but judging peoples ability when you have no expertise in that area is a tough task. The people that are at extreme ends of ability are obviously set apart from the norm but those that make up the bulk of the bell curve can be difficult to separate. Some psychological concepts that can help are the Dunning Kruger effect and the Dreyfus Model of skill acquisition.
The Dunning Kruger effect deals with the fact that ignorant people rate themselves more able than they are because they don't realise how truly terrible they really are. The obverse of this is the Impostor syndrome – highly knowledgeable people rate themselves lower than they are because they are painfully aware than they don't know everything and they think that their success is due to luck rather than their own work. Both these effect highlight how dangerous it can be to ask for self-described levels of competence but if you do, always make sure to follow up with a few in-depth questions. If they've described themselves as top rank but can't seem to answer anything in-depth then their lack of awareness is a big sign to their true abilities.
Another way to establish expertise is to look at how people behave as they work and see where this behaviour falls in the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition. The Dreyfus Model was originally designed to establish whether Navy pilots were competent before they were put in a plane and essentially, it looks at the way someone solves a problem. While this is fairly common sense, the objective framework it provides makes it far easier to describe the level of someone's abilities, how good is their situational awareness, how do they plan and prioritise and when do they become aware that something is a new situation or another instance of a previous problem? I've been using this for appraisals for the last few years, covering someone's past performance and using it to set goals for the future and it's worked exceptionally well.
Motivation – Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Self-Determination Theory
So you've now got the right people in your teams – now how do you make sure that they can do their job with enjoyment and passion? Passion is a productivity multiplier and a team who believe in what they're doing can achieve almost anything. This is where ideas like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Self-Determination Theory come in. Maslow's work lists out our needs and which order they need to be fulfilled, normally by the classic pyramid image with physiological needs on the bottom and self-actualization at the top.It's a fairly based model but it provides an objective framework to assess people's wants against and to prioritise them.
Self-Determination theory is an even simpler model with motivation separated in extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and the intrinsic motivation further separated into competence, autonomy and relatedness/higher purpose. Daniel Pink covers this superbly in his book Drive! and has given an amazing talk that if you haven't already seen, you absolutely need to find the 10:48 minutes to find out exactly why these factors are so important and why money as a motivational tool may not have the effect you think.
It's interesting to note that at a highly regarded company like Etsy, all engineers have three common annual goals: speak at a conference, write a blog post and open source code. I love these since I can't think of any more concrete expressions of competence, autonomy and a common higher goal.
The Hawthorn Effect
One more quick one. Having read these and thinking that you can make a change to the way you do things, you need to be aware that any resultant improvement may be down to the fact that the people involved are aware that that there is a change. This effect is because people can change their behaviour irrespective of whether the change is actually an improvement – it's kind of a placebo effect for workers. Hopefully your change is real but you need to be aware that improvements may be driven by something other than your changes so stay sceptical and always look for this and other external factors.
Like anything based on phenomenology, your mileage will vary. This is an absolute. The point of this article is not to prescribe fool proof ways of dealing with people or how to manipulate your staff (manipulation is a short term strategy that will always burn you) but to make you aware that their has been a lot of investigation into the area and that you can take advantage of this to make both you and your teams perform better.


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A knotty affair3 min read . Updated: 10 Dec 2007, 08:11 PM IST
A knotty affair
A knotty affair
Let's face it: Marriages may be made in heaven, but solemnizing them costs the earth. Tying the knot has never been a cheap affair. A modest middle-class wedding in an India metro can cost anywhere upward of Rs5 lakh these days. And if such a huge stash of cash is at stake, wouldn't it be a good idea to have a hedge against any risk of loss?
Ahmedabad-based petrol pump operator Rameshchandra Vithaldas Shah, 54, thinks so. A couple of years ago, at the time of his daughter's wedding, Shah bought a wedding insurance policy from Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd to cover all exigencies related to the event. "Getting your daughter married is an expensive affair," he says. "God forbid, if any untoward incident had happened, I would have been in financial trouble for the rest of my life."
