text:
2006 News Archive
12th December
- Published new Article #24: "How to receive data dragged from other applications".
- Published the December 2006 newsletter.
- Updated Home Page taster panels to give more prominence to the PasH Pascal Syntax Highlighter.
4th December
- Released v1.4.4 of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. This release rolls up changes the design of the Compiler Checks tab, adds an optional compiler progress dialog, a View Test Unit menu option and some minor interface tweaks. Release also includes major changes to way HTML and JavaScript are handled internally.
- Updated CodeSnip Database Viewer's screenshot page to reflect changes to the Compiler tab. Also added new screenshots and added detailed descriptions.
24th November
- Released v1.3.2 of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. This release rolls up addition of mailing list subscription dialog, minor changes to the Config Compilers dialog box and enabling view test unit request to be remembered until end of session.
- Removed broken Top Delphi Sites link from links pages.
19th November
- Updated CodeSnip change log to note unreleased v1.3 of the program.
- Added new web service that can subscribe users to mailing lists.
- Fixed incorrect reply-to email address that was being sent for users to confirm mailing list membership.
16th November
- Released v1.2.5 of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. This release rolls up various minor changes and refactorings including improvements to Select Routines dialog box and registration wizard, minor menu and toolbar changes and addition of license to help file.
- Also updated CodeSnip Database Viewer.
- Partially restored automation of mailing lists. Users registering programs can once again automatically join mailing lists. Automatic confirmation and unsubscription not yet restored.
11th November
- Released v1.2 of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. This release adds the ability to customise the syntax highlighter used for exported HTML and rich text files.
- Added new Code Snippets Database. IsHexStr is the 100th routine in the database.
29th October
- Released v1.1 of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. This version adds the ability to generate and export Pascal units containing selected routines and adds a new search facility that can find cross-referenced routines.
- Fixed broken Contact page. Thanks to those who reported the problem.
25th October
- Released v1.0.2 of the online database.
21st October
- Made minor changes to Home Page.
- Fixed XHTML validation problems in Links pages.
19th October
- Released v5.0.1 of the Drop Files Components that fixes a bug that could cause the Delphi IDE to freeze when closing a form containing a TPJCtrlDropFiles or a TPJFormDropFiles component.
18th October
- Released v5.0 of the Window State Components that adds a new component that allows user to define the kind of persistent storage used to record window information.
- Dead web links were weeded out from the Code Snippets Database.
16th October
- Released v1.0.1 of the CodeSnip Database Viewer that fixes a bug in the database web update. The bug manifested itself only on Windows 9x platform operating systems.
- Released v2.1 of the System Information Unit. Added a method to get the MAC address of a computer's first ethernet adapter.
- Added a new Code Snippets Database.
6th October
- Added a new RGBTripleToColor, ColorToRGBTriple and MakeGreyScale.
- Updated GMTToLocalTime routine warning that routine only works with Windows NT platform.
5th October
- Restored normal home page.
- Updated Article #19 "How to make a TWebBrowser become the active control when clicked" by noting some problems in presented solution and suggesting a work around.
- Fixed some broken links on Home pages.
- Published the October 2006 newsletter.
- Began process of changing look and feel of the site by restyling main menu. The style change is expected to take several months to complete.
- Restored ability to send emails to mailing lists.
4th September
- The contact page has been fully restored.
- Fixed some broken external site links on home page.
30th August
- Revised Home Page to describe latest updates.
- Restored missing help page for Code Snippets Unit Generator.
- Modified titles of various pages.
- Restored a completely re-written bug report web service (currently used by the CodeSnip Database Viewer).
- Restored script called from old PJSoft Contact Box site to redirect to equivalent pages on this site.
- Restored program and component PAD files.
- Made minor change to way downloads are logged.
- Restored Site Map.
- Enabled Site Map "Quick Links" to top of pages.
- Removed all email records from guestbook data files.
28th August
- Completely revised temporary Home Page.
- Restored About DelphiDabbler page.
- Restored Compatibility page.
- Restored Sign Guestbook form.
- Restored this update log.
- Re-established links to About section index page.
- Restored a completely re-written Component Help Installer.
- Restored a new and extended version of the program registration web service (currently used by the CodeSnip Database Viewer).
21nd August
- Revised Home Page to describe latest updates.
- Restored page re-direction for duplicate page URIs.
- Restored custom 404 error page.
- Restored all articles.
- Restored unit generation facility. Generated units are now displayed in a scrollable box. The former snippet upload page was not and will not be restored.
- Restored About section index page.
- Restored a heavily revised contact page.
- Restored newsletter page along with all back-numbers. Newsletter sign up form was removed.
- Fixed error on download error page.
- Set up do-nothing placeholder pages for site map pages to avoid 404 errors.
- Updated title of software pages.
- Set up placeholder mailing list subscription page to inform that mailing lists are temporarily suspended.
- Restored database udpate web service for CodeSnip Database Viewer.
- Restored 8 Queens Problem Solver program pages.
- Restored BDiff / BPatch Utilities pages.
- Restored Boobytrap! program pages.
- Restored Clipboard Viewer Component pages.
- Restored Clipboard Format Spy program pages.
- Restored Colour Pop-up Menu Component pages.
- Restored Drop Files Components pages.
- Restored Environment Variables Unit pages.
- Restored Hot Label Component pages.
- Restored John Conway's Game of Life program pages.
- Restored Menu Speed Button Components pages.
- Restored Message Dialog Components pages.
- Restored GUI front end pages.
- Restored Shell Folders Unit pages.
- Restored Extended String Property Editor pages.
- Changed descriptive names for window state components.
18th August
- Revised Home Page to describe latest updates.
- Restored programs page.
- Restored script used to display software detail pages.
- Restored other units pages.
- Restored cut-down contact page that simply provides a contact email address.
- Completely re-wrote script that handles file downloads.
- Restored About Box Component pages.
- Restored registration page. Removed program's mailing list subscription form.
- Restored CodeSnip Database Viewer program pages. Removed CodeSnip mailing list subscription form.
- Restored HKEY Property Editor pages.
- Restored HTML Resource Compiler pages.
- Restored Resource File Unit pages.
- Restored tutorial pages.
- Restored Stream Extension Classes pages.
- Restored System Information Unit pages.
- Restored Version Information Editor pages.
- Restored 16 bit Version Information Components pages.
- Restored Version Information Spy pages.
- Restored Windows State Components pages.
- Added placeholders for code snippets database. The articles and database are not available yet.
16th August
- Site taken down and replaced by holding page due to further spammer attacks. A bare minimum of supporting code and images were retained, along with downloadable zip files and the RSS feed.
14th August
- Removed interactive functionality from the contact, mailing list, link exchange and guestbook pages because the site was hijacked by spammers.
7th August
- The August 2006 Newsletter was published.
24th July
- Uploaded bug fix release 3.2.2 of SIBuilder.
10th July
- Made some changes to style of site, inlcuding heading sizes and paragraph spacing.
- Made minor changes to Home Page.
17th June
- Released new PasH Pascal Syntax Highlighter command line program. The new program is in beta.
10th June
- Released v1.0 of Code Snippets Database Offline Viewer after more than a year in beta.
3rd June
- The June 2006 Newsletter was published.
- Fixed bug / potential security hole in mailing list subscription scripts.
- Added new Code Snippets Database.
- Validated all routines in Code Snippets database's Date & Time category with all supported compilers.
- Fixed several XHTML validation errors in pages and displayed logos for pages with validated XHTML and CSS.
- Added requirement to enter security code as part of mailing list sign up process to try to reduce spamming of mailing lists.
29th May
- Released v1.1 of the HTML Resource Compiler. Adds new compiler.
- Fixed security hole in application registration web service.
- Updated MPL license text displayed on software pages.
15th May
- Updated style of many articles.
- Revised content, organisation and style of Article #8 "How to detect the types of executable files".
- Revised content, organisation and style of Article #13 "How to run a single instance of an application".
- Updated home page.
- Brought About DelphiDabbler pages up to date.
- Made minor corrections to Other Units pages following removal of download links from these pages.
- Fixed broken link to privacy statement in registration page.
14th May
- Added workaround for IE6 display bug that appears in callout boxes.
- Fixed small reporting bug in CodeSnip database update web service.
2nd May
- Uploaded 3rd v1.0 Release Candidate (v0.12) of the Code Snippets Database Offline Viewer. Implemented a new, faster, database update system that also includes news feed about changes to to CodeSnip.
- Revised various web services that work with DelphiDabbler applications.
27th April
- Made new download containing CodeSnip as an interim fix to the program's web update problems.
- Fixed minor bug in "Options" box's "Generate Unit" link on Code Snippets Database page.
26th April
- Posted note that some users still experiencing problems with CodeSnip's web update service.
25th April
- Fixed timeout problem with web script that provides database updates for CodeSnip program.
- Fixed problems with PAD file generation and uploaded various program icons that can be requested from PAD files.
24th April
- Normal DelphiDabbler Site re-established.
21st April
- New hosting account set up on TDMWeb.
- Interim holding site established and name servers updated.
19th April
- Ghoulnet server failed – site down.
18th April
- Released minor update v0.1.4 of PasH Pascal Highlighter. Corrects an error in the <title> tag of generated XHTML documents.
- Released Code Snippets Database Viewer v1.0 Release Candidate 2 (v0.11.3). This fixes bug where browser controls used in program were accepting and displaying files dropped on them from Explorer.
- Posted message at the top of each page noting that the site will be moving to a new server.
15th April
- Fixed problem on Code Snippets Unit Generator that prevented units being downloaded in Internet Explorer (the browser was displaying the unit instead).
- Added ability to download a selected newsletter.
14th April
- Made improvements to log file employed by web service that updates local copies of the Code Snippets database.
13th April
- Release v2.2.3 of the Shell Folders Unit that adds extra CSIDL_ folder constants.
12th April
- Uploaded 1st v1.0 Release Candidate (v0.11.2) of the Code Snippets Database Offline Viewer. The help file has been improved, a few small bugs have been fixed and some redundant code removed.
- Added new Code Snippets Database.
10th April
- Added new Code Snippets Database.
- Also created new Windows System category.
- All the routines in the Code Snippets Database's Windows System categories were validated with the Win32 personalities of Delphi 2005/6.
7th April
- Released v0.11.0 of the Code Snippets Database Offline Viewer. The program can now be registered online.
3rd April
- Uploaded release v0.10.9 of the Code Snippets Database Offline Viewer. This fixes minor bugs in the download manager. Some other code was refactored.
- Fixed some errors on CodeSnip source code download page.
- Updated Code Snippets Database update web service that updates offline database files.
- The April 2006 Newsletter was published.
31st March
- Released Message Dialog Components v2.2. Added ability to customise dialog box in TPJVCLMsgDlg and added custom help handling.
20th March
- Released v5.0 of the Drop Files Components. Adds new TPJCtrlDropFiles component that can catch files for assoiciated windowed controls.
- Restyled Drop Files Components page by moving source code downloads to new tab.
- Added restyled mailing list sign-up box to top of Component Help Installer main page.
- Made minor changes to Article #22 "How to call Delphi code from scripts running in a TWebBrowser" to improve continuity of the last three parts of the article.
21st February
- Released 3rd release that completes Article #23 "How to get operating system version information". Added information about reading OS version information from registry, detecting XP Media Center & Tablet editions and 64 bit OSs. Also released new demo program and added references section.
13th February
- Released version 2 of Article #18 "How to customise the TWebBrowser user interface". This is a total rewrite that changes way GUI handler code is registered with web browser control.
- Updated Article #22 "How to call Delphi code from scripts running in a TWebBrowser" to reflect changes in related article #18.
6th February
- The February 2006 Newsletter was published.
30th January
- Released v0.10.7 of the screen shots.
- Fixed error in MD5 checksum generation code used on download pages.
- Added download tab to some components pages.
- Tweaked content and style of some programs pages.
24th January
- Released v0.10.6 of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. Fixed a small bug in database update code.
- Changed method used to download programs. Each program page now has a Download tab that lists all available downloads. MD5 checksums and file sizes are now provided for all the downloads. The clickable download glyphs were removed from all program pages.
- Updated Compatibility page re change to Mozilla Firefox v1.5 as main development browser.
- Added new Google ad that promotes Mozilla Firefox to Compatibility pages.
17th January
- Released v3.2.1 of the SIBuilder install program creator. Can now run multiple installers at the same time.
- Released v0.10.5 of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. The help file is now complete.
- Updated CodeSnip update web service to v3 ready for use with later versions of CodeSnip.
12th January
- Released v0.10.4 beta of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. Updates v0.10.2 to v0.10.4 have fixed some dialog box bugs, improved compiler execution and added checksum security to downloaded database files. v0.10.2 reverted to compile with Delphi 7 due to known form inheritance bug in Delphi 2006.
10th January
- Released v0.10.1 beta of the CodeSnip Database Viewer that fixes a small bug introduced in v0.10.0.
- Added new Code Snippets Database. Submitted by Ben Miller.
- Restyled some of the unit generation page.
- Added Delphi 2005 and 2006 to list of known compilers on the code snippets upload page.
9th January
- Released v0.10.0 beta of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. Added support for Delphi 2005/6 Win32 personailities. Can now configure compiler command line.
7th January
- Released v0.9.0 beta of the CodeSnip Database Viewer. Added new preferences dialog box and ability to copy routines to clipboard. Revised source code now requires Delphi 2006 to build.
- Updated the About DelphiDabbler page.
- Fixed emailing bug in Guestbook.
- Released System Information Unit v2.0.1 that fixes bug that caused problems on Windows 2003.


