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July 26, 2013
Swift Transportation is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act in how it conducted background checks. The suit says more than 10,000 applicants were affected.
April 9, 2013
U.S. Xpress will pay $2.75 million as part of a settlement stemming from a federal court case over claims that it did not provide required discloses about background checks to those applying for truck driving jobs.
We offer e-newsletters that deliver targeted news and information for the entire fleet industry.
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Video:60 Minutes Report on Crumbling Infrastructure
Detroit Assurance: Collision Mitigation, Assisted Braking, Better MPG
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Ultimate Test Drive Video: SuperTruck A Walk Around
Kenworth Introduces World's Best Trucks 2015 Calendar
East Manufacturing Releases Scale Model Tractor-Dump Trailer
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mass exodus at the nypdreport on nypd officers leaving for better paySubmitted by kpdbx | over 6 years ago28 Views3 Comments
durham 911 dispatcher firedDurham, N.C. — A Durham emergency dispatcher has been fired for not following procedure during a 911 call earlier this month that delayed response to a fatal fire.Submitted by APEXPROUD | about 5 years ago37 Views0 Comments
Negotiate with them? Part 3zarqawi terrorist group attacks vehicle (Very graphic)Submitted by EOD300 | over 6 years ago45 Views1 Comment
Caught on tape: Suspected drunk hits CopA 24-year-old Kansas City, Mo., police officer was slightly injured Friday morning when a suspected drunken driver slammed into the car of another drunk driver he'd pulled over.Submitted by IowaNinersFan | over 4 years ago127 Views0 Comments
I will NEVER steal a motorcycle! Fulton County cop punches braves fan in the face.Sheriff Deputy in Atlanta punches drunken patron after a Braves game, when the two men decide to take a photo on a police motorcycle!Submitted by dread27 | over 4 years ago81 Views5 Comments
Controversial Taser Arrest Video ReleasedThanks to the FOIA, we're now able to see hand-held video of contentious arrest that's led to a criminal investigation.Submitted by Editor | over 3 years ago440 Views17 Comments
Addiction - German KidThis is a clip of a german kid who's computer is taking too long to connect to the UNREAL tournament. It is very hilarious. This also shows the downside to various "shoot em" games that have also been blamed for kids shooting other kids and/or even cops.Submitted by Futrprez | over 7 years ago74 Views8 Comments
Dodge Charger on Fire(possible from Lightbars)Attn. Youngsville, NC PD Dodge Charger on fire due from possible problems from it's light bar. Article is very vague on what kind of light bar was used and from the video you can't see much, but be careful out there guys!Submitted by Allen705 | over 6 years ago160 Views5 Comments
Cigarette CopSubmitted by JBeau | over 6 years ago60 Views2 Comments
Gang Beat InThis is what a gang beat in looks like. The kid getting beat is trying to join the gang, so they "BEAT" him in to see if he can take it.Submitted by sundrop1148 | over 5 years ago194 Views13 Comments
Self SmartOMGSubmitted by JIMROC | almost 7 years ago92 Views11 Comments

subset: commoncrawl


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BREAKING BAD Script Missing After Car Break-in
- Genevieve Sibayan
- On March 26, 2013
Some fans will do anything to find out what happens to their favourite TV show. Bernalillo County Sheriff's officials in New Mexico have said that Xavier Macafee, 29, was being held on suspicion of burglary. According to authorities, Macafee is accused of breaking into "Breaking Bad" actor Bryan Cranston's car late last year and stealing a script for the TV set in New Mexico and has been arrested.
Deputy Aaron Williamson, a spokesman for the sheriff's department, said none of the stolen items have been recovered but detectives were investigating the case. He said other items reported taken from Cranston's car were an iPad, a shoulder bag and "miscellaneous personal items."
"Breaking Bad" follows the fictional character Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher turned meth lord and his sidekick a former student named Jesse Pinkman, who's played by Aaron Paul.
The award-winning show is filming it's final half of it's final season and has made the town it's set in a tourist attraction with fans visiting local eateries and tours.
Editor of Cult Hub and also an Actress. Join Genevieve on Twitter or take a look at her website or imdb page.
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text: Man v. Food - The Great Steak Challenge By TravelChannelTV Adam visits Baltimore's Steak & Main, where he takes on the great steak challenge... more »Adam visits Baltimore's Steak & Main, where he takes on the great steak challenge comprised of 4 different cuts of meat. All new episodes of Man v. Food air Wednesdays at 10pm E/P only on Travel Channel. www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_v_Food « less Published October 28, 2009 2.5k views More Info » Full Credits TravelChannelTV Uploader Stats & Data 18 Funny Votes 12 Die Votes 2,536 Views Published October 28, 2009 Categories: Web Series Clean Comedy Keywords: travel channel man adam richman versus food vs challenge baltimore maryland meat carnivore steak beef grilled smoked Up Next: Drunk Driving PSA AUTOPLAY Up Next In: 10 Punching Bag FAIL Bike Cop FAIL Step Brothers DELETED Scene: Interview Montage WTF Kitty?! Follow Facebook Twitter Tumblr Instagram Advertisement Browse Related Comments 110+ more View All ▶ TravelChannelTV Vaguely Related Videos Vaguely RelatedPics & Words Advertisement From Around the Web ZergNet


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Bond Chairs: Listen to Concerns — The co-chairs of the 2014 school bond committee warned Arlington School Board members that they should not take continued voter support for granted, despite the approval of a $105.8 million school bond earlier this month. The co-chairs told the Board that they should listen to voter concerns, including concerns about the cost of new school facilities. [InsideNova]
Post Tries 'Divide' Storyline Again — The Washington Post has published another article blaming a class and a racial divide between north and south Arlington on the cancellation of the Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar system. A letter to the editor writer, in response, asks if the divide is worth the ink. "Where is the problem… is anyone's goal to make South Arlington as expensive as North Arlington so that only rich people can live there?" [Washington Post]
New eBooks at Library — You can now download "Catch 22″ and "Team of Rivals" from the library. Arlington Public Library has added eBooks from publisher Simon & Schuster to its downloadable books collection. [Arlington Public Library]
Thanksgiving Eve Party in Clarendon — Clarendon Ballroom is hosting "Arlington's biggest Thanksgiving Eve party" Wednesday night, starting at 8:00 p.m. The event will feature multiple DJs and "plenty of booze and fun to get you through a weekend with the family." [Clarendon Nights]
Flick pool photo by Joseph Gruber
The following letter to the editor was submitted by Columbia Pike resident Nicholas Evans.
I'm not a pro-streetcar zealot. However, living a few blocks from Columbia Pike, I was generally supportive of the streetcar as the best available option to spur growth and alleviate congestion. There was also an element of needing to keep a promise that had been made to developers and local business owners. Nevertheless, I heard and understood the passionate arguments made by many friends of mine in opposition. There are no perfect answers.
With the decision made, we face some new realities. The Columbia Pike area is now a much less attractive place to buy a home or locate a business. More broadly, Arlington has sent a signal to potential residents, businesses and other local governments that it cannot be counted on to hold up its end of the bargain. Governor McAuliffe has been told, "No thanks. Don't spend transportation money here." Those are not political statements, but facts. Major policy decisions have consequences.
I take our County Board members at their word that work will continue to develop new transportation options. However, for people who are celebrating, your work is unfinished. Here are your assignments:
- County Board Member Vihstadt: Congratulations. You successfully provided a channel within the system to defeat the streetcar. Throughout your campaigns, you opposed the streetcar because you wanted to do more for "core services"–education and affordable housing. There is no more streetcar to fight so let's see you keep your promises. I expect results and, no, you are not allowed to pass the buck on the school overcrowding issue. Education is as core as it gets. Time to get to work.
- To County Board Member Garvey: You have repeatedly suggested that "money is money" and that there truly wasn't dedicated money for the streetcar. This was a very effective argument–should we be building this when we have so many other needs? Although I might be disappointed about the streetcar, I am very excited that we now have more money to spend in other areas requiring investment. I would imagine you have some bold and potentially expensive proposals that are ready to go. I look forward to evaluating them.
- To Neighbors in South Arlington Opposed to the Streetcar: No whining. If development continues along the Pike, you can't complain about vehicles parked in front of your house and the Pike itself turning into a parking lot choked with all those new drivers. On the flip side, if development stagnates or regresses, no complaining about the lack of restaurants, unsafe streets or crumbling infrastructure.