For those not in the loop, a wedding insurance policy offered by companies such as Bajaj Allianz, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd, National Insurance Co Ltd, and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd provides cover for a list of events that includes, among other eventualities, even the cancellation or postponement of the wedding. Any damage to the insured's property or venue because of a fire or events such as riots and strikes, too, are covered. The insurance is also available if the wedding is cancelled or postponed because of an accident involving the bride, bridegroom or blood relatives that results in hospitalization within seven days prior to the printed or declared wedding date. The names of those who are to be included in the cover have to be declared at the time of taking the policy. But if the wedding is cancelled because of a dispute between the marriage parties, the insurance company will not pay the claim.
If a claim is filed, the insurance company will reimburse expenses for printing invitation cards, advances made to book the wedding venue, caterer and decorator, in addition to hotel room bookings and travel reservations.
Of course, you need to furnish proof of expenditure at every stage. So don't forget to keep all those bills handy.
What's more, the plan protects the policyholder against public liability cases either on account of food poisoning or accidents at the venue.
There are, however, riders to these policies. To guard against malicious claims, Bajaj Allianz asks policyholders to bear 2% of the claim amount.
Indian weddings are synonymous with jewellery, and a cover for theft hardly seems an indulgence. Shah bought the insurance package primarily to protect against theft. He recalls how, a few years ago, the house of a friend, who was about to get his daughter married, was burgled. All the jewellery and cash were stolen, causing a major setback.
Typically, a wedding insurance policy comes into force seven days before the wedding and, of course, expires when the event is over. However, the burglary cover extends to one day after the marriage.
Despite the obvious sense of security behind wedding insurance policies, there haven't been too many takers for these in India.
Analysts cite two primary reasons: superstition among most Indians and their unwillingness to hedge against an auspicious event such as a wedding. This is borne out by T. A. Ramalingam, head of underwriting, Bajaj Allianz, who feels that wedding insurance policies haven't taken off in India the way they should have, because of a lack of awareness and the reluctance of people to contemplate insurance for something they consider to be sacred. "These policies sound useful. But when I told my family about it, I was told to not even think that anything could go wrong with the wedding," says Chennai-based Rajeshwari Sundaram, who plans to get married in a couple of months.
Another reason is the absence of any aggressive marketing by insurance companies. ICICI Lombard, for instance, doesn't have a specific wedding insurance plan, but has customized its event insurance policy for weddings as well.
On the other hand, such policies are very popular in the West and, in addition to postponement and cancellations, they also cover possibilities such as loss of a wedding ring and non-delivery of a wedding outfit on time.
"Most of my NRI clients buy wedding insurance but they get it from abroad," says Meher Sarid, consultant, Wedding Art, a leading wedding planning firm in New Delhi. "Indian clients are largely unaware of such policies."
Write to us at


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Ed's is a much loved retro-American diner that successfully captures the spirit of the classic US originals, iconic symbols of an unforgettable period in the history of that country. It was a time characterised by a feel-good, optimistic mood that influenced the music, the design and the culture of a unique era. Ed's brings that 50's story to life, at the same time delivering a quality eating experience at great value prices.
To the story of all classic diners – a quick bite, reliable food, sassy service and customers always remembered, Ed's added fun and nostalgia. Also to mention they make awesome shakes! which go very well with Chilli Cheese Fries!
More details on their website click here.
Ed's Easy Diner, Bluewater Shopping Centre, Greenhithe. DA9 9SG Call 01322 380939
Remember 'Never Drink & Drive', enjoy your drink responsibly then use a MiniCab to get home.


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"Contraception," "women's reproductive health," and "family planning"
Such wonderful euphemisms for abortion. [My only faint shread of hope for Gary is that he doesn't know what a euphemism is.] We have to kill more third world babies in the womb so they won't use fossil fuels and mess up our imaginarily [sic] fragile climate. Oh, and we're more than willing to open more Planned Parenthood abortion clinics in the developed world (80 percent of which we locate in "minority" neighborhoods) to show we aren't the racist eugenicists our hero Margaret Sanger was [Who?].
The "population problem," like the DDT problem, ozone problem and CO2 problem before it, are all just trojan horses for progressive assertion of power over the economy.