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4 April, 2009
I want to do some analysis of interesting game mechanics. I think often developers don't really look at game mechanics to really understand them; often it's, "Hey, that's cool, let's copy it!"
For this installment, I want to look at non-mana resources for characters.
Defining Resources
What are non-mana resources? These are resources a player uses to fuel abilities besides mana (or direct mana replacements like "skill" or "power"). In WoW, this would be Rage and Energy; in LotRO, this would be Fervor or Focus.
Resources are something that players have to manage in a game. Mana, put simply, is a way to limit the player from mindlessly pounding on the most destructive power he or she has endlessly; in a traditionally balanced game, a player who did this would run out of mana (or other resource) quickly and be unable to perform other actions. A skillful player will know how to manage the resources for the largest return.
In some games, this has changed. In some games, the more immediate limiting factor is a cooldown for the skill. A skillful player must know how to use character abilities with the right timing to maximize damage. This is the concept of a "casting rotation" common in WoW raiding.
Mana is a pretty straight-forward resource. You have a maximum pool and regenerate mana over time. A player can increase the maximum pool to be able to cast more spells before running on empty; alternatively, a player can look for ways to increase regeneration to regain mana faster. Generally, a larger pool is better for large bursts of activity (like PvP), whereas regeneration helps in an event that takes longer (like a raid boss encounter).
In WoW
Non-mana resources fill the same role, but they work differently. Let's take a look at WoW's examples first.
Warrior types in WoW have a stat called Rage. The maximum pool is always 100 and does not scale upward with level. The value starts at 0 but increases in combat by doing and taking damage. Some warrior abilities generate rage, and others require a certain amount of rage to be spent to use the ability. Outside of combat, range will disappear.
Rogue types in WoW have Energy. This also has a maximum pool size set to 100 (although that can be increased slightly in some situations). Energy regenerates fairly quickly, but at a set rate. Abilities require a specific amount of energy.
Death Knights have Runes and Runic Power. Runes are like Energy, and Runic Power is like Rage on a very crude level.
What is the point? The way these stats work is to change the pacing of combat. For a warrior (or druid in bear form), the beginning of a combat tends to be a bit slow, especially if they are attacked unprepared. A warrior must focus on generating rage. Once the warrior gains some rage, they can rip off some of their more powerful abilities.
For a rogue, however, they are almost always ready to go. If they finish one combat and get into a second one quickly, they will not be "mana starved" like a caster would be. During a longer combat, rogues already have a pace set by the constant regeneration of energy, although they have to make a lot more smaller decisions about when to use an ability and when to let energy regenerate for a more costly attack.
The downside is that this creates different, incompatible systems for your players to deal with. A newbie caster may not understand that a warrior has to build up rage to get to their good abilities. Also, things like mana potions and gear that increases Int stat are useless for the classes that don't use mana.
In LotRO
LotRO is interesting in that every class uses mana (called "power"), but a few classes have additional non-mana resources to manage.
Champions have Fervor points, that work similar to Rage in WoW. A champion's basic attacks increase fervor, and the advanced attacks require fervor to be spent. Some of the champion's toggle abilities will generate fervor over time while in battle and they get an ability to instantly generate some fervor, too. The maximum pool is set at 5 points. Fervor goes away if the champion is not in battle. The same abilities that give champions fervor points also give big bonuses to power regeneration, so that the main limiting factor is fervor points, especially in shorter combats.
Hunters have Focus points, which work similar to Fervor points in many ways. The two main differences are that Focus points go away if the hunter moves, and the maximum pool is 9 points.
These two resources change the behavior of the two classes. Champions are encouraged to build up fervor to get to their more costly and more powerful attacks. At the beginning of combat, a Champion has limited choices, but they open up as more fervor points are generated. Hunters, on the other hand, are encouraged to plan ahead. Moving around a lot means that the hunter will not get access to their higher level abilities. Maintaining range and using immobilization traps (or a good tank) is important for a Hunter.
Other possibilities
What other game mechanics could use resources?
One way to keep all classes using a mana system to to give them a unique flavor is to change how mana regenerates. For example, a system where mana regenerates faster if you have more mana in your pool would mimic some aspects of the Energy system in WoW. It would encourage users to perform single actions then wait for the mana bar to regenerate. A character could then burn through a mana bar for a big effect, but would then take longer to regenerate.
Another idea is to tie game mechanics to the amount of resource a character has. Some WoW skills do this for Rage or Energy, where the ability consumes any remaining resource and converts that to damage. For a mana-type resource, you could give a bonus based on the amount remaining: an interesting idea would be to give a small "desperation" bonus to damage if the user is low on mana. A player could then decide if he wanted to conserve mana "just in case" or burn through the mana bar quickly and stay nearly empty for a bonus.
So, what do you think? What other types of resources have you seen in games? What other types of resources could you have for a character in a game?
17 Comments »
Guild Wars has "Signets". These abilities are balanced by different cast times, recast times, or must meet certain pre-requisites to be used. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Skill has a list of all the concepts used, some more than in WoW at the moment. There are also "Upkeep" mechanisms, some permanently active (until cancelled) spells reduce energy income for example. Guild Wars also makes the relative power of a skill depending on the points in an attribute. So you must make a choice whether to have two very strong or three or more somewhat balanced attribute lines and go with the corresponding skills.
Death Knights are outstanding in WoW, in terms of class design. They have the most advanced mechanics when it comes to reducing downtime. They either have runic energy ready or their runes active. In fact DK's can leave a fight with more health, energy and runes active than at the beginning. They are an interesting lesson in class design, their only flaw is curiously that this concept basically knows no downtime, which elevates it above mana-based classes, even if these got changed to have mana for eternity basically, Mana never running out, which Blizzard wanted to correct and maybe already did so, did not play since december.
Then there could also be reactive abilities: If the mob is knocked down or you if you can attack it from the rear, you gain special abilities/attacks whatever of opportunity, giving positioning more meaning and the player opportunities.
Comment by Longasc — 4 April, 2009 @ 1:44 PM
One approach which I like is the domination build-up for dominators in City of Villains. Domination is a resource that is slowly built up by using other powers (skills). When the build-up reaches 90%+ of the domination bar, the player can trigger the domination skill. The domination skill is essentially a skill-booster that lasts for 90 seconds – damage is increased, control powers have higher magnitude (more difficult to resist) and lasts longer. It also makes the character more resistant to mez effects.
Essentially the character becomes more powerful in most things they do for a short period.
When the time is up the bar empties and it starts all over again. The domination also builds up faster in teams – the larger the team the faster the build-up. There is a decay if no skills are used, but it is quite slow.
Lotro:s Rune-keeper also have an interesting resource twist. The resource bar there essentially starts from a steady-state position in the middle. Damage skills changes the state on the bar in one direction, healing skills in the other direction. Skills associated with either side (damage or healing) becomes more powerful the further it goes to either side. So you cannot do both very well at the same time, but have to make some compromises. The state goes back fairly fast to the steady state and it is possible to go back and forth a bit within the same combat.
Also part of this system would be the rogue 'combo' points seen in various games (WoW and WH come to mind), where certain moves generate combo points and others use them up. These are sometimes tied to the specific target rather than "in general", so no saving them from one person to the next.
WarHammer also used a rage-like mechanism for its melee healer classes, along with the mana system, with the ability to channel mana into 'healer points' over time.
Comment by Trevel — 4 April, 2009 @ 3:16 PM
In fiction there are lots of examples of wizards who make use of assistants to cast their spells, as well as those who work in conjunction with their peers to work magics that are bigger than what they can cast on their own.
A simple way to implement this in existing game designs might be to create a shared mana pool among party members. You'd probably have to do other stuff to make this interesting though.
Maybe with a big spell that cost more mana than one caster could provide… put it on a long cooldown so that you get a rotation instead of several mana batteries and one caster.
You'd probably have to have 2 mana pools for this… one that stayed personal, and one that was shared. That way even if someone screwed up and wasted the shared pool an individual could do something.
Comment by Vargen — 4 April, 2009 @ 9:16 PM
As an aside, there's very little about any existing MMOs that specifically takes advantage of the 3d world — ie 99% of the mechanics could exist in a text-based MUD. The only exceptions that come to mind are facing for melee, line of sight for ranged, and backstab. Most don't even have collision.
One 'resource' that could provide a fresh mechanic would be to somehow quantify the space around players or between players. Distance, direction, and relative facing can all be measured. Groups can then be assessed for relative cohesion or organization, and situational buffs or debuffs incurred (ie based on weapon type/size, or class, or w/e).
I should footnote that Age of Conan's Conqueror had a system of directional buffs, but it was an absolute failure IMO and represents only a very shallow use of spatial relationships as a mechanic.
I agree w/ the poster above that the idea of group resources can be further explored. In the raiding model, group accomplishments reward the individual with individual loot. I would like to see more mechanics that reward the whole group for group accomplishments. ie what if your guild had a shared mana pool, used for very powerful abilities and perhaps only replenished by large-group endeavors?
Comment by Matt Beals — 5 April, 2009 @ 10:07 AM
"For a mana-type resource, you could give a bonus based on the amount remaining:"
This made me think of manaburn, a wizard AA in EQ2. The wizard spends all of her remaining mana, and the damage dealt is proportional, with a very solid multiplier. If the wizard doesn't get the kill shot, she has no mana left and a mob that is very unhappy with her. I like this idea, actually.
One option that's rarely taken in most MMOs today (I can think of one: Ragnarok Online) is the use of 'reagents' to power skills, occasionally even more so than the use of mana. This could be implemented in a number of different ways: one possibility might be the use of bulky and/or weighty reagents to replace a certain /amount/ of mana, energy, or whatnot in the application of skills, taking up potentially-valuable inventory space until they're utilized. Alternately, as RO does it with Red, Blue, and Yellow gemstones, certain skills could simply require those reagents on top of the normal cost, usually for skills which benefit an entire group of people.
I do think, though, that the most interesting _possible_ mechanic that already exists in nearly every multiplayer game, is team cohesion. In thinking from the opposite end, developers could come up with an encounter or mechanic which is far more effective if the team works together and pays attention to what the others are doing. Say, a group of five crystals, each on opposite ends of a large chamber, that have to all be smashed within a 5-second period, to weaken a large mob within the chamber. (Mind, that's weaken, not 'render defeatable'.)
Similar, though on an opposite tack, to the above, A Tale in the Desert has a number of 'digs' at periodic intervals, for a useful resource – cut-able stones. If all of the players are continuously digging at full capacity, and too few players pick up any of the stones, eventually it results in wasted effort, as about 10 stones can be on the ground around a hole at any given time. Paying attention to the others and knowing when and when not to dig helps the entire effort, and gives a good indication of when a group is too large.
Finally, in City of Heroes (as well as a LOT of others) there are some skills which are best applied to a large group of enemies rather than individual ones. This isn't as much of a resource as it is a tactical decision: at what point do those skills become less beneficial than others for the amount of energy they take (or time to recharge), and how safely can they be used without swarming the whole party?
Comment by Theogrin — 6 April, 2009 @ 9:25 AM
Reagents are indeed out of fashion, for good reasons. They were often annoying and limiting, not in a positive way. There need to be limits to skill usage and power, but reagents could either be very expensive and often making people just forget about an ability or had to be carried around by the dozen or hundreds.
The Diablo III trailer shows Blizzard's solution how to combat the potion guzzling of the earlier Diablo titles. Defeated mobs leave health powerups behind. So you can no longer stack up on potions and just overpower/"overpotion" enemy mobs and just get the resources necessary to recover and keep on going.
Comment by Longasc — 7 April, 2009 @ 5:21 AM
Interesting how we've moved from traditional RPG mechanics (reagents, potions) to a traditional arcade mechanic (powerups). Although you could argue that Diablo was more arcade to begin with…