- To Neighbors in North Arlington Opposed to the Streetcar: Same as your South Arlington allies. No whining. I'm assuming that the inflammatory stuff I've read about North Arlington taxpayers not wanting to spend money in South Arlington is fiction. I have many good friends north of 50 who have opposed this project and I know that's not their view. Regardless, North Arlington residents won't feel the same congestion impact except for periodic trips to Dick's to buy a new set of cleats for their kids. However, if development along the Pike stalls, the tax base won't broaden. This will be exacerbated as it becomes harder to lure businesses to any part of Arlington–most people won't locate in a jurisdiction that can't be trusted to keep its word. As a result, you all will be on the hook to fund an even greater share of the proposals coming from Board Members Vihstadt and Garvey. No whining about any tax hikes.
Finally, there is one team project for everyone identified above. You will continue to be vigilant about spending countywide. There have been plenty of "vanity projects" in my 13 years here and many of you were silent on all of them. I assume at a minimum that you all strongly oppose the proposal to establish a second Metro line through North Arlington. From your perspective, it would seem to be an enormous expense that we cannot afford. I'll look forward to seeing strong resistance should that project gain momentum. More broadly, I trust that you will be consistent rather than selective in how high you set the bar for all county spending.
ARLnow.com occasionally publishes letters to the editor about local issues. To submit a letter to the editor, please email it to firstname.lastname@example.com. Letters to the editor may be edited for content and brevity.
Board to Consider 'Technology Zone' Expansion — The Arlington County Board on Tuesday approved a motion to advertise changes to its program of giving tax breaks to small technology firms. Possible changes include expanding the "technology zones" in which businesses are eligible for the program to instead cover the entire county. The Board will vote on the changes in December. [Arlington County]
Arlington Tech Company Raises $30 Million — Arlington-based security and intelligence software firm Endgame has raised a $30 million round of funding. [Washington Post]
Werth Gnome Made of Cans at DCA — A huge Jayson Werth garden gnome sculpture made of cans is one such can creation on display at Reagan National Airport. Made for the annual "Canstruction" competition, which runs through Nov. 22, the sculptures will benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center. [DCist]
Students Place First in Video Contest — Six Arlington Public Schools students have placed first in a state-wide video contest. They created a 30-second video for the annual Virginia School Boards Association competition. [Arlington Public Schools]
Shooting Suspect Arrested in Arlington — One of the two suspects in the shooting of two teenagers in Woodbridge was arrested Tuesday by Arlington County Police, following a traffic stop on N. George Mason Drive. [WNEW]
Columnist: Streetcar's Death Will Widen Class Divisions — Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney opines that the decision to kill the Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar system will "probably deepen" class and racial divisions in Arlington. "In effect, Arlington just told its least prosperous residents: 'You want streetcars to upgrade your neighborhoods? Too expensive. Keep riding the bus.'" McCartney writes. [Washington Post]
After years of planning, community meetings and debate, Arlington's planned Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar system was scuttled yesterday following a somber press conference and brief vote.
County Board Chair and streetcar supporter Jay Fisette said the voters had spoken in their election of streetcar opponent John Vihstadt, and "political realities" meant that the streetcar project must be derailed.
Do you agree with the decision?
Update at 3:55 p.m. — The County Board voted 4-1 in favor of Fisette's motion to stop the streetcar project. The dissenting vote was Walter Tejada, who said the streetcar would have reduced congestion and helped the Columbia Pike's revitalization. "Turning away from a modern streetcar system is a dramatic step backwards," Tejada said. "Arlington's credibility in the region will now be adversely affected."
(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) Arlington County's half-billion-dollar streetcar project for Columbia Pike and Crystal City is being canceled, County Board Chair Jay Fisette announced today.
"I have come to the conclusion that the only way to move forward together … is to discontinue the streetcar project," Fisette said solemnly, before a large crowd of reporters. "After close consultation with [County Board members Mary] Hynes and [Walter] Tejada, with our partners in Fairfax and Richmond and with members of the community, Ms. Hynes and I have agreed that all spending on streetcar must end."
Fisette will make it official with a motion at this afternoon's County Board meeting. Tejada is said to oppose canceling the project and may vote against Fisette's motion.
The streetcar project was to be funded by commercial transportation revenue, along with funding from the state and Fairfax County, which was to benefit from the Pike streetcar running to the Skyline area.
Fisette said the county will instead explore options for improving bus service on Columbia Pike. The transitway between Crystal City and Alexandria will continue to operate and be developed, but will be served only by buses. Existing streetcar contracts — like the $26 million engineering contract awarded in September — will be "wound down" as quickly as possible.
Fisette acknowledged that many business owners and residents along Columbia Pike will be disappointed by the streetcar project's cancellation.
"There are those who moved there or developed in anticipation of the streetcar," Fisette said. "I will say that we are committed and remain committed to the Columbia Pike corridor. We will continue to work towards the realization of that vision [of high quality, mixed use development] in a modified form, and that is the commitment of this Board. We will enhance the bus system to the extent possible."
Fisette said that he believes a streetcar still makes sense on Columbia Pike, as it would increase transit capacity and spur economic development, adding that he's "proud" of his vote for it. The decision to kill the project was made after the election of streetcar opponent John Vihstadt on Nov. 4, which "sent a powerful message to the Board."
"We cannot ignore the political realities… this was not a formal referendum, but I believe it serves as a proxy," Fisette said. "Right now the level of discord is such that I haven't seen for awhile. It keeps us from addressing other pressing needs in the community."
Fisette said county staff and the county manager were "caught flat-footed" by organized opposition to the streetcar, which materialized in "the past year or so." Efforts to communicate the streetcar's benefits were ineffective, he said.
The cancellation is an improbable victory for Vihstadt and his anti-streetcar ally on the Board, Libby Garvey. Together, they have been pushing the county to cancel the streetcar project and instead work to implement enhanced bus service on Columbia Pike.
Garvey was in attendance at Fisette's press conference (which can be viewed online) and said afterwards that Fisette's announcement "was a complete surprise." Hynes was at an event this morning and "gave a ringing endorsement" of the streetcar, Garvey said.
"I'm delighted," Garvey said. When asked about the impact the decision will have on businesses and residents who moved to the area in anticipation of the streetcar, she said "people need to understand that we will get a bus rapid transit system going. It will do everything the streetcar could and more. They're going to be just fine."
The streetcar plan for Columbia Pike was developed over nearly a decade of community meetings and deliberations and approved in 2006. Its backers have consistently said that consensus was behind the streetcar and it's what the community wanted, but Fisette conceded that the feeling around the county has changed.
The struggles of the streetcar along H Street NE in Washington, D.C. has only added to the growing sentiment that the streetcar was more trouble than it was worth.
"The D.C. streetcar was a gift for those of us who oppose the streetcar," Garvey said.
Update at 12:40 p.m. — Fisette has announced that the streetcar project is being canceled.
Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette will make a "significant announcement" regarding the Arlington streetcar program today, according to a media alert from the county.
Fisette will hold a press conference at county government headquarters in Courthouse at noon, we're told. There's no word yet as to what will be announced.
The press conference will be broadcast on the county website and on Comcast channels 25 and 74 and Verizon FiOS channels 39 and 40.
Glencarlyn Park, Sewer Main Upgrades Approved — The Arlington County Board over the weekend unanimously approved a sewer main construction project for Old Dominion Drive. The Board also approved upgrades to Glencarlyn Park, including a rain garden, plaza and bicycle facilities. [Arlington County]
Arlington's Per-Pupil Spending Tops Region — Arlington Public Schools spends $19,040 per student, the highest such figure of any Washington suburb. On a per-pupil basis, Arlington spends 24 percent more than Montgomery County schools, 41 percent more than Fairfax County schools and 84 percent more than Prince William County schools. [InsideNova]
Loan Approved for Senior Housing — On Saturday, the Arlington County Board unanimously approved a $1.35 million loan to help keep the Culpepper Gardens I apartment complex affordable. The complex include 204 committed affordable units for seniors. [Arlington County]
No New Westover Middle School? — The Arlington School Board has informally voted to remove the Reed School site in Westover from consideration as a potential location for a new middle school. Many residents have said they would rather see the building used for a neighborhood elementary school. [InsideNova]
Board Updates Green Building Incentives — The Arlington County Board voted 4-1 to require higher sustainability standards for its Green Building Incentive Program, which rewards developers for environmentally-sound building practices. [Arlington County]
Local Reporter Travels to Germany for Streetcar Story — WAMU reporter Michael Lee Pope traveled to Germany to report on the use of streetcars in Berlin, tying his findings back to Arlington's proposed streetcar project. Streetcars run in formerly Communist-controlled East Berlin, but no longer in West Berlin. One interviewee said people ride East Berlin's streetcars partially out of a sense of nostalgia and the "special feeling" one gets from riding them. [WAMU]
Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick
(Updated at 3:25 p.m.) The shockwaves around the re-election of John Vihstadt to the Arlington County Board last night continue to reverberate today, with many around Arlington wondering if the county is about to undergo a major policy shift.