Notice the eagerness with which the peak oil hysterics embrace the barbarism of "population control," just as their CAGW fellow travelers did before them.
Note the seamless blend of fanatic Christianist and raving paeloliberatarian. Leftists murder babies with contraception and Pap smears to further their real monstrous goal of economic planning . . .
Quite the load of Santorum.


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I wish I could say that my "scone success" was instantaneous, but not so much. My first attempt was actually a "Pinterest Fail". Not in the visually horrifying way you would expect. Outwardly they appeared to resemble fresh baked scones. They smelled like fresh baked scones. They tasted, well, undercooked.
Perhaps I should start from the beginning. Never watch FoodNetwork or Cooking Channel when you are bored and hungry. It leads to Pinterest. That's where the downward scone-spiral began.
It was a simple standard scone recipe. Nothing complicated. Nothing. But this was my first time baking scones. First time using the oven in the new apartment. First time scratch-baking for the hubby. There was pressure. They needed to be perfect. So of course 25 minutes later, then 30 min, then 35 min, the middle refused to cook. Sigh. At least the ridiculously hot kitchen smelled good.
I lamented my loss of warm, melty, chocolate chip goodness. I sadly obsessed over where the recipe went wrong. Then I realized it was me, who went wrong.
Error 1: The dough may have been a touch too moist. Never dump in the full amount of liquid. Do it in small quantities.
Error 2: Press the dough down evenly in the pan. It needs to be level. My middle was a bit thick.
Error 3: I followed the recipe and did not separate the pieces after cutting. I may have been able to save the scones if I had ignored that bit of instruction.
That was Saturday. Last night, with the stubbornness and determination of my Scottish-American blood, I pulled the cookbook I got as a shower gift off the shelf (Betty Crocker Cookbook Newlywed Edition), and set to scone making once again. I read the recipe 2 times before setting up.
I read it each time I had to get an ingredient so as to not screw it up this time. So naturally I screwed it up anyway.
Screw up 1- I forgot to buy vanilla.
Screw up 2- I dumped the egg in without beating it.
So at this point I decided to say screw it, and winged the rest of it.
I substituted a pinch-ish of cinnamon. I know, I know, unmeasured ground cinnamon can be a dangerous move. But I figured I already screwed up the recipe, so why not? (I'm not skilled enough to have come up with that on my own, I remembered the other recipe used it lol) I dumped in double the required mini chips. (opened bags of mini chips in my fridge are dangerous to my waistline)
Learning from my past mistakes:
- I poured my liquids in in small quantities.
- I obsessively leveled the dough in the pan.
- I separated the scones on the tray before baking.
Out of paranoia I added 5 extra min to bake time, and left them in the oven while it cooled down for 5 more minutes.
HALLELUJIAH! Golden-Brown-COOKED-all-the-way-through-Goodness! Score! Too bad the recipe only makes eight. Eight is not enough.Source: Betty Crocker Classic Scone Recipe. Photo: feedthemia.com Never not eating. Awkwardly sharing. Find more blog posts at feedthemia.com
Published by Mia Laico


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Passing Vancouver Downtown
Honestly I was not able to spend a lot of time walking around Vancouver itself, as I was fully preoccupied of arranging my tour and five days were not really enough to see British Columbia. I got a few chances to see some of Vancouver Downtown. First was when I came from Whistler Tour, next when I was on my


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National requirements for improved elevation data
Open-File Report 2013-1237
Prepared in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service
By: Gregory I. Snyder, Larry J. Sugarbaker, Allyson L. Jason, and David F. Maune
- More information: USGS Index Page
- Document: Document
- Appendixes:
- Open Access Version: Publisher Index Page
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
This report presents the results of surveys, structured interviews, and workshops conducted to identify key national requirements for improved elevation data for the United States and its territories, including coastlines. Organizations also identified and reported the expected economic benefits that would be realized if their requirements for improved elevation were met (appendixes 1–3). This report describes the data collection methodology and summarizes the findings. Participating organizations included 34 Federal agencies, 50 States and two territories, and a sampling of local governments, tribes, and nongovernmental orgnizations. The nongovernmental organizations included The Nature Conservancy and a sampling of private sector businesses. These data were collected in 2010-2011 as part of the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (NEEA), a study to identify program alternatives for better meeting the Nation's elevation data needs. NEEA tasks included the collection of national elevation requirements; analysis of the benefits and costs of meeting these requirements; assessment of emerging elevation technologies, lifecycle data management needs, and costs for managing and distributing a national-scale dataset and derived products; and candidate national elevation program alternatives that balance costs and benefits in meeting the Nation's elevation requirements. The NEEA was sponsored by the National Digital Elevation Program (NDEP), a government coordination body with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as managing partner that includes the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), among the more than a dozen agencies and organizations. The term enhanced elevation data as used in this report refers broadly to three-dimensional measurements of land or submerged topography, built features, vegetation structure, and other landscape detail. Additional information about NEEA and its later use in the development of a 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) can be found at http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/index.html.