The nice thing about consumables such as reagents is that it, in theory, allows design to reward strategic gaming — plan ahead, know the enemy, and stock up. However in practice I think it needs to be coupled with other systems. Some sort of limiter on what can be carried/equipped could do it, though taken to far will be equally unpopular. Also, reagents could enhance (or alter) abilities instead of being strictly required.
Anyway, I generally agree that reagents as executed in the past are just a monetary tax put on certain abilities.
Oh, and soul shards, wtf?!?
Comment by Matt Beals — 7 April, 2009 @ 9:49 AM
It might be interesting here to try to define a categorization system for action resources.
One useful approach is what the Gartner Group calls their "magic quadrant analysis," which is just a fancy name for defining two axes at right angles to one another, forming four quadrants. Each axis represents some quality of a thing, where the two endpoints of an axis are the opposite poles of a spectrum for that quality. The trick is to try to figure out the two most important qualities are for the thing you want to understand — once you've done that, the individual items in each of the four quadrants formed should fall into the most important categories.
This approach has a really handy benefit: it's a good way of highlighting gaps in product coverage. You first define the four quadrants, then you fill in each quadrant with a broad selection of representative products from the system you're studying. If at this point you see that one quadrant is nearly or entirely empty, then you've discovered what might be a good area for products of a new kind.
In the case of action resources for characters in online games, we might say that the two most important qualities of action resources are their Form and their Generation. Form — Abstract or Tangible — describes whether resources are some innate aspect of a character or are physical objects outside the character. And Generation — Collected or Regenerated — describes how those resources are obtained through gameplay. (I think a good case could be made that these are two important qualities, but I'm definitely open to suggestions for qualities that might be more determinative.)
That gives us four quadrants: Abstract/Regenerated, Abstract/Collected, Tangible/Collected, Tangible/Regenerated.
Abstract/Regenerated resources would be the typical "mana" types. This quadrant would include Energy as well as "Action" from the original Star Wars Galaxies.
Abstract/Collected resources would be those which characters must perform actions to gather but which aren't represented by tangible objects. Examples of resources in this category would be Rage/Fervor and Domination.
Tangible/Collected resources would be physical "things" that characters would need to accumulate, and which would be destroyed by use. Reagents are one example of this kind of resource, with physical spell components being the general case. But ammunition could be understood to be another such Tangible/Collected resource. In fact, we might even say that money constitutes an important form of this kind of resource, the acquisition of which enables certain sorts of character actions.
And then there are Tangible/Regenerated resources. What the heck are these? What kind of physical resource starts out topped off in a player's inventory, then after being expended restores itself automatically over time?
I'd say this might be an interesting place to look for alternatives to "mana" and other action resources. :)
I came up with one possibility here, which I call "pet juice" for lack of a less disgusting term. This would be some resource which character pets naturally generate. It's external to the character, so it has to be sort of carried around, but it's also self-regenerating after use (assuming your pet is still around and is not affected by anything that prevents pet juice regeneration).
Any other ideas for some different forms that a Tangible/Regenerated action resource might take?
Finally, what about this approach? Too high-level to be useful for coming up with alternative gameplay mechanics? Or useful, but needs some tweaking?
Comment by Bart Stewart — 7 April, 2009 @ 3:07 PM
Huh, that's an interesting way to classify resources, Bart. One side-effect of these types of organization systems is that you have odd categories that crop up.
Your "Tangible/Regenerated" resources are interesting. The first thing I thought of were usable trinkets and short-term buffing potions like in WoW. Although you don't usually need these to use your abilities, but they give a small boost to your abilities at the right time (or on a regular basis, depending on the boost).
Perhaps instead of trying to think of this like quadrants, you can define a series of attributes for the resource. For example:
- Regenerating – Does the resource come back (or refresh) on its own under normal circumstances, or must it be gained through some player action?
- Internal – Is the resource innate to the character or does it come from an item or other target?
- Required – Can the ability be used without the resource, or is the resource something that just gives a bonus?
- Pool – Is the resource a pool that is used or a single, discreet unit?
So, mana would be typically be "true" for all these categories. A trinket would be regenerating, not internal, not required, not a pool. "Pet Juice", as Bart defines, would be regenerating, not internal, required, and a pool. You'd still have strange resources like Hunter Focus in LotRO, where it is diminished if the character moves.
I'm sure you could come up with other attributes, too, but these are four off the top of my head.
Some further thinking about this topic. Any other thoughts?
Comment by Psychochild — 8 April, 2009 @ 8:22 PM
Reagents were also rather useful in preventing the inequality between magic users and warriors. Warriors naked are useless, while wizards end up being pretty much as powerful as before. By requiring said wizards to reequip with reagents, it placed a brake on their abilities.
It also led to a lot of emergent behaviour with the stealing skill – robbing a wizard of his key reagents could greatly weaken him.
One issue with UO's reagent implementation was the economic system on top that made shopping a crazy chore. While it is cute to see second hand reagent shops actually become practical in game, it isn't all that fun to keep shopping. An interesting twist on reagents may be to make it easy to acquire them – one click fill up of your reagent bag before heading out. The reagents thus become a "max number of spells" you can cast before returning to town. This sort of non-renewable resource adds another strategy of resource conservation on the encounters.
Comment by Brask Mumei — 9 April, 2009 @ 11:38 AM
>> Perhaps instead of trying to think of this like quadrants, you can define a series of attributes for the resource.
I think that's a perfectly valid alternative. The quadrant approach is handy for showing clustering — or, more interestingly, "odd categories" where there's a lack of clustering.
But listing characteristics in a multi-column, multi-row chart form can be a good way to brainstorm about the distinctive qualities that a collection of things might share — our old friend Mr. Spreadsheet to the rescue! :) (I can't resist putting in a plug here for the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods. There may not be a more effective single-page aid to creativity on the entire Internet… which is saying something.)
In the case of finite resources, some other characteristics that spring to mind besides Regenerating, Internal, Required, and Pool could be:
- Units – a number ranging from 1 to Bignum. A value of "1″ indicates a one-shot resource; a larger number signifies a repeatably depletable resource. (This might just be a slightly more specific way of thinking of a "Pool" characteristic.)
- Reset – can some event reset the resource counter, either to zero or maximum? (This would distinguish resources like Hunter Focus.)
- Group, Leader-owned – is this a resource that exists only when two or more players are formally grouped, and which is available only to designated group leaders? (Note: "group" as used here can mean either temporary pick-up groups or persistent "guild"-type organizations.)
- Group, Shared – is this a resource that exists only when two or more players are formally grouped, and which is available to all group members?
- Guild – is this a resource which is available only to members of a persistent player organization?
- Public – is this a world resource which any player can draw from (possibly according to some rule(s) of play)?
- Expandable – can the maximum amount of the resource controlled by a player or group be increased? (If "yes," indicate whether the increase is temporary or permanent.)
- Control-only – is this a resource which is not used by a player or group, but which is only controlled by a player or group with active usage being restricted to other players or groups?
- Side Effects – are there negative side effects which scale according to the amount of the resource a player or group controls or uses?
Just a few more ideas there. Any others? And could combining some of these, along with the initial four Brian suggested, produce some types of resources (with appropriately interesting names, of course) that haven't been seen in online games but that might be fun alternatives to straight "mana"-type resources?
Comment by Bart Stewart — 10 April, 2009 @ 2:53 PM
Reagents, hehe, I like that – shows its fantasy roots though as most people use it in reference to chemical reactions, personally I call it ammo ;)
Not sure if you'd consider it a 'resource' but it has the effect of limiting a players use of an ability is something like the 'counter' or 'reaction', like in Vanguard where a specific effect that the mob does to the player triggers the abilities availability, think along the lines of a 'parry' ability which is more or less useless unless someone tries to hit you first. D&D 4th Ed. has the concept of 'bloodied' where a monster or player gets additional abilities when they have been reduced to 1/2 or less of their hit points.
Offshoots of this are abilities that remove conditions from a player – activating them is useless if the player doesn't have the condition, or combo style abilities that require a mob or player to be already suffering from a condition in order for the ability to take effect (you see a lot of that in Guild Wars or Magic the Gathering).
Maybe another 'limitation' could be considered animation time. I vaguely remember something about Age of Conan where female avatars were less effective in combat due to having longer animation sequences than the corresponding male avatars, very similar to a cooldown timer though I guess. Speaking of which, its been ages since I've played, but don't most spellcaster types in WoW and the like tend to have spellcasting timers as well? So not only did the spell have a cooldown but it took a set amount of time to cast and if you got hit there was a chance of disruption of some description?
Of course none of these are really 'resources' I guess, but to my mind the key is limiting the players access to repeated use of an ability.
Comment by TickledBlue — 19 April, 2009 @ 7:49 PM
On the Blogroll: Psychochild
[...] give you a few recent hits, there are two posts to help you avoid that digital sand on non-mana resources and defining "indie." I note this first one because it approaches the topic in a well [...]
Pingback by Kill Ten Rats — 12 June, 2009 @ 6:53 AM
I've only ever seen reagents done well in a game, and that is actually Psychochild's Meridian 59. The way posters here regard reagents make me sad – it means they've never experienced it done right. Reagents are not 'ammo' at all when done right. Reagents turn Strength (carrying capacity) into a metaphysical measurement of how long your character can fight. Instead of relying on a number, HP, the player has to make choices as to what to carry and use. Meridian 59 also limited the number of arrows in the same way as reagents, by giving them weight.
The end result of this is PvP combat that changes over short durations. Everything may go 'according to plan' in the first fight, but players may start to run out of certain reagents as early as the second fight, forcing them to innovate or fight differently. Often, fights begin with high-level spells and skills, ranged attacks like arrows and lightning bolts flying… then arrows and bolts are expended… the fighting tends toward backup tactics like short-range 'splash' spells or melee weapons… and then, mana and buffs start to run out, changing everything again. This kind of organic changing competition blows all other MMOG PvP out of the water in terms of depth and enjoyment, because even games like Guild Wars rely on an 'artificed' experience, where people talk in terms of 'spell rotations' and 'cooldown timers' and characters are more or less always operating exactly as the player designed them to operate. There's no innovation in systems like that, no 'true skill'.
Unique Mechanic
[...] that there is less feel of "mana or something slightly different," although you do get rather different effects from bars that build up during combat and those that empty out. Or I could be completely wrong, [...]
Pingback by Kill Ten Rats — 1 September, 2010 @ 11:03 AM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Pet monkey rescues on the rise: Charities reveal Lincolnshire callouts
Animal welfare charities have said callouts to pet monkeys have increased threefold, with a number of complaints coming from Lincolnshire.
An estimated 5,000 primates are being kept as pets in the UK and the RSPCA and Wild Futures have said they receive one call every three days relating to the welfare of a monkey.
Inspectors described how animals were found in squalor, cooped up in bird cages, fed fast food and suffering from disease.
There have been four welfare complaints made over the past five years in Lincolnshire, with one call made in 2011, two made in 2013 and one made in 2015.
Greater Manchester and Greater London had the most calls with 34 calls and 23 calls respectively.
RSPCA has joined forces with Born Free Foundation, British Veterinary Association, Captive Animal Protection Society, Four Paws, One Kind and Wild Futures to push for a ban on keeping primates as pets.
New data also suggests that many primates are suffering and don't have vital social, dietary and environmental needs met.
Primates are highly social animals and have extremely complex behavioural and social needs and many are being kept alone.
RSPCA senior scientific officer Dr Ros Clubb, said: "The level of calls we are getting to the RSPCA just shows the number of primates that are out there are increasing – and at an alarming level. The spread of calls across the country is real cause for concern too.
"Sadly our inspectors have seen situations where monkeys have been cooped up in bird cages, fed fast food and sugary drinks, deprived of friends of their own kind, living in dirt squalor and suffering from disease."
A petition to #ProtectPrimates has been started and can be found here.