"The streetcar is dead," local political blogger and strategist Ben Tribbett told ARLnow.com last night at the Democrats' election party in Crystal City. "The voters spoke so overwhelmingly tonight. There's absolutely no way that [County Board members] Mary [Hynes] and Walter [Tejada] can win re-election if they're running as pro-streetcar candidates next year. The voters have spoken on this now. It's over."
The growing chorus that the majority of the County Board — Chair Jay Fisette, as well as Hynes and Tejada — are out of touch with the voters was bolstered by Vihstadt's margin of victory. The Republican-endorsed independent won 55.76 percent of the vote to Democrat Alan Howze's 43.8 percent — less than his margin of victory in the April special election but still a big surprise to many who follow Arlington politics, who haven't seen a non-Democrat win a County Board general election since 1983.
Howze won just 13 of Arlington's 52 precincts. By comparison, Democrat Sen. Mark Warner won the majority of votes in every one of Arlington's precincts, and took 70.59 percent of Arlington ballots.
It's that result that led Arlington County Democratic Committee President Kip Malinosky to determine that Vihstadt's victory was not from a lack of Democratic voter turnout, but rather the issues and candidates themselves.
"At this point, I'm not prepared to say what the message [voters sent] was, I'd like to look deep into it and hear a lot more," he told ARLnow.com last night. "Arlington is a wonderful place to live, it's well-governed, low crime, low unemployment rate. But people are obviously unsatisfied about something, so we're going to have to do better."
County Board member Libby Garvey, a Democrat, threw her support behind Vihstadt before the April special election to replace Chris Zimmerman, and was forced to resign from the ACDC executive committee for it. Last night, she experienced a mix of elation and relief at Vihstadt's home in Tara-Leeway Heights, realizing her efforts had been validated by tens of thousands of Arlington voters.
"This is a mandate," she said emphatically. "I think our colleagues on the Board have gotten out of touch with what people want, including Democrats. It's just really a wonderful validation of what we've been saying and what we've been thinking. I think the people of Arlington are taking back control of their county and that's a good thing."
Tribbett agreed, taking it a step further. He said Howze shouldn't take the blame for the loss; instead, it's on the Board's own lack of trust with voters and on the local Democratic leadership.
"It's on the County Board 100 percent," Tribbett said.
"This is the problem with Arlington Democrats. They spent the time after they lost the special election, and here's the arrogant response: 'When we get more voters, they'll just take our sample ballot, and they won't know the issues, so they'll vote for our candidate,'" he continued. "Their plan is to hope that people aren't informed? Well, this is one of the most educated electorates in the country, and they just told them basically to eff themselves with that kind of strategy, to rely on them being misinformed. Gimme a break. They ought to be embarrassed."
While Tribbett believes the Columbia Pike streetcar to be a political impossibility at this point, groups that support it say the election shouldn't be seen as a referendum on the streetcar.
"It would be reading too much into Arlington voters' intentions to ascribe the election of John Vihstadt to a full term on the Arlington Board over Alan Howze primarily to the debate over the Columbia Pike streetcar," said the Coalition for Smarter Growth, in a press release this afternoon. "Streetcar opponents linked the price tag of the streetcar to general concerns over government spending and the state of the economy… [but] we are confident that the streetcar will continue to stand up to scrutiny and prove to be the best investment for the Columbia Pike Corridor."
Tejada said he hopes the Board can "work together in a respectful manner" and "find as much common ground as possible." He deflected questions about the future of the streetcar and concerns over his and Hynes' ability to win re-election in 2015. Instead, Tejada championed the achievement of agreeing on the streetcar plan without sacrificing any affordable housing on Columbia Pike.
Tejada also obliquely referred to Garvey and Vihstadt's rhetoric as "divisive," saying many of the Board's critics are "condensing" the issues into "sound bites." He said he looked forward to "continue to inform details to the community, particularly factual information that it took quite a long time to get to."
"I think this is a crossroads moment in time for Arlington," Tejada said. "We need to decide whether we're going to become a timid and stagnant community or are we going to continue to be bold and innovative and craft difficult strategic policies that will sustain us in the future in all parts of the county."
Historical Society Requests Heritage Center — The Arlington Historical Society formally requested including a heritage center in the the plan for redeveloping the Courthouse Square area. The organization said it could assist with developing such a facility, but could not foot the bill entirely on its own. [InsideNova]
Wizards' Marcin Gortat Buys $1.6M Home in Arlington — Washington Wizards player Marcin Gortat has purchased one of the most expensive homes on the market in Arlington. He bought the 5-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom home for $1.6 million. The 4,008 square foot new house on N. Quebec Street should have plenty of room for the 6'11″ Gortat. [Curbed DC]
County Responds to Streetcar Criticism — The county has made a website addressing a number of concerns raised about the streetcar project, particularly how to avoid problems being experienced by the D.C. streetcar on H Street. The website lists its plans to alleviate some of the problems, like keeping traffic moving, while calling this "an opportunity for us to learn best practices." [Arlington County]
Free Halloween Taxi Rides from SoberRide — The Washington Regional Alcohol Program's 2014 SoberRide service is available tonight. Anyone enjoying some adult beverages can get a free taxi, up to a $30 fare, instead of trying to drive home. SoberRide begins today at 10:00 p.m. and runs through 4:00 a.m. Saturday. Call 1-800-200-TAXI. [Washington Regional Alcohol Program]
Daylight Saving Time Ends — Remember to set your clocks back one hour this weekend. Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. It's also a good time to test your smoke detector.
Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann
The group Arlingtonians for Sensible Transit (AST) is responding to the county's stated benefits of the Arlington streetcar project with a set of ads claiming a streetcar "doesn't make any sense."
The four ads posted on the group's "Myth Busters Page" focus on streetcar capacity, dedicated lanes and comparisons to buses and Metro. They feature a woman and man talking about why the county says residents would benefit from a streetcar, with most of the clips ending on the man stating, "That doesn't make any sense."
"Streetcar supporters have tried to mislead the public into thinking that streetcars on Columbia Pike would be just like Metro, and that only streetcars have the capacity to handle ridership growth. Supporters also argue that bus rapid transit (BRT) cannot be a transit upgrade on the Pike because BRT requires a dedicated lane," said Peter Rousselot, a leader of AST and an ARLnow.com opinion columnist. "AST's new ads feature two AST supporters who explain succinctly why these claims by streetcar supporters are false and make no sense."
Over the summer, the county released several videos explaining "Why Streetcar." Last month, the County Board approved a $26 million preliminary design and engineering contract for the streetcar project. That's 5.4 percent of the estimated $481 million total project cost.
The three state senators and four delegates that represent Arlington in the Virginia General Assembly have sent a letter to state Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne in support of the Columbia Pike streetcar project.
The letter calls out County Board members Libby Garvey and John Vihstadt for their continued opposition to the project. On Friday, Garvey laid out alternative uses for the hundreds of millions of dollars in state and local transportation funding that are being directed toward the streetcar.
"We strongly disagree with the efforts of Libby Garvey and John Vihstadt to deprive Arlington of those state funds dedicated to the streetcar project," the letter states.
The letter also cites the return on investment study the county funded that predicted more than $3 billion in economic impact in the first 30 years of the streetcar system. It refers to the support the streetcar has already received from state officials, including Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
The letter was signed by state Sens. Janet Howell, Adam Ebbin and Barbara Favola and Dels. Alfonso Lopez, Patrick Hope, Rob Krupicka and Rip Sullivan.