Study Area
Additional publication details
|Publication type
|Publication Subtype
|USGS Numbered Series
|National requirements for improved elevation data
|Series title
|Open-File Report
|Series number
|Year Published
|U.S. Geological Survey
|Publisher location
|Reston, VA
|Contributing office(s)
|Office of Land Remote Sensing (Geography)
|Report: iv, 11 p.; Appendix 1: 142 p.; Appendix 2: 203 p.; Appendix 3: 32 p.
|United States
|Online Only (Y/N)


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PARIS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - France's biggest banks are teaming up with part state-owned insurer CNP to pool their shareholdings in various companies into a fund worth at least 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), French daily Le Figaro said on Tuesday.
The insurance arms of banking groups BNP Paribas , Societe Generale and Credit Agricole are still in talks with CNP over which stakes will go into the fund out of their 40 billion euros in collective stock investments, the paper said, quoting BNP's insurance chief Eric Lombard.
"We aren't ruling out building up new positions," Lombard told Le Figaro, which said the fund would be looking at new investments in medium-sized French corporates.
Incoming regulations known as Solvency II designed to bolster insurers' capital strength and risk management have pushed insurers to cut back investments in the stock market. The EU rules were to go into force this month but have now been delayed at least until 2014.
($1 = 0.7711 euros)
(Reporting by Lionel Laurent; Editing by Mark Potter)
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Keywords: FRANCE BANKS/INSURERS


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Dangers of an Internet Addiction Disorder
The Watershed Addiction Treatment Programs
The Watershed of the Palm Beaches is licensed by the State of Florida and "Gold Seal" accredited by The Joint Commission for alcohol and drug treatment. This symbolizes value and illumines the dedication to meeting industry performance standards. We are a world-class health care facility that offers professional addiction treatment. Just two miles from beautiful Palm Beach County beaches, our rehabilitation center is the perfect setting to emerge refreshed and renewed.Read More ›
As stated by the Better Health Channel, "Internet addiction is when a person has a compulsive need to spend a great deal of time on the Internet, to the point where other areas of life (such as relationships, work or health) are allowed to suffer." Because Internet addiction is not the same as mere excessive use, dangerous effects can result from this condition, some of which are illustrated above. It is important that an individual whose life is being negatively affected by their Internet use is able to receive the right treatments and to learn better, safer behaviors.
Financial and Professional Dangers
Obsessive Internet use has the potential to cause financial issues for those who are unable to stop. Some individuals will continue to pay for the Internet even if they cannot afford it, neglecting more important necessities like food and rent. This kind of situation regularly occurs in cases of addiction where the individual stops caring about work and becomes extremely apathetic toward their professional life. They often will go online even when they are supposed to be working or will not go work because they would rather be online. This can cause addicted individuals to lose their jobs as a result.
Psychological Health
Any kind of addiction can wreak havoc on an individual's self-esteem as well as their psychological state. Depression and anxiety are two issues many Internet addicts struggle with, and they will often "turn to the Internet to cope with negative feelings" which only will only make the disorder stronger.
Addiction can be a product of these kinds of issues or it can cause them to come about. In either scenario, an individual who experiences a severe behavioral addiction will often feel extreme highs when able to participate in the activity and intense lows when unable to. The person's depression may even become so intense that they experience thoughts of suicide, especially if they lose their job, friends, and other important aspects of their lives to their disorder. Someone experiencing these kinds of thoughts will need 24-hour care and specialized treatment.