text:
Laser sintering
Formero has supplied laser sintered parts for over 18 years, as the ideal rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing solution.
Laser Sintering can be used in all stages of the product development process, from concept to design validation, engineering and field trials, and small production runs of small components up to 1000 units.
The technology
Laser Sintering, like all additive manufacturing processes, builds parts in a layer by layer process. The materials used to manufacture laser sintered models are powder based, which results in parts having a slightly granule surface finish. As the powder is spread across the surface, a computer controlled C02 laser beam scans the surface and selectively binds together the powder. During the laser sintering process the powder temperature increases above the material transition point and causes the particles to flow together to form the component.


text:
This report shows all sales to teams, showing amount billed, employee credits, discounts, and amount due. Use the options panel to select one or more league levels and a date range for transactions.
Note that the report breaks out different teams in each league, and provides a total for the league (i.e., the level). Discounts are shown as well as the amount due. Also, an employee credit column lists discounts provided to employees who are playing in the league.
A situation in which you may want to use this report is with upcoming payment deadlines for team programs. This provides an organized and detailed look at each leagues/teams payment status.


text:
review read more
Hello, Today is my store's 24th anniversary and my husband John ordered some flowers for me from Ottawa Flowers. The bouquet was delivered this morning and I must say they are absolutely beautiful. Your people did a very good job putting the bouquet together and I wanted to send my thanks to you and your team.
review read more
You guys are amazing and I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for pulling off my last minute change in the deliver date and location. I will put a good word out for you. Thanks again. Customer service above and beyond! I look forward to seeing your work of art this evening. And look forward to doing business with you again. Have a great day! Gratefully Lise C.