The full letter is posted, after the jump. (more…)
County Board Race is Anyone's Guess – The outcome of the Arlington County Board race between incumbent John Vihstadt and Democratic challenger Alan Howze is far from certain. While Vihstadt is winning the fundraising battle, Howze is expected to benefit from far greater turnout than the 16 percent who voted in the special election this year. The last general election with a Senate race on the ballot saw a 55 percent turnout in Arlington. [Washington Post]
Vihstadt Peeved at 'Pro-Streetcar Narrative' — At yesterday's County Board meeting, John Vihstadt complained about the county government's pro-streetcar PR efforts. He suggested that he and fellow streetcar critic Libby Garvey, who make up 40 percent of the Board, should have their views heard through county government channels. Board Chair Jay Fisette slammed that idea, saying "it doesn't make sense" for the county government to expend resources arguing against its own official policy. [InsideNova]
Cyclist Struck on Lynn Street — A bicyclist was struck by a vehicle on Lynn Street in Rosslyn, between Wilson Blvd and 19th Street N., just before 9:00 this morning. The cyclist was transported to Virginia Hospital Center with an apparent dislocated collarbone.
Bank Robbery in Falls Church — The FBI is looking for a man who robbed a BB&T Bank on West Broad Street in Falls Church yesterday morning. [Federal Bureau of Investigation]
Zac Hanson's Birthday — On this day 29 years ago, "MMMBop" singer Zac Hanson was born in Arlington. [Hello!]
Va. 'Fully Committed' to Streetcar Funding — Despite budget cuts, the Commonwealth of Virginia is still "fully committed" to providing up to $65 million for the Columbia Pike streetcar project, according to the director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. [Washington Post]
Name Proposed for New Elementary School — "Discovery Elementary" is the name proposed by a steering committee for the new elementary school on the Williamsburg Middle School campus. The name will be formally presented to the school board on Thursday. [InsideNova]
Firefighters Endorse Vihstadt — The Arlington County firefighters and paramedics union has endorsed John Vihstadt for reelection in the race for Arlington County Board.
Candidate Forum Tonight — The Radnor Fort Myer Heights Civic Association will hold a forum with the candidates for Congress, County Board, Treasurer and School Board tonight at 7:00 p.m. [Ode Street Tribune]
The following letter to the editor was submitted by Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey.
What transportation projects should we fund in Arlington with the money we save from not building a streetcar?
This is an important question. John Vihstadt and I asked our staff exactly this question during a work session on the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) this summer. Our staff said they could provide a list if a majority of our Board colleagues voted to ask for it, but our three Board colleagues voted against it. So neither we, nor the public, has the benefit of staff's expertise and analysis to answer this question.
We do know that the Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcars are projected to cost over $500 million and consume about 19% of our Capital Improvement Program. We also know that these streetcars will require over $8 million and perhaps millions more per year in annual operating costs. We all should be wondering what could and should we do with this money instead.
If we reprogram those local and state dollars, here are some possibilities we might fund partially or fully:
1. Expand and improve the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line in Crystal City so it operates more like a streetcar with side opening doors. Run it frequently and all the time. Connect it to the BRT line in Alexandria. Work with Fairfax and run BRT all the way down Route 1 to Fort Belvoir. Take the BRT line down the route planned for the streetcar on Columbia Pike, and take it into Annandale. Run a BRT line from Rosslyn out Lee Highway and work with Fairfax and Loudoun to take it all the way to Leesburg. Work with Montgomery County, Maryland and D.C. and take a BRT line from Arlington and the Pentagon to D.C. and on to Rockville or further. In other words, build a robust regional BRT service that people can depend on to get them where they want to go conveniently and efficiently.
2. Address the dangerous intersection at Lynn Street and Lee Highway at Key Bridge with a permanent and effective solution to protect pedestrians and cyclists. This likely means significant construction to rework the intersection. We could improve pedestrian and cyclist safety around the county at other places like East Falls Church.
3. Add much needed new Metro entrances at Rosslyn and Ballston.
4. Add a whole new Metro station in Rosslyn as called for in the Metro Momentum plan.
5. Pay for some of the huge capital costs Metro anticipates in their Metro Momentum capital improvement plan. While not detailed yet, this is a large expense that looms in the near future. Currently we have not planned how we will pay for it.
6. With the old bridges over the Potomac needing extensive reconstruction soon and the huge casino opening at Harbor Place the need for more ways to cross the river is clear. Transportation funds could be used for a new bridge, or tunnel or even dock facilities for a Potomac ferry service. A recent study showed a ferry to be economically viable. National Airport is a natural location for a dock. Besides millions of tourists arriving there each year, thousands of people commute to and from Ft. Belvoir and other military bases located on the river every day.
In sum, taxes will be lower and transportation better without a streetcar. There are many needed transportation improvements that will have to wait until we can raise taxes or get federal and state dollars to fund them if we waste over $500 million on a streetcar.
To submit a letter to the editor, please email it to email@example.com. Letters to the editor may be edited for content and brevity.
Photo courtesy Donna Gouse
Civ Fed Votes Against Tall Buildings — The Arlington County Civic Federation has voted to urge the Federal Aviation Administration to adopt stricter rules regarding skyscrapers around airports. Such a rule, intended as a safety measure in the event a plane suffers an engine failure on takeoff, could impose a moratorium on future tall buildings in Crystal City and Rosslyn. [InsideNova]
Walk and Bike to School Day — Arlington Public Schools participated in International Walk and Bike to School Day this morning. Students and parents across the county ditched their cars and made their way to school on foot. [Arlington Public Schools]
Man Steals Skinny Jeans from Mall — A 33-year-old D.C. man has been charged with stealing numerous pairs of skinny jeans from the Hollister store in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall. The alleged crime happened Tuesday afternoon. [NBC Washington]
Slow Start for Gay Marriage in Arlington — Only five same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses in Arlington in the 24 hours following the Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for same-sex marriage in Virginia and a number of other states. Among Virginia jurisdictions, Arlington grants the third-most marriage licenses per year. [InsideNova]
Fairfax Approves Streetcar Design Funds — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved its $4.2 million share of design and program costs for the Columbia Pike streetcar on Tuesday. The Board voted 7-2. Arlington County already approved its share of design funds. The Pike streetcar will run from Pentagon City to Bailey's Crossroads in Fairfax County. [Washington Post]
Flickr pool photo by Dennis Dimick


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What's on
The Museum galleries and garden are now closed until early 2016 for work on our exciting Heritage Lottery funded redevelopment project, Our Country Lives.
Although we are not holding our usual special events this year, some of our regular events will continue. We are also running some events and activities related to the redevelopment, and others inspired by the MERL archives and library, and the University's Special Collections, which will remain open throughout the redevelopment.
Autumn 2014
- Family events
Toddler Time and the Wartime Christmas party
- Rural Reads plus... book club
Now taking inspiration from the University's Special Collections
- Performing the Past workshops
Special workshops on live interpretation in association with Historic Royal Palaces and Past Pleasures
- Our Country Lives events programme
Details of events relating to the redevelopment can be found on the Our Country Lives blog.
- Focus on the Special Collections
Seminars, displays and other events, inspired by the University's Special Collections.
Details can also be found on MERL's Google calendar 2014 or in the University Events Diary
Keep in touch
Join our MERL families or MERL news mailing lists to receive monthly news of forthcoming events and Our Country Lives project updates.


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World Painted Blood- Track by Track- Song 5
Clip 5, "Hate Worldwide," has been released on Ultimateguitar.tv
12 days until World Painted Blood... Pre-order your copy here.
12 days until World Painted Blood... Pre-order your copy here.
Comments for this News article
10.23.09 11:58am — slayeric74
I love this fuckin' song too.
I love this fuckin' song too.
It' s just Slayer...for ever.
10.23.09 10:49am — InsaneSlayer
I love this fuckin song!
10.23.09 3:06pm — Apocalypse
Incredible riffs, great song, HATE WORLDWIDE!
10.24.09 12:25pm — deanw13
This song is just awesome. Everything about it. I was lucky enough to get a promo 1 track CD with this on it and haven't stopped listening to it yet after about a week!!!! Roll on Nov 2nd.......
10.25.09 9:15am — world of shit
'world painted blood' , es sin lugar a dudas el mejor album del nuevo siglo y desde ya un clasico como 'hell awaits' y 'seasons in the abyss' ( ya que 'reign in blood es insuperable') . hails fuckin' SLAYER!!
10.25.09 11:32am — InsaneSlayer
Im listening to new album...and is fuckin insane!!!!!
Killer as always!