Physical Health
According to a study from the NCBI, "In South Korea, as many as 24% of children diagnosed with Internet addiction required hospitalization." This issue occurs many different reasons, but some individuals actually experience physical health problems as a result of Internet addiction. These can include
- Tension headaches or migraines
- Dry eyes
- Insomnia
- Vision problems
Because Internet addiction causes an individual to want to be online as often as possible, they will often refuse to admit that they are experiencing any kind of issue as a result of their Internet use. If they are able to admit to it, they will usually try to remedy the effects without limiting their Internet use at all, which only causes the problem to worsen.
Although the dangers of drug addiction are often more intense, Internet use can be physically, mentally, and personally harmful in the life of an addicted individual. "There are treatment guidelines" for Internet addiction, and those who struggle with it should seek some sort of professional help in order to more effectively recover from their addiction (NCBI).


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bar nou, one of my favorite berlin cocktail bars, apparently just lost the majority of their staff due to reasons unknown to me…. which is why my man michael & his friendly colleagues are no longer working there.
guess we'll hafta stick to stagger lee & reingold from now on. oh, well.
Tags: bar nou, bergmannkiez, bergmannstrasse, berlin, cocktails, kreuzberg, michael da man, xberg


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SV Media Films | LOMA Bodykits | Nemesis Wheel debut | Corvettes at Carlisle 2014
Built exclusively by East Coast Supercharging, the 1200 HP Loma Vette debuts the new Prototyp's Nemesis Wheel. Original Lambourghini designs, this is the first set debut in North America on a corvette! Featuring Ridetech suspension technologies. Filmed at Corvettes at Carlisle Car show in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Produced by SV Media Films! Music: Arrival by Epic Score


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Why Sandarama?
It took us quite a long time to find the right school for Brookfield to link with. We wanted it to be an urban school like us, and one that is essentially non-denominational. It also needed to have some access to the internet and an ability to communicate with us in English. This was not an easy task. Very few schools have English speakers or computers let alone internet access.
Luckily we found out about Sandarama through a small British charity called Burma Children's Fund (BCF), who were able to introduce us to the school and one of its key supporters, the president of the Sandayama School committee, Moe Naing.
What is Sandarama School like?
Imagine a school on stilts, made out of bamboo, wood and straw with a sandy yard for a playground. This is Sandarama school! It is on the outskirts of Yangon in a very poor area. Most of the people living there are migrant factory workers and casual labourers. Many were displaced from Yangon in 1992 in a policy to clear land for development.
Recently the area where the school is based is seeing an increasing influx of people from elsewhere in the country, pushed by poverty and drawn by the hope of jobs in the factories which are starring to spring up again in the industrial zone now that most economic sanctions have been lifted.
There are children from many different ethnic backgrounds, and some orphans too. The school also houses a heath care clinic for the local community. They currently only have solar energy, they use rain water for drinking water, and have an underground pump for water for cleaning and washing.
Sandarama's school philosophy is "Fun, Focus and Wisdom". Their day starts with 10 minutes of meditation. In a country where education has in the past meant learning by rote, Sandarama have an enlightened approach encouraging students to be free, curious and expressive.
Who Benefits from the link?
Everyone! Both the Brookfield Community – children, teachers and parents and the Sandarama school Community will benefit from this link. It will involve:
- Cultural exchange and building of relationships
- Gaining self awareness through learning about a different place and school and what it is like to be a child there through assemblies and classroom talks.
- Making a real and tangible difference through fundraising – see how much we have already raised and the difference it has already made.
Renowned artist and former political prisoner, Htein Lin, visited the school and talked to some of the children about his experiences and the artwork he made while in prison (see photo above). The children asked amazing questions showing how engaged they were in this meeting.
Former British Ambassador to Burma, Vicky Bowman, also showed the children slides and talked about what it is like to be a child in Burma today.