text:
Supercharger installed?
Supercharger installed?
I don't think you would know unless you go there. I would just assume that it is
TIE...... Trust in Elon
No way - and I had a recent problem that really makes me wish there were a way to verify supercharge circuit is working BEFORE taking a road trip! I used supercharger in Barstow mid-December and it worked great...but on trip last weekend, Tejon Pass wouldn't work. Charger seemed fine, but car wouldn't ramp the current. Seemed like a contactor/relay problem, but phone support and even engineers at the charger couldn't figure it out or help. I had to abandon the MS at the rental car agency and drive ICE to Norcal to salvage my weekend :-(
@cliff - Sure, all you need is a Supercharger at your house.
It isn't clear that doing what @rockyb asked, which is to see if it is present, would help you since you already knew it was there.
Cliff, did you have your MS checked out once you got back? It seems odd that the SC just wouldn't work. I had issues with an SC where it was just slowly charging - perhaps 55A or so. Then I jumped to the SC in the next space and that was very fast (in the 225A range). So, it's possible that one SC may have issues while the other one may not.
TbvIE.....Trust (but verify) in Elon
@dahtye - waiting to bring it to service center until due bill items are ready...not so convenient at 40 miles away and don't have another road trip planned. SC plugged in and port blinked green. Dash showed 380V and 255A available, but would not ramp charge current. Other MS there charged OK. Tried 3 different stations (of the 6). Seemed pretty sure to be something in car. Phone support did the reboot thing...felt like I was talking to Microsoft! Anyway, they didn't have any remote diagnostics for this, it seemed.
IOW, calling ahead or knowing the state of the SC station would have made no difference whatsoever.
When I first got the car I made a test drive to Gilroy (about 45 miles away) to test out the Supercharger and get a safe road trip under my belt. If the Supercharger/car didn't work, I had plenty of range to return home. It worked fine, and made for a nice day's outing. Might be smart if convenient to do something similar as a good first test if you live with a round trip range of a Supercharger.
On a much longer trip last weekend, I did have a problem with one Supercharger. The Gilroy station closest to Sony (an older model) connected fine, and the dash said "Waiting for charge". It stayed that way for about 5 minutes. I gave up on it and pulled into the adjacent stall (a newer version) and it started charging in 10-15 seconds. On my return trip through Gilroy I used yet another stall without a problem. All stalls were in use on this return trip and someone else was using the stall without a problem that I had a problem with previously. Perhaps if I waited longer it might have worked?
Anyway, one lesson is if a stall doesn't work, try another. I've used a mix of old and new Superchargers otherwise without any problems.
The older Superchargers have a very short cable, and you have to be within a few inches of the cable for it to reach. Newer ones have a longer cable that is easier to use.
I think rockyb is talking about the supercharging hardware on his vehicle and not any supercharging station.
The only way is to actually go to a station and test it out.


text:
CSR | Pro Bono
At Wolf Theiss we believe that success is a two-way street. Our financial success depends in large part on our doing quality work for our clients, so they come back to us and recommend us to others. But our success also depends on the support of the local communities where we live and work. They provide us with many things, including the talented lawyers and assistants who make it possible for us to do what we do. We all think it is essential that we give something back to the community.
The people at Wolf Theiss make contributions to their communities in their own ways. As a firm, we show our commitment in a number of different ways:
Pro bono legal work
One way is by providing legal advice on a pro bono basis to clients who need legal help but are unable to pay for our services. Our pro bono work is directed at clients whom we consider to be very deserving or who face legal issues that we believe are especially important to our communities or to society as a whole.
Attorneys at Law firm pro bono in defence of rights of the blind with guide dogs
Legal assistance to Three Coins
Misuse of Facebook photos - Justice for Slovak student
Legal assistance to Make-A-Wish Foundation Austria
Legal assistance to Pro Cserehát
Legal assistance to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Albania
Legal assistance to Ashoka Austria
Legal assistance to the winners of "The Social Business Idea 2010"
Legal assistance to Duart Plotë Mëshirë
Legal assistance to RED NOSES Clowndoctors International
Legal assistance to the Masat-1 project team in Hungary
Charity sponsorships
In addition to donating our services, we sometimes make cash donations to help local charities or foundations. We try to pick charities where the need is great and the resources are stretched.
Wolf Theiss cares what happens in the countries where we do business not only from a legal view, but also from a charitable one. That is why the Wolf Theiss partners are committed to making substantial donations to public NGOs who are spearheading projects that are improving the quality of life for people living in the CEE/SEE region and elsewhere. Below are the charities we have chosen to support.
Donation for the victims of the catastrophic floods in 2014
Wolf Theiss supports the United Nations initiative against human trafficking
UN Office on Drugs and Crime
Education builds Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ärzte ohne Grenzen
Vienna, Austria
Scherezade foundation
Bucharest, Romania


text:
Have questions?
Comments? Tips?
Ask them in the GlobalSurfers Surf Travel Forum
You can post a new question from the country page to which the question is relevant to, or at the bottom right hand of this page.
to post a new question or answer excisting ones
Please don't spam this forum with your new surf camp / charter / villa / surf school.
The GlobalSurfers forum has been the leading surf travel resource for over 20 years, so keep it friendly and relevant. Happy posting!
will pay $20 for travel surf stories« on: November 02 2015 19:11:00 »
Hi guys. My name is Jaimee. I love surfing and traveling. I was in Nosara, Costa Rica, and I decided to start a website based on my love. I need your help and I am willing to pay for it. Come visit my site xventuresclub.com I appreciate your time!


text:
Aida Plaza Hotel
1087 Market Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103, United States
Book By Phone: 1-877-477-7441
Book By Phone: 1-877-477-7441
"Exceptional" - Eber
10 out of 10
Convenient location, friendly staff, clean room. Read more reviews
9.0 out of 10
|Book Your Room at Aida Plaza Hotel
No rooms were available for the dates you selected. Please select different dates or choose one of the following nearby hotels.
Aida Plaza Hotel
A convenient location — within a block of the Civic Center — at a cheap price is just the ticket for Our guests at the Aida Plaza Hotel on Market Street. This centrally located, non-smoking property offers tea and doughnuts to guests each morning. Some of the 120 rooms in this no-frills hotel have baths en suite and some share baths. The 24-hour front desk offers tour services. The hotel is within a five-minute walk of the Civic Center and Federal Building, and within a 15-minute walk of Union Square and the Moscone Convention Center. The hotel's location near the Little Saigon neighborhood is ideal for those who love ethnic cuisine. Aida Plaza Hotel is 14 miles from San Francisco International Airport, 19 from Oakland International Airport. Bus service is available near the hotel and the Muni Metro and BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station at the Civic Center is within a block.
Check-In Time: 01:00 pm Check-Out Time: 11:00 am
- Free Breakfast
- General
- Non-smoking Rooms
- Safe
- Vending Machine (Drinks)
- Free WiFi
- Free Internet
- WiFi in Public Areas
- Activities
- Tour Desk
- Dining
- Free Breakfast
- Complimentary breakfast
- Services
- Free Internet Available
- Free Internet Access
- Free Internet In Public Areas
- Room Service
- Concierge Service
- 24-Hour Front Desk
- ATM/cash machine on site
- WiFi
- Baggage Storage
- Room
- No Smoking Rooms/Facilities
- telephone
- Cable/Satellite TV


text:
Wed, 30 August 2017
Our guest this week struck absolute gold by hosting webinars, and she's going to teach you how to do it yourself. In only two years, Liz Benny has managed to create webinars that have raised over 2 million AUD – she previously had no experience in the field!
See below for some of Liz's top tips;
** Any business can benefit from webinars - it doesn't have to be online courses.
** The right webinar will take someone over the emotional hurdles/doubts as to why they can't be successful themselves.
** Webinars are all about empathy.
** Check out Russell Brunson's webinar structure - it's worked for Liz and our very own Ben.
** You need a proper understanding of the pain points and pleasures of your audience - do your surveys properly. Google forms is an easy free tool to create surveys.
** Lead with integrity with your webinar. If you are always yourself, you will sell more.
** Personal stories help your upsells from webinars.
** When it comes to words in the slides, less is more.
In this episode of Business Brain Food you will learn:
** How outsourcing can revolutionise your life
** The definition of a webinar
** How to change your energy for a webinar
** The right title for a webinar
** The difference between a great webinar and a bad webinar
** Should you have video in your webinar?
** What percentage of webinar audiences normally stay and listen to the sales pitch
Resources mentioned in this episode:
** Ben's free 5-stage Business Exceleration™ workshops will be taking place in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Go to http://www.businessfasttrack.com.au for more information and to register.
** Leave a review of BBF on the itunes store and gain access to some members-only training on user experience. This is a great, hour-long video called "The three secrets to making your website convert visitors into customers". All you have to do is leave a review, copy the text and email it to email@example.com and you will be given access to the training.
** Liz's website: http://www.lizbenny.com
** Liz's facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TimeToKapow/
** All previous BBF episodes & show notes can be found at http://www.businessbrainfood.com.au
** Twitter: https://twitter.com/bfewtrell
Call to action:
Listen to what Ben said at the end of the show…. literally ANYONE can do a webinar that makes them money, so you should start doing yours today!
Also, if you are enjoying these Business Brain Food podcasts, then make sure to share them via social media sites or email the links to family and friends. A lot of time and effort goes into producing each of these podcasts with the goal in mind of the more people we can inspire about business the better. You can help us do just that!
Until next time, have a profitable day.
Direct download: BBF149_How_to_use_webinars_to_grow_your_business_with_Liz_Benny.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm AEST