text:
We Like Linkin Park, and We Will Not Apologize
By Ashley Zimmerman
Better Than Ezra "Know a Lot of Fans by Name"
By Dana Krangel
T-Pain Says, "I May Get Into Some Gypsy Shit" Next
By John Hood
Review & Photos: Sara Bareilles at Hard Rock Live
By Ashley Zimmerman
Psych-Metal Outfit Orbweaver Releases Vinyl EP
By David Von Bader
Photos: John Legend in Boca Raton
By Sayre Berman
Five Things Weird Al Critiques in Mandatory Fun
By Steve Brennan
By Ashley Zimmerman
The rockabilly revival has always had a cartoonish element that, despite the quality of the players, creates a sort of costume show, making the music that much easier to dismiss. So when a no-frills group like the Legendary Shack Shakers arrives, the established rockabilly and juke-joint bands get a deserved kick in the ass, reminding us what rockabilly can sound like, instead of what it should look like.
So don't look for fashion tips here: It's only (brash) rock 'n' roll. Opening with a warm riff from guitarist Joe Buck and concluding with vocalist Colonel J.D.'s maniacal howl, Cockadoodledon't is to rockabilly in 2003 what the Reverend Horton Heat was in the early 1990s and the Cramps were in the early 1980s. Intimately connected to the rhythm of the blues but hell-bent on destroying rockabilly's constricting boundaries and image, the Bloodshot Records rerelease of Cockadoodledon't with another half-dozen tracks is a rush and a push.
The sound relies more on the hillbilly roots of rockabilly than on the predominant "rock" tone of contemporary rockabilly acts such as the Amazing Crowns, Blazing Haley, and the Atomic Men. If Tom Waits, Southern Culture on the Skids, and the brain trust behind Ren and Stimpy holed up in Johnny Cash's country cabin with an ample supply of beef jerky, moonshine, and chocolate-frosted mini-donuts, it might sound like Cockadoodledon't-- wild, irreverent, and urgent, a feat not often achieved among rockabilly and blues acts pigeonholed into nostalgia.


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UCanAccess 126.96.36.199
A very useful and reliable, Java based JDBC driver for MS Access that helps you in the development process
UCanAccess is a handy, Java based JDBC driver that enables developers and JDBC client applications to read or write Microsoft Access databases.
Moreover, UCanAccess is developed using the Java programming language and can be run on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.
Moreover, UCanAccess is developed using the Java programming language and can be run on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.
Main features:
- Supports the 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010 Access formats
- Execute queries defined as well as saved in Access
- Provides access for multiple users.
- SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE statements. Transactions and savepoints.
- Access data types: YESNO, BYTE, INTEGER, LONG, SINGLE, DOUBLE, NUMERIC, CURRENCY, COUNTER, TEXT, OLE, MEMO, GUID,DATETIME.
- Concurrent access from multiple users (i.e., multiple application server threads).
- Connection pooling.
- ANSI 92 SQL, core SQL-2008.
- MS Access SQL.
- Main Access functions implementation.
- You can execute select queries defined and saved in Access. Since 1.0.1 version, UCanAccess can execute crosstab queries (Transfom...Pivot...)
- LIKE operator accepts both standard '_' and access specific '?' as wildcard character, both standard '%' and access specific '*' as jolly, # for single digit(access), [xxx][!xxx]for characters intervals.
- Both & and || string concat.
- Square brackets for field names, table names and view names (Access Queries) including spaces (e.g., select [my column] from [my table] ).
- Access date format (e.g., #11/22/2003 10:42:58 PM#).
- Both double quote " and single quote ' as SQL string delimeters.
- Basic, readonly support to complex types (i.e., array of Version, Attachment, SingleValue). Tables with one or more colums of those types are readable but readonly in the current development stage. Using ResultSet.getObject you can get array of net.ucanaccess.complex.Version, net.ucanaccess.complex.Attachment and so on.
- Command Line Console. You can run SQL commands and display their results. CSV export command.
- last updated on:
- October 10th, 2014, 9:43 GMT
- file size:
- price:
- developed by:
- Marco Amadei
- license type:
- operating system(s):
- Mac OS X
- binary format:
- -
- category:
- Home \ Developer Tools
In a hurry? Add it to your Download Basket!
What's New in This Release:
- Upgrade to jackcess 2.0.6.
- Fixed methods getErrorCode and getSQLState in the UCanAccess SQLException implementation (class UcanaccessSQLException). SQL error codes and states are those gotten from hsqldb (you can handle them by using the constants in net.ucanaccess.jdbc.UcanaccessErrorCodes) except for the internal UCanAccess or Jackcess exceptions that always give the error code UcanaccessErrorCodes.UCANACCESS_GENERIC_ERROR.
Add your review!


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Mobile Communications & Infrastructure Supplement
mmWave Propagation Measurements
Understanding Envelope Tracking
Six LTE Receiver Measurements
LPKF Laser & Electronics has announced it will exhibit at the 2013 Electronics New England Exposition, which takes place April 10-11 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, MA. From booth 1019, LPKF will highlight its line of in-house rapid PCB prototyping equipment by creating boards with its best-selling PCB milling machine, the ProtoMat S63.
Capable of producing multiple design iterations in a single day, the ProtoMat S63 creates PCBs by milling away unwanted copper from substrates, leaving only the desired circuit traces behind. The S63's long list of applications includes analog, digital, RF, and microwave boards as well as test fixtures, RF housings, 2.5D depth milling, and the engraving of front panels.
Throughout the two day exposition, LPKF senior sales associate Rory Grondin will be producing PCBs on the S63, displaying the system's ease of use and quick turnaround capabilities.
In addition to its range of milling machines and laser systems, LPKF is the only manufacturer that offers a full line of SMT finishing and assembly equipment to create market-ready boards in-house. This allows users to maintain full control over the PCB fabrication process and is ideal for companies running small-batch production or those whose design security is of the utmost importance.
To see the ProtoMat S63 in action, stop by booth 1019 at Electronics New England. Or, for more information on how in-house prototyping can save you time and money, visit www.lpkfusa.com/pcb/.
Get access to premium content and e-newsletters by registering on the web site. You can also subscribe to Microwave Journal magazine.


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tweet Print This! Bus Tour to Show Off City Projects Posted by: hometown in Other News October 14, 2005 - 2:00 pm 0 0 Views SCV residents will have a chance to hop on the bus next week with Mayor Cameron Smyth & other city staff members…The outing will be a tour of the city's capital improvement projects. Get the whole story in Friday's Signal. 2005-10-14 hometown Bus Tour to Show Off City Projects Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Name * Email * Website Comment You may use these HTML tags and attributes:   <acronym title="">
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Quote of the Day – Warning! Lark's Vomit! October 8, 2014Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Quote of the Day.
Tags: ArcheAge, Being Mildly Ranty, HackShield, Massively, Raging Paranoia, System Security, Trion Worlds
13 comments
Well, I hardly think this is good enough. I think it would be more appropriate if the box bore a great red label "Warning! Lark's Vomit!"
Inspector Praline of the Hygiene Squad, Crunchy Frog sketch
That isn't actually the quote of the day, which has to do with ArcheAge and the way it installs (but does not uninstall) the ineffectual HackShield anti-cheating rootkit on your system. That just sums up my reaction to the quote, which comes from a Massively exclusive… something.
I'm not sure what to call it.
It doesn't look like an interview. Certainly nobody from Trion is mentioned. It looks more like Trion had a lawyer respond to some questions submitted by Massively. For some reason the question revolved around the legality of installing HackShield. Is the gist supposed to be that if a company can do something, they shouldn't be called out for doing it? Anyway, this was a bit of what was said:
Yes, the program is always installed completely legally and with permission of the user as goes everything else that comes as part of the "patch" that they choose to install in order to play the game. The Hackshield logo is also prominently displayed on-screen while the program is loading and users are fully aware that the program is installed, and is running upon launching ArcheAge.
As Inspector Praline put it, I hardly think this is good enough. Telling me you've installed this sort of thing by prominently displaying the logo after the fact is a bullshit response. When I installed ArcheAge, I would have mostly likely cancelled the install and went off to other things. But I did not have that choice. So I am going to suggest that Trion use this logo for ArchAge going forward:
And, should the user go forward, I would then have a warning come up with the installer BEFORE the install process has taken place. Maybe something like this:
That would satisfy me, though maybe the Surgeon General isn't the right go to person for network security. Well that, and if the ArcheAge installer would actually uninstall HackShield, rather than leaving the service behind running on my system.
I can hear somebody out there asking why they should care. Why shouldn't Trion install this on their system?
Well, I might be more sympathetic to that point of view if they mentioned some tangible user benefit in installing HackShield. Does this, for example, enhance the security of my own account? Or is this just a blanket admission that, again, the client is in the hands of the enemy and all users are presumed to be cheats. Trion standing behind the software might buy some good will as well. But Trion telling me they don't like it, but changing it would have pushed out the ArcheAge release by 6+ months isn't making me feel warm and fuzzy.