Documentary film director Charlotte Wells spent a morning at Brookfield making a short film which she then delivered personally to Sandarama school. She then filmed the kids and teachers at Sandarama to make a short film to show the children at Brookfield.
You can help…
Sandarama school is working hard to provide better opportunities for their children. They know that getting more and better teachers and training their teachers well is paramount. They are also constantly improving and expanding their buildings to make them more secure and to provide better facilities.
Where does the money go?
So far we have raised over £4,000. Every penny of this money goes to Sandarama school. We have helped the school with teachers salaries and teacher training, and with ongoing costs to equip their classrooms and feed the children (every child is fed for free every day).
To give you an idea of the difference your fundraising makes:
- £36 pays for a teachers salary for a whole month
- £103 pays for desks and chairs for a whole classroom
- £1290 would pay for access to permanent water
- £1600 would pay for a library and IT lab
If you would like to donate some money to Sandarama, please contact the school office: firstname.lastname@example.com. Or send a cheque payable to Brookfield Primary School, with Sandarama written on the back, to Brookfield Primary School, Chester Road, London, N19 5DH.
If you would like more information, have ideas for link projects or would like to help with our school link in any way please get in touch with Yvette Mahon or Sarah Sutcliffe (parents) via the school office.


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NOTE** The reflection that follows was originally a response to a post by a fellow blogger. Visit Phil's blog to carefully read the original post. Then read this, my response. Here is the address http://www.thephilfiles.com/ where you may find the post entitled, "Left to Listen."
The "great company of strugglers" otherwise known as the "great cloud of witnesses"
You are portraying the Scriptures as an exhaustive record of the life of Moses and other characters. Of course they struggled (just like me and you) with "clarity" regarding God's will and the direction they were to take. The fact that Moses received the revelation of God's purpose at the burning bush in Midian is a good example. Moses was clueless when he first "heard the voice of God". It was the fact that he had NO clarity that got him in Midian in the first place! That is part of the point of the story. Moses had to be humbled by God in Midian for a number of years. He had to learn the art of tending sheep (dumb and rebellious creatures) in order to learn the basics of "tending" the Hebrew flock (dumb and rebellious). Not only that, but he was STILL a wimp (just like me, hmmm)… He makes all kinds of excuses when he DOES hear God clearly. He wasn't "clear," which includes being on board and willing to act on what he heard clearly, any more than we are most of the time.
And that is just Moses! What about Jeremiah? We are, fortunately, provided with a window into the prophet's inner struggle with the issues of "clarity" and "commitment to action," which are two sides of the same coin in my understanding of the dynamic. Perhaps Jeremiah is chosen by God (along with Abram, Jacob, Joseph to name only three) who struggled with clarity. I would submit that the Scriptural record doesn't include much of the months and months of disciplined struggle with prayer, fasting, vigils, seeking to put the struggle in the context of the sacred narrative, seeking the counsel of trusted others, obedience with repentance when necessary, and last but not least listening/listening/listening…
But, according to your portrayal, they didn't need to do all of that. They just magically heard with clarity. NOT!
The "Bible folks" do not represent the "golden age of clarity without struggle." They represent, if we take a look at the whole story, how to faithfully struggle toward "clarity" (by the way, I don't like that word as a representation of "knowing the will of God for your life"). I prefer the word "confidence"… The word "clarity" at least hints at the concept of "certainty without struggle" which I fear like the plague! Acts of the Apostles is a record of deep and abiding struggle in the area of "clarity." For example:
· The controversy among the apostles over inclusion of the Gentiles into the Church and whether or not the Gentile men converts need circumcision
· The controversy over to what degree the dietary laws of Judaism apply in the Church
· The need which the new convert Paul had to spend years in the desert being shaped into the kind of person who could hear and know the voice of God in terms of His will
· The initiation of the diaconate to minister to the needs of the widows within the believing community
· The whole Macedonian mission struggle
Giants of the faith – Stephen, Peter, Paul and the like were fairly "unclear" and needed the disciplines. They did not magically possess the ability to "clearly hear and know the will of God." They acquired the ability over time with much discipline.
There is something positively transformative about the struggle. God would, I believe, have us embrace the need to listen, listen, listen with joy. Being "Left to Listen" is a gift not a problem or second rate shape until we begin to "get it."