text:
This content has been written a long time ago. As such, it might not reflect my current thoughts anymore. I keep this page online because it might still contain valid information.
Installing Vagrant In A Restricted EnvironmentClermont-Fd Area, France
Lately, I worked on installing Vagrant in a restricted environment. By "restricted environment", I mean an infrastructure with restricted permissions for our users, disk quotas, NFS volumes, and a stable operating system: Debian Squeeze32. This work has been done in collaboration with the sysadmin of my University.
Vagrant needs VirtualBox 4.0 or upper, but the latest VirtualBox version available for Debian stable is 3.2.10 OSE. Fortunatelly, Debian Backports provide VirtualBox 4.0.x:
# /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://backports.debian.org/debian-backports squeeze-backports main
Installing VirtualBox becomes easy:
apt-get -t squeeze-backports install virtualbox virtualbox-dkms
virtualbox-dkms package is required to compile the module. If you want a
graphical user interface, install
Also,if you use a virtualization solution (KVM for instance), you should unload its module (rmmod is your friend).
Now, let's install Vagrant. Last stable version is 1.0.5, and you can find packages at: http://downloads.vagrantup.com/tags/v1.0.5.
wget http://files.vagrantup.com/packages/be0bc66efc0c5919e92d8b79e973d9911f2a511f/vagrant_1.0.5_i686.deb
dpkg -i vagrant_1.0.5_i686.deb
Customizing the default directories
As I said in introduction, users have disk quotas (500Mo) so they can't use Vagrant for two reasons:
- VirtualBox stores its VMs in
~/VirtualBox VMs/;
- Vagrant stores its boxes in
The solution is to change these two directories. Thanksfully, Vagrant provides a
VAGRANT_HOME environmental variable so you can easily change the Vagrant
export VAGRANT_HOME=/path/to/vagrant
In our case, we used
/usr/local/vagrant as main Vagrant directory, and we set
it for all users. That allowed us to import a set of boxes for our users.
Let's do the same thing for VirtualBox! Err… no. There is no environmental
variable defined for VirtualBox, but we can still configure VirtualBox using
vboxmanage setproperty machinefolder /path/to/virtualbox
is useful to change global settings. The command above changes the default
machine folder (
~/VirtualBox VMs by default).
We made a tiny shell script named
vagrant and located in the
PATH of our users
to run this command and to forward the eventual arguments to Vagrant. The reason
is quite simple, there is no way to run VBoxManage using Vagrant before everything
else. I opened an issue for that
To avoid conflicts, you can use
$USER to define one machine folder per user:
vboxmanage setproperty machinefolder "/usr/local/virtualbox/$USER"
So far so good, our users can run Vagrant to install VMs.
initramfs prompt (of death)
We tried the lucid32 Vagrant box, which is an official
box, but it
didn't work. This was an issue related to the box itself. VirtualBox couldn't
boot it, an
initramfs prompt was displayed. Most of the time, this appears
because no disk can be found.
That's why we tried to change the disk controller, we removed the SATA controller and attached the disk to the IDE controller. With this configuration, we were able to boot the image, and to log in. This was been reported as well.
So the fix was to switch from a SATA controller to an IDE controller. It can be done using VBoxManage:
vboxmanage storagectl <UUID> --name "SATA Controller" --remove
vboxmanage storageattach <UUID> --storagectl "IDE Controller" --port 0 --device 0 --type hdd --medium /path/to/box-disk1.vmdk
Vagrant provides a way to customize a
VM thanks to the
config.vm.customize parameter:
config.vm.customize ["modifyvm", :id, "--memory", 1024]
However, we decided to patch the boxes instead of using this parameter. One
reason was that we didn't know how to get the path to the
vmdk file.
We were able to boot a
lucid32 VM, but a new issue appeared: NFS. In order to
share the current working directory with the VM, we used this configuration in
config.vm.share_folder("v-root", "/vagrant", ".", :nfs => true)
It worked fine without NFS set to
true but it was quite slow. Thus, NFS was a
The Surprise
So everybody uses #vagrant now, and nobody cares about `sudo su root`? WTF! github.com/mitchellh/vagr…—William Durand (@couac) November 29, 2012
I dug into the code to understand how NFS was managed, and why it asked for
admin credentials. I was really suprised while reading the code. There is no way
to configure Vagrant to control the NFS part, and sadly it asks for the
There is no way to give the
root password to our users (mainly students). We
ended up patching Vagrant to use
exportfs and a shell script to perform
nfsd is always up so there is no need to restart it, and
exportfs does
a good job.
/etc is not writable for everyone, we used a shell script to change the
content of
/etc/exports using a simple
sed -i -e. And now, both commands
are sudoable.
And, that's it! Our users can use Vagrant as usual.
Useful Tips
Debugging Vagrant can be really
useful, especially when you start playing with VM customization.
To enable logging, use the
VAGRANT_LOG environmental variable:
VAGRANT_LOG=INFO vagrant up
Hardware virtualization should be enabled if you want to run 64bits VMs on a 32bits host. The VirtualBox documentation isn't clear about that in the chapter about hardware vs software virtualization.
Vagrant needs some improvements to be more configurable, and a bit safer in my opinion. However, it is flexible enough, we can do pretty much whatever we want with it, and it just works!


text:
The INSCA Annual Conventions is held each year in the spring. A typical meeting program for INSCA includes lots of time for members to conduct private business meetings as well as attend seminars and workshops of interest. Indeed, the primary reason many people come to INSCA conventions is to coordinate business deals with colleagues from around the world. Where else can you find yourself face-to-face with as many as 600 fellow professionals from within the natural casings industry!. Non members are also invited to attend the annual conventions.
Of course, INSCA conventions also include a variety of structured group activities, such as cocktail receptions, general sessions featuring leading experts from the industry as speakers, sporting events and tournaments, and an annual banquet. INSCA conventions combine the best of both worlds -- great camaraderie in an international resort setting plus business networking opportunities that cannot be matched!
INSCA board of directors meets twice a year. Once in the Spring during the annual convention and once Fall of every year.
2021 Semi Annual Meeting- Dubrovnik, October 19-22
2020 Semi Annual Meeting- TBD,
2019 Semi Annual Meeting- TBD,
2018 Semi Annual Meeting- Las Vegas(Nevada), USA, October
2017 Semi Annual Meeting- Paris, France, October
2016 Semi Annual Meeting- New York City(New York), USA, October 5-9
2015 Semi Annual Meeting- Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 15-19
2014 Semi Annual Meeting- Dubai, UAE, October 20-24
2013 Semi Annual Meeting- Dublin, Ireland, October 10-14
2012 Semi Annual Meeting- San Francisco(California), USA, October 9-13
2011 Semi Annual Meeting- Shanghai, China, October 11-15
2010 Semi Annual Meeting- Capetown, South Africa, October 12-16
2009 Semi Annual Meeting- St. Petersburg, Russia, October 15-18
2008 Semi Annual Meeting- Milan, Italy, October 30- November 2
2007 Semi Annual Meeting- Seattle(Washington), USA, October 21-24
2006 Semi Annual Meeting- Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 25-28
2005 Semi Annual Meeting- Frankfurt, Germany, November 1-4


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With nine players who have (theoretically) played the best in this year's WSOP remaining, it got us thinking of the WORST plays we've seen over the past week. Here's our list (from least worst to most worstest):
9) Brit Barry Paskin wearing the same "Beckham" shirt two days in row…which, from the smell of it, he actually wore something like two years in a row. How does this qualify as a bad play? First,
8) Speaking of checking a straight flush on the river… that actually did happen. Some Internet clown didn't realize they turned a straight flush and checked it down to the river. Nope, wasn't trying to trap…just didn't know. Gotta love Internet players. The fact that we don't win every single online SNG is depressing. Spot #8 was almost occupied by James Woods though. Why? Woods checked quad 3'Äôs on the river! Since Woods at least won SOME money for his hand though, we're letting it slide. Worst part is, Woods set it up perfectly until then. With pocket 3'Äôs, Woods limps and is in a three-way pot. Flop comes up A-A-K. Woods bets, one guy folds, the other calls. Turn is a 3, giving Woods a boat. He bets again and is quickly called. River is another 3. He acts flustered. Upset. What an actor!!! He checks. The guy quickly checks. Woods, hoping to set a trap (yet failing, so much for another Oscar nod), flips over his quads. The other guy just mucks. Pretty hard to think the guy was calling Woods down with J-10, so Woods missed an opportunity to get more chips out of someone (he called all the way down, so what'Äôs one more call?). The lesson: never check the nuts on the river. There'Äôs no guarantee the other guy will bet.
7) Chops using a men's room stall just seconds after Elix Powers. Let's just say the chicken sandwiches sold outside the Rio convention center didn't sit well with Chops. And Chops didn't sit well knowing that, as he rushed to the men's room, the only open stall was just vacated by one Elix "Jack high!" Powers. You wanna talk about stench? Paskin ain't got nothing on Powers.
6) Tiffany Williamson lives to tell about her bad play. Holding A-Q with a board of K-J-x, Tiffany Williamson takes about 10 minutes on Day 1 to decide about calling an all in. She called. Had a miracle ten not hit on the river, she would've been out of the tournament. But it hit. Hats off to her for some solid play after that, but sometimes it's better to be lucky than good…
5) Just cause it works on Poker Stars against a bunch of donkeys… doesn't mean it works at the WSOP. We saw a load of bad Internet players lose a boatload of money. Too many hands to even keep track of, or know where to start. But let's go with this one: Mid-position guy raises 2x the blind, and the big blind calls with pocket Jacks (no re-raise, just calls). Flop comes up K-K-6. BB checks, MP bets, BB calls. Turn is an Ace. BB checks. MP bets. BB calls. River is a three. BB checks. MP bets. BB calls. You think the MP had a hand better than Jacks? Yep, he turns over K-Q. Never a re-raise (or lead out bet) from the BB to see where he stood. Just flat-called more than half his stack away with Jacks. Unbelievable. Came back about 10 minutes later and he was gone.
4) Elmo is for little kids…not adults trying to win $7.5M!!! This grown man was
Also, this is easily and by far our favorite picture of the entire WSOP…the moment Elmo was told to remove his Muppet head. You can just see the realization of shame he's having right through those googily eyes.
3) Act like you've won a hand before…ever…in your life. As ubiquitious as the sound of shuffling chips was
2) Peter Parker was a geek and so are you. As an actor, we're fans of Toby Maguire's work. Hard not to be. And real poker players respect Maguire's game. This is one actor who CAN play. But Toby Maguire ruined his Main Event chances by putting himself on tilt
1) For all of the great Action Dan plays, there is one equal and opposite terribly bad re-action Dan play. Dan Harrington is, without question, one of the greatest no limit tournament players of all-time (and one of our favorites). That's why we're still shocked at the play