My personal beef starts with the fact that I did not sign up with HackSiheld's creator, AhnLab, Inc., and have no standing or relationship with them, but Trion seems to be declining to take responsibility for anything AhnLab does, so where does that leave the end user? SynCaine has been making SOE comparisons, but did SOE spent much time pointing fingers at the original developer when it came to games like Wizardry Online and Dragon's Prophet?
Meanwhile ArcheAge seems to be experiencing more than its fair share of hacking these days. This sort of thing happens to a certain extent with every online game, but if you control the anti-hacking aspect of the game, you can respond to this sort of thing quickly, before it destroys your economy. That makes Trion's statement that HackShield will stop the vast majority of hacking attempts ring a little hollow. But how does one balance those two points of view? Is Trion overselling HackShield (while still saying they don't like it) or would ArcheAge be almost infinitely worse without it? Or both?
And the software itself… I have a long dislike of this sort of thing, going all the way back to the early days of PunkBuster. Letting a third party handle your anti-cheat protection adds up to abdicating control on that front, and while the claim is that false positives are rare, there isn't much you can do when you are the one triggering such. You can make comparisons to Blizzard and their Warden technology, but at least Blizzard owned Warden and could change it when they so desired. (And Warden would, you know, actually uninstall with WoW.)
Finally, there is the system security front, which I am a bit more paranoid about these days after my company had me take a few classes on that front. Now I see attack vectors all over. So just color me hyper-sensitive there.
Now most of that is just my personal subjective baggage. I didn't like HackShield after I read up on it, so I uninstalled ArcheAge and then used Google to help me figure out how to get HackShield off of my system. Job done. You are free to make your choice on that subject, balancing your own paranoia (or lack thereof) against your desire to play the game. I will admit that I might be more forgiving if I was invested in playing the game. It is easy to uninstall the game that didn't interest you all that much in the first place. It is likewise easy to overlook the flaws of a game in which you are completely invested. (Day one EverQuest springs to mind.)
But I still feel that Trion claiming, because I agreed to something in their EULA which said they could do whatever they wanted, that they should be immune to criticism for not bothering to tell me that HackShield was being installed until after the fact, thus depriving me of the ability to make an informed choice until it was too late, is, as I noted above, a bullshit response.
Your lark's vomit? Do not want!
(insert your favorite do not want picture from the internet here)
ArcheAge Went Live and Everybody Went Crazy or Something September 23, 2014Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Misc MMOs.
Tags: ArcheAge, Trion Worlds
7 comments
Normally I note when MMOs that are popular in our little corner of the web go live, if for no other reason than to track dates and such. Somehow I missed my cue when ArcheAge went live… um… the other day? Last week? There was some sort of head start and such. I sort of lost track. But anyway, it went live and people went crazy.
Certainly, lots of people in the neighborhood seem to be playing it. You can find all sorts of posts about it at:
As far as I can tell, Trion launched the game at exactly the right moment, in the lull where WildStar has begun to fade… erm… set out to create MegaServers(tm)… whatever… but Warlords of Draenor is still a couple months out. And so ArcheAge became the oasis to which everybody flocked.
Being too successful is the best problem to have, but it is still a problem. I even downloaded it over the weekend to take a peek.
I finally bit the bullet and let Trion install their Glyph gaming sales portal so I could log into Rift, and once I was there it was just a couple more clicks to have it install ArcheAge as well.
I was a little annoyed that they installed HackShield, an anti-hacking root toolkit, without bothering to warn me in large, flashing red letters, as I would have stopped the install right then and there. I understand the need for such things, but I will avoid them if I can based on past experience with things like PunkBuster and such. Basically, to play the game there is now another company in the mix, AhnLab, Inc., that can cause problems. And there will be problems. Some portion of legit users are always hit by these measures, so they basically send the message that it is okay to screw over a few of the innocent so long as we catch more hackers. And then there is always the possibility of it being used as an attack vector. Bleh.
And I wasn't even going to have the potential to hack. Being non-Patron scum, I was only able to check out the queues to get onto a server. There was some variance, with the older servers being queued up past the 3K mark, and even had restrictions on what characters you could create.
More than an hour was a pretty light touch compared to reality. While I am sure that patrons were being shown to the front of the queue that held me back, I let the whole thing sit there for a couple hours and it seemed that the queue moved me up about 700 places an hour. The newer servers were at about half total queue it seemed.
The calculation eventually resolved to tell me my wait time would be about 20 minutes. That was clearly optimistic in the extreme for prime time on Saturday afternoon. Not that it mattered all that much to me. I was just there to kick the tires.
But for others it has be a problem, and the whole queue situation has plenty of people talking about what ought to be done. Hardcore Casual, Blessing of Kings, and Keen & Graev have all piped up on that front.
All of that has masked, to a certain extent, worries about the land rush in ArcheAge. With housing being in the actual world rather than in some form of instance, the supply would seem to fall far short of the potential demand. That has people worried and a whole side topic about illegal farms, which aren't actually illegal has popped up. However, stealing from them is illegal. Go figure.
Anyway, it has all been an interesting read from the sidelines so far. Trion is promising compensation for patrons over the whole queue thing and has worked to get more servers online. But will this all end with them announcing the formation of MegaServers a few months down the line? I suppose we shall see.
Rift and the End of the Happy Time October 16, 2013Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Rift.
Tags: Free-To-Play, Trion Worlds
28 comments
The first thing I did when I leaned Rift was going free to play was cancel my subscription.
This was not a rage quit over the business model. While I have reservations about F2P because of where the quest for monetization seems to eventually lead, I also see, as a player, some upside to the model as well.
The upside for an MMO going free to play is… or generally has been… a surge in players. Servers, once desolate, are renewed with the very life's blood of the game as new and returning players crowd into the game. The world seems alive again. You no longer have whole zones to yourself. Queues for battlegrounds and such become tolerable. Heck, if things are going really well, people might have to wait to log on.
I call this "The Happy Time."
Every MMO that transitions from a monthly subscription model to a free to play model goes through it.
This is the time of the joyous press releases and the "everything is just grand" interviews. Player numbers are up, revenues are up, and everything is going so remarkably well.
And then the glow fades.
The people who showed up to kick the tires or see what had happened since they left the game begin to fade away. If the cash shop was stocked with one-shot purchases, like hot bars or bag slots, and vanity items, the ongoing grind to create and sell players on the next item begins in earnest. And things begin to settle into reality. The party is over and the need to make payroll and pay the the electric bill every month looms just a little larger in the gray morning.
The population isn't likely to drop all the way back to the level it was just before the transition to free. But the percentage of your population giving you money every month is likely to sink. The point of free is to boost the population so that the economics of the cash shop work in the game's favor. And if you cannot manage that… well… things do not look good for the long term.
The happy time is over for Rift. The warmth of summer has faded and a cold, dark winter looms. Server merges have been announced. The US server count will be dropping from 6 to 3 servers, while in the EU the number will drop from 8 to 4. And, if I read the press release right, the only reason the number is as high as 4 is because Trion cannot currently support multiple languages in the interface on a single server. But they are working on that, so you can expect the EU server count to drop further shortly after they get that working.
(Addendum: Per Scott Hartsman in the comments, and the shard status page, the total server count is actually more than that. The US count will go from 10 to 7 servers while the EU count will go from 12 to 8 servers with the planned consolidation.)
Game Director Bill "Professor Farnsworth" Fisher has presented this in a "Good news everyone!" style announcement under the banner "Shard Unification!"
But this is not good news at all for Rift. With the game already shut down in Korea and in the process of closing down in China, finding that the US/EU servers, which were running at capacity back in June, now need to be merged to sustain a viable population mix is a serious blow.
Of course, Trion Worlds is in the midst of other issues. Scott Hartsman, who left as Rift's executive producer back in January returned as CEO in August and quickly had to make some hard choices. The Trion offices in San Diego and in the UK were shut down and the staff laid off. Their game Defiance, which is tied in with the TV show, seems to be on shaky ground, while their MOBA title, End of Nations, remains in development after issues of its own.
So where does Rift stand today? Once the plucky upstart that, under the "We're not in Azeroth anymore" banner, was going to be all the things that World of Warcraft was and more while being more flexible and responsive and just better.
Rift seems to have lost its way. The ambitious Storm Legion expansion seemed to get a lackluster response. I know I had trouble getting into it. The big transition to the new business model meant the live game faced some neglect. And now that the big bet on free to play hasn't paid off as handsomely as one might have hoped, we are left hanging, wondering what will happen next.