The disciplines as a multifaceted gift for the healthy not remedial class for the hopeless
What is more, you seem to portray the classic spiritual disciplines which, by the way, span the denominational barriers of the "tradition vs. non-tradition" debate, as if they are meant for the "remedial Christian." I come away from your article with the distinct impression that, "If you can't hear with clarity, like the really 'mature' folks, then you need to do these things." Spiritual disciplines are the intended context of normal Christian living not the "remedial class."
The spiritual disciplines have been instituted by God and are administered in the person of the Holy Spirit for three basic purposes:
· Purgation – removal and purification
· Maintenance – strengthen and establish
· Oblation – the shape of our offering or sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving (spirit of gratitude)
Please do not misunderstand. I list the "purgation" facet of the disciplines first for good reason. We need redemption both in our inner life and outer life. There is much in my life that hinders my access that that "confident conviction" (I use that instead of "clarity") regarding God's will and ways. The patriarchs and apostles are included in the company (read here "great cloud of witnesses) of all who have the same need. I like to say that the "great cloud of witnesses" might better be termed as the "great company of strugglers." They needed the disciplines you list as much as we do and for the same reason – purgation.
But I want to add two other reasons for the disciplines. They are not just "remedial" in their function. The disciplines also serve to establish and strengthen that which is conformed to the likeness of Christ in me. Through and by them, God speaks, nourishes, and strengthens. They do not just deal with what gets in the way of hearing God, but are the very instrumentation for His speaking by which He indicates His will. Moses, Isaiah, Peter, Paul and the rest, were men in whose lives, the tradition was a dynamic vehicle through which God indicated "with clarity" His will and ways. Without that tradition, present in an appropriate and lively way, they would not have had the "clarity" you see exhibited to the degree they possessed it. It is my firm belief that much of the "lack of clarity" we experience in the Body of Christ over against the example of the patriarchs and apostles is because we have jettisoned the right and appropriate Holy Tradition. We have, in many segments of the Body of Christ "thrown the baby out with the bath water" and yet expect to hear God with "clarity." "Clarity" is pretty difficult if most of what fosters and establishes it is missing!
Finally, the disciplines are also oblational. They are "The Way of Life" a disciple ("disciplined-one" or "one who lives under a particular discipline" is the faithful way of comprehending the word "disciple"). The spiritual disciplines resemble Jesus. They, taken as a whole, show forth the person, work, and offices of our Lord. The disciplines are The Way the One Who is The Way lived(s) His Life in us and through us by grace. Jesus embraced the Holy Tradition of Judaism and carries it forward in the Holy Tradition of the Body of Christ. He, therefore, instituted the Holy Tradition to enable Him to continue to live and minister through His people. They are His Way of Life in a literal sense. They are not "optional" therefore. Without them, the will and way of Christ we so intensely desire to know with "clarity" cannot be lived out – ministered in the world "for the life of the world."
The disciplines, not just the skeletal observance but the content as well, are depositories for the "clarity" you seek. Sometimes, we ask for the Lord to speak regarding something about which He has already spoken. The Holy Tradition – the disciplines with redemptive content – contains many of the "answers" or way of addressing the dilemmas we face. It is like God might be saying in not giving us "clarity," "If you had listened and treasured what I have already spoken you wouldn't be asking me about this again and again."
The spiritual disciplines are the shape of life the disciple offers to God as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. We are meant to pray, fast, seek the wisdom of God in the Scriptures, and all of the rest of it out of gratitude, not grim necessity because we can't hear God! It is BECAUSE I have heard the voice of God that I embrace and live the classic disciplines. I love to fast. I am grateful for the hunger. It reminds me that God is my true bread! I offer to God my fast out of gratitude to Him for the "bread of life." I don't live the disciplines to "get something" only but also because I have already been "given something" – a "confident conviction" regarding His will and ways. That is what "oblation" is in the life of a disciple – an offering in gratitude of the very SHAPE of his or her life to God through which He may make Himself more known and obeyed by others.