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Table of contents
Stable and proven application server framework, containing several features for running three-tier internet applications.
The core modules
Server modules are written in C++, the core modules are the following:
ispserv - application server that takes care about all the other modules
mod.tree - server tree module that holds administration tree structure
mod.access - module that handles user / role / group access rights
Application modules
Iterity Server Platform contains also several application modules, for example:
mod.messaging - messaging server that handles all internal communication
mod.documentlibrary - module that stores documents (incl. e-mail attachments, for instance)
mod.workflow - module that handles users actions in succesive steps
mod.features - module that manages system set-up of views, forms, etc.
mod.formgenerator - module that allows users to design their own system forms


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- Annoying Pop-up's
- Shows commercial adverts
- Connects to the internet without permission
Snappy Image
Are you confused by the Snappy Image extension installed onto the browsers? We are sure you are because it is most likely that this application was installed without your permission. In fact, if you wanted to install it yourself, we could not tell you which source to use because no official download link is available. Needless to say, the developers of the program have another great software proliferation method – bundled downloads. Since the suspicious program has been created on the Crossrider platform, it is quite possible that it will come bundled with other applications created on it, including Solid Savings, Magnet Downlaoder or Easy Deals. None of these applications are considered to be reliable, which is why we strongly recommend you delete them if they are running on the PC. Of course, Snappy Image removal is something we recommend as well.
The publisher of Snappy Image is Cortica; however, it is unlikely that the services of the application are in any way related to the ones presented via cortica.com. In fact, the site that Snappy Image is much more likely to be linked with is Snappyimage.surfcanyon.com. This is a suspicious search engine which is managed by Surf Canyon Inc. Even though this search engine does not present sponsored search results or links to malignant websites, you should not trust any pages you may be routed to without request or even authorization. All in all, the main objective of the advertisement supported program is not to redirect you to random search pages but to introduce you to pop-up, banner and in-text advertisements. As you should know already, clicking on ads represented by unknown parties operating through potentially illegally installed applications can be dangerous. If you do, you could be exposed to virtual scams, fictitious installers, misleading personal data extracting surveys, etc.
Some computer users do not think before clicking on alluring, flashy, fun-looking ads, and some do not care about illegally installed programs. Unfortunately, all this is related to risks you need to avoid. If you do not want to be exposed to an avalanche of suspicious ads and you do not want your online behavior monitored by suspicious parties, we suggest that you delete Snappy Image immediately. Luckily, you can remove this suspicious program with up-to-date security software. Note that more infections may require removal as well. If you do not want suspicious programs deleted automatically or your operating system shielded against other threats, you can use the manual removal guides to delete Snappy Image.
Snappy Image Removal
Remove from Windows XP:
Remove from Windows Vista & Windows 7:
Remove from Windows 8:
Download Spyware Removal Tool to Remove* Snappy Image


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"As the fourth largest city in NSW, and within the top 7% in Australia for population growth, Lake Macquarie City is a great place to do business. Nine thriving town centres offer families an affordable lifestyle in a unique location, with beaches, mountains, and the lake, providing the perfect backdrop for some of Australia's best sailing and recreation venues." - Cr Greg Piper MP, Mayor of Lake Macquarie.
We worked with Kent Woodcock Creative Solutions and the local council to develop a website which would showcase the area and help to put Lake Macquarie City on the map.


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Melbourne Daily Photo
Hello, I created this blog because Melbourne is my city and I want people to see what a beautiful place it is. So come with me on a journey of discovery as we traverse the dining precincts, the culture, the laneways and hidden gems that make Melbourne marvellous.
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Birrarung Marr Footbridge
Birrarung Marr. Crossing the Jolimont railyards and Batman Avenue, it is a bridge of strong perspectives, and is eye-catching with its tall, linear spears and simplicity. Stretching 120 metres in length, you get great views of Melbourne city and see far over the Yarra to the Eureka Tower.
3 comments:
- Julie said...
This is superb! I like the materials. I like the lines. I like the length.
I like that area a lot but have never walked across this. I have tickets for the tennis in January already and shall put walking across this on my agenda.
Taa ...
- 9 September 2009 at 16:08
- BlossomFlowerGirl said...
One of my favourite bridges. Good views and surrounding areas are wonderful.
The tennis is great. I was fortunate enough to watch Pat Rafter and Andre Agassi - pure magic. The "Mexican Waves" were very popular.
- 9 September 2009 at 23:06
- Jim said...
A wonderful shot.
Sydney - City and Suburbs
- 14 September 2009 at 16:48
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Aside from the therapeutic benefits, singing is an excellent way to remember rhetoric. The songs found throughout Scripture are essentially melodious compilations of truth. This week's portion ends right before the highly anticipated song that G-d commanded Moses to teach the people. Nevertheless, the portion contained the functions of the song.
"Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel." Deuteronomy 31:19
"And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give." Deuteronomy 31:21
The previous verses demonstrate that the song was to be both a witness and a reminder. Ideally people are less likely to sin the more witnesses are present. In this week's parasha Moses called "heaven and earth to witness against them" (Deut. 31:28) as well as the song. In addition, G-d is always a witness to every occurrence. (Heb. 4:13) The result is more than enough witnesses to convict someone of even a capital crime. The conclusion is inescapable. It is impossible for man to abscond from conviction. One would assume such opposition would be sufficient for preventing transgression, but it did not suffice nor will it ever. However, the L-rd in His abundant mercy has provided means with which His chosen people avoid the deserving eternal damnation. The King of the Universe "sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 Jn. 4:10) The following excerpt from the "Song at the Sea" concisely reveals the same truth.
"The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him." Exodus 15:2
G-d is, indeed, our song (in the case of this week's portion a "witness" and "reminder") and also our salvation. Praises and exaltation far beyond any human capacity are due to our gracious King. After singing the song of Moses, also include the song of the Lamb.
And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." Revelation 15:3-4


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Energy Tours
Organizations, schools, or families in the Dakota Valley service area can book tours of Basin Electric's North Dakota electric generation power plants or the Great Plains Synfuels Plant. Appointments are required.
- Antelope Valley Station, Beulah: Tours available Tuesday through Thursday (except holidays) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Great Plains Synfuels Plant, Beulah: Tours available Tuesday through Thursday (except holidays) from 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
- Coteau Freedom Coal Mine, Beulah: Tours available Tuesday through Thursday (except holidays) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Assistance offered for school-sponsored tours
Each year, as part of their youth education program, Dakota Valley Electric and Basin Electric Power Cooperative offer assistance to school districts within the DVEC service area. The funds help defray costs associated with touring the Antelope Valley coal-based generating plant, the Coteau Freedom coal mine and the Great Plains coal gasification plant, which are all located near Beulah in western North Dakota.
To encourage participation in these school tours, Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative will furnish the evening meal on the trip back home.
Transportation and supervision of students must be provided by the local school districts. The tours allow students a first-hand look at the generation of electricity from coal, a look at one of two gasification plants in the entire world, and a ride down into a coal mine. They will visit a power plant and learn about the many job opportunities available in North Dakota's energy industry. It is a full day that will provide great insight into one of North Dakota's most promising and brightest industries. For more information, call (800) 342-4671.


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I have to confess – I'm not really into "critters". Or creepy crawlies of any kind. But there's something to be said for nature – as a whole. It kind of draws you in. You can sit outside for hours here and just *listen*. Tree frogs, birds, deer, turtles, and yes – bugs of all sorts. And for some reason, they don't bother me quite as much when I'm surrounded with the tall trees and the nothing but the sound of that nature around me. I especially love (*LOVE*) when we're having breakfast on the screened patio and a family of deer amble by. That is exceedingly breathtaking. We all kind of draw our breath in and whisper "shhhh….look!" And it's like time stands still for a minute and you're watching this beautiful part of nature glide past.
Today was a day for relaxing. We spent time outside just being. Sitting and sipping coffee. Sitting and talking. Sitting and listening. And it was a pleasant way to spend a Friday…and there are not enough of those slow days. Can never be enough of them for most of us. Sure, we ran a couple of errands – but they were fun errands that took us bargain shopping at a local small town consignment store (gold mine of goodies!) and errands that took us on a quick trip to the store for some sustenance.
The kids did make their daily trek to the pool, and Mom and I did engage in a few hands of cards. We had some great meals and we even managed to squeeze in a movie at the day's end. And little Quint, so tired from his day of exploring, conked out on my lap fifteen minutes into that movie, and stayed right there – sound asleep – until it was finished. (Secret? I loved every second of that summertime-out of the norm – sleep on my lap all snuggly because you had a really long day playing hard – kind of time with him. It was precious to me!) All too soon, Daddy was carefully lifting him up and carrying him off to his bed.
Tomorrow is a big family day – full of swimming, story telling, hanging out, napping, cards, Frogmore Stew (the very same!) and maybe even some smores by the campfire before bed. And I can't wait to soak up every minute of it.
But for today? It was so nice to just settle into vacation….
Opa & the most irresistible girl on the planet
Snowflake the Dog gets some AB lovin'
Pop AB, looking relaxed and mellow
Have I mentioned we bring our sweet Anabelle when we come? It's a dog's life up here!
Quint is having the best time exploring, uncovering, and searching for treasures.
Today, Opa explained how he came by this empty turtle shell.
Still, before long, Quint was up the hill with his best little friend, doing what boys do best…
getting dirty, giving his puppy some love, and exploring nature
There's not much I can add to this day. It was, in many ways, what vacation is all about…


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Check out the list and let's see if you agree with him;
"In my earlier assessment of the five best actresses of 2013, I used personal and universally accepted criteria to arrive at my conclusions. Obviously, a lot of actresses left out of the last list must have felt shortchanged but I still don't have apologies for any omission therein. The same process goes with this list for the Best Five Actors in 2013 in Nollywood.
Once again, I state here that those actors and actresses who strut red carpets and push their publicity agenda through a dime-a-dozen instagram pictures should actually decide if they wish to be actors or socialites.