I wonder how Trion will move forward. Will there even be an independent company named Trion in a year? Or will investors sell the company to another publisher… EA is just up the road and not only has Trion done some work with SOE, but that is also Scott Hartsman's old home… or merge the company in with some other investment. Time Warner is one of Trion's investors, and they also own Turbine.
As for why I cancelled my Rift subscription… well… the free to play plan as presented offered me no real incentive to do otherwise. The was nothing that comes with being a "patron," as subscribers are now called, that I felt I really needed. The deal was, quite possibly, too generous.
Meanwhile, the cash shop… which we discovered was linked in with all NPC vendors, so is completely unavoidable… has very little that interests me.
I haven't spent many of the 20,027 units of Lucky Charms currency I was given as a veteran reward/pump priming exercise at the free to play transition.
I do not know where Rift will be in a year, but I have cannot imagine it will be sitting where it is today.
Where do you see Rift in a year?
Monday Morning Panda Blues October 1, 2012Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in Blizzard, entertainment, World of Warplanes.
Tags: Mists of Pandaria, Nostalgia, Trion Worlds
8 comments
Last week there was the usual rush to declare victory or defeat, at least on the sales front, when it came to Mists of Pandaria.
Retail sales were pegged at 600-700K units, which is down considerably from past expansions. Of course, that is only physical boxes shipped. There are only pulled-from-various-orifices estimates on digital downloads. (Some of which were pretty positive.) Only Blizzard knows the real answer there, though if there is no press release from them you can guess that they did not set any records. We will have to wait for the quarterly report for those numbers if that is the case.
Blizzard was pushing the digital side pretty hard, and the option does come with the advantage of having everything pre-loaded and ready to go come launch.
And Blizzard itself is offering free server transfers due to queues on a few servers. Eight US servers with long queues does not seem like a lot compared to the full list of servers, but how many MMOs get queues after 3 months, much less after nearly eight years?
Another press release I don't expect to see is one announcing how much money Trion Worlds raised from their own little jab at Mists of Panadaria.
Trion Worlds announced their own "buy our expansion and save a panda" offer, where they declared… well, I'll used their blurb.
Trion Worlds, Inc. will donate US$1.00 to Pandas International for each copy of Storm Legion that is pre-ordered through StormLegion.com, worldwide (excluding Alabama, Massachusetts, and South Carolina, even though we really wish they'd let us), between 12:00am PDT September 26, 2012 through 11:59pm PDT October 3, 2012, up to a maximum amount of US$10,000.00. Know why we have to do that? Maine. Weird, right? We don't know what they have against Pandas, or why $10,000 is a magical number, either. This contribution is not tax deductible, but it would be pretty awesome if it were. Pandas International is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization located at P.O. Box 620335, Littleton, Colorado 80162, whose mission is to ensure the preservation and propagation of the endangered Giant Panda.
The reason I suspect that we won't see a follow up press release on this because even if they make the 10,000 mark, it would still be during the same week when Blizzard sold more than 600K boxes. And if they don't make that mark… well, really nothing to brag about then. This sort of publicity works better for somebody like The Oatmeal, who just wanted to annoy someone, than as a method to sell game boxes.
Then there is actually playing the game itself. I have a number of friends who pre-ordered the expansion because… well… its WoW and they always get the expansion… who seem reasonably happy. I did hear more than once a little bemusement that after the panda starting zone it was a bit of a bummer to then have to work their way through all of the old content to get to the rest of the expansion with their new character.
One friend failed to outsmart the system by using a refer a friend bonus to grant levels to their new panda monk. Unfortunately, impatient with the starter zone, they apparently applied those levels right away and ended up with a level 30 monk they didn't know how to play. Let that be a warning to you.
I decided to give the new panda starting area a look. I think one of the smarter things that Blizzard did was opening up the full selection of races to all players, regardless of which expansions they own. Selling boxes is a good boost to income, but keeping people subscribed is the winning strategy.
Anyway, a new panda warrior was born.
The panda starter area is very nice and does not, I gather, degrade Asian culture for western consumption, or play to western stereotypes of Asian culture, since nobody seems to be out there protesting. I guess pandas are too cute… or Victoria's Secret models are too thin.
My patience for starting a new character in WoW is fairly low at this point, but I made it pretty far into the tutorial. The monkeys who climb on your back and need to be shaken off might be a joke too close to home for some who spend too much time in Azeroth, but the whole thing is good for new players as it introduces new game concepts at a measured pace. It might be too slow for veterans, but you will come out of it knowing the basics of the game.
The only real surprise was that on a Sunday afternoon I only saw a single other person in the starter area. I realize that, being on the conveyor belt of such an area, you won't run into a clump of people, but just one seemed quite sparse. But my own server, Eldre'Thalas, seems to be somewhat sparse overall these days. I couldn't even take care of my item level needs at the auction house the previous week. It has fallen quite a ways from the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, when the queue to get on during the first few days was 700+ players deep at times.
But, nice though the starter area is, it did not respark any desire for WoW in me. I did not run out and buy the expansion or decide to stay subscribed.
There is still a great deal of nostalgia for WoW in our regular group. The topic comes up now and again, even when I am not making videos designed to ignite those emotions. But our own time in the game peaked about the time our server's population did, during Wrath of the Lich King. WoW has moved towards the point EverQuest occupies in my heart. The disappointing part is that, unlike EverQuest, we cannot go back to revisit old WoW as Blizzard washed it all away with Cataclysm.
And the world keeps turning.
Armored White War Tiger – Rift Steals Another Page from the Blizzard Playbook July 12, 2012Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Rift.
Tags: Mounts, RMT, Trion Worlds
3 comments
Mounts are where the money is at, right?
Blizzard has been selling sparkle ponies in World of Warcraft for a couple of years now. The initial queue to buy one was 140,000 transactions deep. Multiply that by $25.
SOE says that mounts make up the biggest chunk of their cash shop purchases in EverQuest II, which is why they offer… um… such a variety. Lord of the Rings Online will sell you mounts of many colors for Turbine Points, and they keep cranking out new ones, so they must be moving. In F2P, if it sells, you start making more.
So if you are looking for another revenue stream, mounts seem like a pretty safe way to go.
And so Rift is now offering up an Armored White War Tiger mount at a special opening price for subscribers. (Who else would want it?)
We're offering this special Armored White War Tiger to all active RIFT account holders at a special introductory price.
Cold. Unforgiving. The frozen wastelands of Telara can be a deadly place. Stride across the icy tundra atop this fearsome and powerful Armored White War Tiger. Opponents will quake in fear as your mount swiftly covers huge distances, slicing into all attackers with its deadly claws and armored blades. Strong and relentless, this fierce tiger will carry you through your adventures wherever you go in Telara!
Be the envy of your friends as you race into battle on your new mount. This is a limited time offer so act now.
Purchase of this item entitles you to one Armored White Tiger on each character on your RIFT Account.
Your Armored White War Tiger will match the speed of your fastest mount, or grant you 60% run speed if you don't have another mount.
Trion has offered up mounts in Rift as part of collector's editions and other special packs. That is where I got my two headed turtle mount. But I believe this is the first time they have offered up a mount all by itself.
No word on how limited the time is on the offer, nor what the regular price will be. At least they are going with the same model as Blizzard where buying the mount gets you a White Tiger on every character associated with your account.
I do wonder what all that stuff is hanging out over its butt. I guess I will have to wait until I see one in-game. I imaging there will be a few hanging out in Meridian by tonight. You just have to head to the Trion Worlds account management page to pick one up.
I imagine that this tiger will more than pay for itself… from Trion's perspective.
Will you be buying one?
Reviewing My Demands for 2011 December 19, 2011Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in Blizzard, blog thing, Diablo III, entertainment, Sony Online Entertainment, Star Trek Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of Warcraft.
Tags: 2011, BioWare, CCP, Cryptic Studios, Demands, NCsoft, No not predictions demands, Trion Worlds
5 comments
This year I eschewed the traditional practice of making predictions and issued a series of demands for the MMO industry for 2011.
Why demands?
Well, when you make predictions and you are wrong, it is your fault. If you make demands though, and the company does not live up to them, it is THEIR fault! Ha! Rather than scoring my own predictions, I get to score their behavior.
So it is time to review my demands for 2011, made way back on January 2nd. I gave everybody until December 15th to meet my demands. Now it is time to see who complied.