Jesus, the disciplined man
As regards the spiritual disciplines, we see Jesus as our model. If anyone heard the word of the Father in terms of His will and ways, it was Jesus. And yet, Jesus observes the same disciplines that you say you are somehow reluctantly left to observe. Jesus did not, of course, embrace the disciplines to purge Himself of sin or corruption that would hinder His hearing and knowing of the Father's will and ways. But, clearly, Jesus embraced the disciplined life to maintain His intimacy with the Father and as the very shape of His life of dynamic gratitude to the Father for knowing His will and ways. Hebrews 12 clearly testifies to the disciplined Jesus.
God's word to me is God's word to us and vice versa
The last thing I would like to point out is that Moses' "thus says the Lord," is not individualistic but deeply communal. Moses heard the Lord in the context of the community's life not isolation. Yes, he may have heard in a private setting, but that word from the Lord had to endure the community's testing either directly and explicitly or indirectly and implicitly. Each and every person in Scripture who really heard the Lord, did so with fear and trembling – humility. The punishment for falsely proclaiming as "the word of the Lord" what was not the "word of the Lord' was death. I am not, of course, suggesting that we adopt that tactic. However, it would be, I think, a great idea to instill in the hearts of God's people the sobriety and accountability one must have who presumes to say, "thus says the Lord." The Holy Tradition is a great aid in this regard. It provides a Living context in which we may listen, discern, and speak with humility. That is why is shy away from the word "clarity" and prefer the phrase "confident conviction." The word of the Lord is for all of us if it is for any one of us. This is a beautifully ideal statement, I know. But we strive faithfully for just such an ideal to be realized grace by grace in our lives personally and communally. We CAN hear with "confident conviction" just like Moses, Peter, and Paul. There is no reason to slip into grim resignation and begin to portray the "biblical folks" as recipients of an intimacy that we cannot attain. But, let us be "confidently convicted" that God has given what is necessary to hear Him and know it is He who speaks. The question we all need to ask ourselves is, "Will I embrace the fullness of that Way of Life that makes hearing and obeying with joy possible?"
And so, we pray, fast, search the Scriptures, listen, and all the rest not as some lesser fate for the dull but as a rich and wonderful shape of life as the faithful people of God. And most of all, I do all of this not because I have to but because I desire to deep within my heart. Confident conviction of God's will and ways is the bonus.
Fr. Thomas


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The 30-year-old made his Test debut in 1996 against France and won his last cap in April 2002 against Scotland.
But new Wales coach Mike Ruddock was expected to ask Williams to tour South Africa and Argentina this summer.
"The level of commitment to play with Wales is higher than ever and I have a young family," Williams said.
"I am sure other parents in my position would understand that I want to spend as much time as possible with them during this key stage in their lives.
"I want to strike the correct balance between rugby and home life... at this stage in my career, I simply do not want to spend that amount of time away from my family."
However, despite the demands placed on him by wife Diane and 20-month-old son Logan, Williams remains fully committed to the Ospreys regional side and has not ruled out touring with the 2005 Lions to New Zealand - should he catch coach Clive Woodward's eye.
"Things are progressing well with the Ospreys, I am enjoying my role within the squad both as captain and as a senior player," Williams added.
"Touring with the Lions in 1997 was a fantastic experience, and if the opportunity arose again I would jump at the chance.
"It was the highlight of my career and it would be an honour to play for them again."


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It's finally happened, Mack and Gigs have taken that dive into the wonderful world of PC gaming, better known as the PC master race. To commemorate this joyous the goal now is to see "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS. Gigamax Games takes a look at the First Person servers and more episodes are sure to come soon.
PUBG is an amazing experience overall, filled with tense moments and a lot of spinning in circles. This homage to Battle Royale is the new hit experience for any PC gamer. The incredibly expansive map is just the first of more to come as PUBG is still in its very first stages of development and release.
Don't forget to click that subscribe button for more videos of the latest games we promise to have more PC content in the future. This is only the beginning of a giant world of possibilities.
Doom Console Ports Receiving Free DLC Including Sigil
2K Confirms New BioShock Game Is In Development
Use code Gigamax at checkout to get 20% off EwinRacing gaming chairs