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Since Friday was a minimum day at school, we were able to leave two hours early. Two hours is plenty of extra time to really work both horses and still get stalls cleaned, horses groomed, and other barn chores completed.
I took JL's advice and dug out my lunge line and side reins. I am not a huge fan of lunging, and I use the side reins judiciously. After Friday, my view on lunging and side reins has taken a gigantic leap to the land of Oh my God, what a brilliant idea! Let me explain. JL suggested lunging with side reins as a way to let Sydney argue with himself without putting me in the oh-so-scary-seat.
I saddled Sydney up, clipped the side reins to his bit, and asked for a nice working trot. What I got was a pissed-off squeal, a wringing of the head and neck, and a bolt forward. Lovely, I told him. Just what I meant to get! I dug my heels in, braced a bit, and let him whirl around me. During Wednesday's lesson, JL pointed out that while I needed Sydney to think that forward was just what I wanted to do, I also had to avoid pushing him forward. He was doing that enough on his own. So as he hustled around me on the lunge line, I kept the whip on the ground and just made soothing good boy sounds whiles he had a lengthy argument with himself.
Eventually his frantic gallop to trot to gallop became just a steady trot and with a few walk, nows, he came to a quiet halt. I patted his neck, told him what a good boy he was, and let him stand and blow. Then I moved him around and we repeated the work to the right. This argument didn't last as long, but he was still soaked and blowing hard when he was finished. I took off the lunge line and side reins, walked him to the water trough for a drink, and then pushed him over to the mounting block. No way was he finished. He needed to learn that it is much simpler to just do his job without all of the drama.
He was steady as I got on, but as soon as I asked for a nice, working trot, he took off with a stiff neck and tried to bully his way around the circle. Knowing this was not because he had energy to burn, I gave him a hard HALT that got his attention. After that, he decided that maybe it was better to just get to work. He wasn't completely soft and on the bit, but it was vastly improved. He tried leaning on my inside leg a bit and then tried popping his outside shoulder at the top of the arena, but a few bumps with my inside leg, and a few whacks with my outside leg got him moving around the circle in a pretty respectable fashion.
I think that Sydney is going to see that lunge line and those side reins a few more times over the next two weeks. Thank goodness for Christmas vacation!
Oh, and the HUGE elephant named Fear? Nowhere to be seen!


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Experience layers are similar to the concept of a master template in slideware but much more powerful. They are optionally universal to all scenes and remain onscreen throughout scene to scene navigation so - for example - you can play an audio file without interruption during navigation. Experiences themselves can now host a background and have their own associated triggers, making it easy to centralize key design aspects across all scenes. Learn more about experience layers, triggers and background.Watch it
Enter any REST-based Web Service query and our API Explorer will automatically display that service's response and then use a machine learning (ML) engine to preselect which content to display within IntuiFace. By changing those selections, you teach the ML engine about your preferences. Finally, IntuiFace generates a visual of the selected content that is dynamically connected to the Web Service. When the service is refreshed, so is IntuiFace. All this without writing one line of code! Patent pending stuff... Learn moreWatch it
Every time you add content linked to dynamic data sources (for example coming from the API Explorer), IntuiFace will use a machine learning (ML) engine to scan best practices and suggest optimal layout options. Your choices will "train" this ML engine, helping it to understand your preferences, improving the quality of its suggestions. There is also a quick access option within Composer for changing collection styles on the fly. Learn moreWatch it
Easily inspect all properties, triggers and actions exposed by services accessed by IntuiFace through an external API. Applies to REST-based Web Services, .NET dlls and JavaScript programs. Plus, through drag-and-drop, create visual assets automatically bound to any of the read-only properties returned by the service. Learn moreWatch it
"Our customers come from all walks of life but each one of them wants to walk the cutting edge. It's our goal to give it to them."
- Vincent Encontre, IntuiLab CEO
IntuiFace has always been about more than touch. In particular, IntuiFace is built to react to any external trigger, regardless of the source - from RFID/NFC devices to the Internet of Things. We've greatly simplified the mechanism enabling external devices or systems to communicate with IntuiFace, using a non-proprietary approach that will work in any environment. Learn moreWatch it
We've completely overhauled Management Console, the Web-based tool used to share published experiences with colleagues & clients and to deploy those experiences to devices anywhere in the world. Super fast and super scalable, able to handle thousands of devices, it's what our Enterprise customers have been asking for. Learn moreWatch it
IntuiFace Composer and Player for Windows are now available as 64-bit apps, greatly increasing their capacity to work with large volumes of content without affecting performance. Additional improvements have been made to better support multi-screen display walls and the latest iOS, Android, ChromeOS and Samsung Tizen devices.Watch it
We think you're like us and actually enjoy using IntuiFace. It's fun! We've decided to add some color and life to the communication between our software and you. And it may seem minor but we've worked hard to make this communication as clear and actionable as possible.Watch it
Years have past since we visited our packaging and pricing model; it was due for a refresh. We've spent countless hours coming up with something we believe better addresses the diverse needs of our users. Most changes affect Composer pricing, packaging and licensing - like unlimited subscription license transfers! - but Player has seen some changes as well. Click the button below for a quick walk through or the link to the right for details. Learn moreWatch it


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Sustainable materials management is an approach to serving human needs by using and reusing resources most productively and sustainably throughout their life cycles, generally minimizing the amount of materials involved and all the associated environmental impacts, as defined in The Road Ahead, EPA, 2009. From a lifecycle perspective of materials and waste, upstream activities, such as extraction and production, present the largest opportunity to mitigate GHG emissions and environmental impacts, further discussed in Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices. The full lifecycle emissions associated with waste, materials and products contributed 42% to the U.S. greenhouse gas inventory in 2006. These impacts are much larger than conventionally recognized by most GHG inventories. Materials management strategies offer diverse and powerful ways for state and local governments to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with waste, materials and products through a lifecycle and systems approach.
A 2009 Life Cycle Assessment commissioned by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality determined that tap water systems have lower energy and solid waste requirements, and the least environmental impact of the scenarios analyzed. Lifecycle Assessment of Drinking Water Systems, Oregon DEQ, 2009.


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LUIS CRUZ AZACETA (b. 1942)
The Journey1986123 x 132 in. acrylic on canvas
ProvenanceAcquired from the artist; Allan Frumkin Gallery, New York; Private collection, Monterrey; Acquired from the above
LiteratureExhibition catalogue, Art of the Fantastic: Latin America, 1920- 1987, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1987, p.197 (illustrated in color). G. Glueck, "The Many Accents of Latino Art", New York Times, Sunday 25 September 1988, p.1 sec 2 (illustrated). Exhibition catalogue, Latin Viewpoints, Roslyn Harbor, Nassau County Museum of Art, 1996, p.32 (illustrated in color).


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Food Therapy is dedicated to bringing you the highest quality food that is...
We strive to provide you with food that fits the building blocks of a healthy diet, focusing on plant-based carbs, lean proteins and nutrient-dense meals. All our meals are made gluten-free to accommodate certain dietary restrictions.
Everyone can agree: Using fresh ingredients leads to delicious food. It is our goal to use the freshest ingredients to achieve the highest level of quality for every meal.
We play our part in the local business community by sourcing seasonal ingredients from nearby farms to bring you the freshest meals in the Capital Region.
Our Food Philosophy
You're running late and you haven't eaten all day – so you grab the closest processed, convenient snack and continue on with your busy day. We've all been there. Was that the healthiest thing to eat? Probably not, but it was quick and easy. If you struggle with finding the time to plan out your healthy meals every week, Food Therapy can help. We source fresh, local ingredients to create delicious, healthy meals twice a week, every week. All you have to do is place the order and pick it up at your most convenient location
Order Process
Here is how it works
Don't take our word for it! Here's what some of our satisfied customers have to say:
"Food Therapy is a complete life saver! Since ordering, I am able to reduce the multiple trips to the grocery store and hours prepping in the kitchen. It definitely gives me the balanced nutrition my body needs. I have noticed more energy throughout the day, and it also helps regulate my Type 1 Diabetes and Celiacs disease. I have even had to cut down on taking some insulin (huge win!). Having a service that is 100% gluten free and balanced helps me keep my portions and calories in check while allowing me to still have the energy to push through a grueling workout at the end of the day." – Sara T.
"Ordering Food Therapy has been a huge time saver for me. So much so, I have been able to use the time I used to spend grocery shopping and prepping to go to church and serve the youth of the church community on the weekends. Overall, I have seen improvements in my day-to-day nutrition, health, and performance. Daily, I am able to have back up options and food at hand that I can just grab and go, which is key when you're a mom on the go. The days I don't eat my Food Therapy, I can see that I lack nutritional elements, and it shows in my ability to do some of the movements or workouts that are tough for me.
Over the past six months, I have been working hard to be strict with my nutrition, which has included incorporating Food Therapy daily. In that time period I have lost weight (35+ pounds) and made many gains in performance (power lifting meet success, improved deadlift by 69#, all time personal record with back squat, jumping pull up from floor, first double under, starting to climb a rope). Some of these I have never done in all my life, so I think my performance has been highly impacted as well as my health. Without improved nutrition, these gains wouldn't have happened." – Amy H.