Stop looking so damn smug. Tell us what Titan is, ship Diablo III, and add some more content to the top end of World of Warcraft. I swear half the game is already level 85. Oh, and another sparkle pony, but something a little less frou-frou this time. And an expansion for StarCraft II. Somebody has to sell some PC games this year.
See, this is what is wrong with Blizzard these days. I threw a crapload of demands at them, six if you include "stop looking so damn smug," and they barely made any of them.
To sum up, we still do not know what Titan is, Diablo III is out in 2012 somewhere, and no expansion for StarCraft II. I mean, how tough was that last one? Oh, and they still look damn smug.'
All we got was a new sparkly pony, the Winged Guardian Mount, and some more content at the top end of Cataclysm. Not enough I say! Not enough.
For this I decree that Mike Morhaime will have to come up with more public rationalizations about WoW subscription numbers, including at least one additional convoluted SWTOR impact denial.
Sony Online Entertainment:
Smedley? SMEDLEY! Pull yourself together. I know those PlayStation people are bossing you around, but you make money. Certainly more than they make on hardware. Refine what you have. More server merges. Reconcile EverQuest II Live and EverQuest II Extended. Work on the PC controls for DC Universe Online because I am NOT hooking up a console controller to my PC just to play it. And finish with the Agency already, you're starting to embarrass us all.
SOE on the other hand, complied with almost all of my demands. We certainly got server merges on a number of fronts, and some are still coming, including the merger of the Live Gamer EverQuest II servers into standard servers. EverQuest II Live and EverQuest II Extended were reconciled, with Live eating and then becoming Extended.
And they certainly finished up The Agency. Ouch.
In fact, the only demand they missed on was fixing the controls for the PC version of DC Universe Online, and they were so busy launching, consolidating servers, and then converting to free to play that I guess they can have a pass on that.
For this I grant favorable portents for Planetside 2… provided they don't pull an "Agency" move with it and string us along for several years.
Just go free to play across the board already. Champions and Star Trek Online. Everybody else is doing it. But don't screw over the lifetime subscribers. And when you go free to play, make sure you have something shiny and new to bring people back. Oh, and Neverwinter, get it out this year and don't screw it up!
Cryptic… Well, everything is either free to play or in the works. They'll be a month late on the demand in the case of Star Trek Online.
Neverwinter though… just where are you guys even going with that title these days? Cryptic is supposed to be your company name, not your business plan.
I put a curse of market confusion upon Cryptic for Neverwinter… which they deserve just for choosing that name. There are OTHER locations in Forgotten Realms you know.
Everybody is watching you. You're not making some single player game. You're making an engine, an engine that is supposed to take in money and deliver the joy of being in the Star Wars universe. Don't let those wankers in San Mateo make you ship early. Meanwhile, since you guys seem to be in the MMO driver's seat at EA, for now, don't screw around with Ultima Online, but do something about Warhammer Online. You're bright guys, you'll figure something out.
Wow, talk about delivering. I am pretty sure they moved the early access back to the 13th of December just to be clearly within the scope of my demand. And yet it is late enough that we cannot really tell if the engine is set to vacuum up money from Star Wars loving fans.
Plus they didn't screw around with Ultima Online and they came up with a DoTA-like game reusing Warhammer Online assets and branding it as Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes.
Full points all around. For this the force will be with them… for three months. They are on their own after that!
Will you put that drink down already? EVE is still going, still making money, still popular, still unique, I get it. And you are improving it over time. But really, you're starting to look like a one-trick pony. What are all those people in Atlanta doing? You don't have to ship something new this year, but at least make us believe you're really working on something new. We're starting to think you're spending all that money you make on akvavit and exotic dancers.
CCP is the only company that actually responded directly to my demands. CCP Manifest dropped my a note just 8 days after my post promising that we would all see amazing things from CCP this year and that my demands would be fully met.
And then, of course, Incarna hit, the player base blew up… more than usual… plans were re-assessed, people were laid off, projects were set aside, and the summer of discontent basically loomed over the staff at CCP.
And then they refocused, shipped the Crucible expansion to mostly favorable reaction (it sure is pretty), and plans seem to be solid for DUST 514, with a release target (Spring 2012… which means by Christmas, right?) and a platform (PlayStation 3 works for me).
So I guess, in the end, they met my demands.
I would suggest that we did not need all the drama, but that seems to be one of the vital ingredients to any CCP operation. That and alcohol. I know they aren't spending all their money on booze, but I suspect there is still a line item in the budget for it.
For this I grant an early Spring and no bankruptcy in 2012.
Aion, City of Whatever, and Guild Wars. Is that really all you have going in North America? Well, there is Lineage II I suppose. And what do you have on your to do list? Blade & Soul? Really? Don't bother. And let Guild Wars 2 gestate to full term, which means don't ship it in 2011.
I didn't ask much from NCsoft, and they delivered. No Guild Wars 2 in 2011. Now the question is will we see it in 2012?
Your boon is the usual subscriber boost as you move all of your titles to free to play business model.
Trion Worlds:
Your big opportunity is coming. Ship Rift at just about the time when WoW Players have finally wrapped up the high-end content and you could get… a stable half a million subscribers. Okay, that isn't WoW numbers, but history shows that most people just stick with their favorite MMO forever due to the social network they develop. Hrmm… that is sounding like a prediction, not a demand. Okay, go and get a half a million subscribers already! By June! With your shield or on it and all that!
Trion, you made it. While you were out there claiming a million customers, I am going to take it as read that that meant more that half a million subscribers at one time. And you even kept them for a while, thanks to Cataclysm backlash, a late ship date for SWTOR, and essentially no new competitors in your field.
For this you get favorable portents for End of Nations and a soft landing from the SWTOR effect.
Other MMO Studios:
Which of you is even poised to do anything in 2011? TERA is going to be another Asian oddity, soon forgotten by the mainstream. It was all that Aventurine could do to ship Darkfall, they won't be doing anything else. Funcom won't get The Secret World out in 2011, they're more likely to cut more staff. All of you other studios, select a champion and send it out to do battle. Yes, it can be TERA if you cannot find anything else, but I'm telling you it is going to be completely forgettable.
Nothing? Really, no small studio champion has arisen?
Fine, you're all doomed to mutter about the success of Minecraft and Angry Birds.
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw:
When Star Wars: The Old Republic ships this year, review it. I know, it is a muh-more-puh-gah, but this is Star Wars and BioWare. I demand it. We all demand it!
Alright, you're absolved because of the late ship date of SWTOR. But I expect a review of it next year.
Dr. Richard Bartle:
You were awfully quiet in 2010. And you've got your three level 85s in WoW now. (A very common claim these days.) Go say something controversial. Declare WoW dead. Predict SWTOR will be a failure as a virtual world. Make some news. Do an interview with those people at Massively. They'll print anything you say.
Dr. Bartle was kind enough to comment on my original demands list that, while I found the past controversies surrounding his statements in the gaming press amusing (remember the "I'd Close WoW" headline or his positive view of Stranglethorn Vale), the whole thing tends not to be so much fun for him.
And he managed to steer clear of such controversies, despite my egging on certain members of the Massively staff.
So he gets a pass as well. We can just hope that somebody takes note of his idea of how to break the current state of stagnation in MMOs and that he has a good fortune in 2012 as he attempts to educate us on the obvious. I personally look forward to further education.
What is there to score?
Okay, if you want to view my demands as predictions, I think I did okay this year. But I did not really go out on a limb with anything either. 2011 was a quiet year in many ways, with titles being pushed off into 2012.
Now, do I go back to outrageous predictions for 2012 or stick with unreasonable demands?
Rift is Triple-A and Here to Stay! August 16, 2011Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, EverQuest, Rift, World of Warcraft.
Tags: Trion Worlds
15 comments
David Reid, who previously said that he knew where World of Warcraft's missing subscribers were hiding, came out this week with some comments on the state of the MMO industry, including some subscription numbers for Rift.
I am not sure if he made the Dr. Evil face when he said it, but Rift apparently has ONE MILLION
subscribers customers, making it the number two subscription based western MMO after World of Warcraft.
That is not only quite impressive, but it is a great indication to MMO fans that the genre isn't dead or headed completely to the realm of Free to Play.
It also bears out the contention that many people have made, which is that MMOs are no longer rare birds, and merely offering a 3D world is no longer enough to assure success. EverQuest could afford to make lots of mistakes. There alternatives were pretty slim back then.
Now, though, MMOs are everywhere. Go look at that chart again!
These days, an MMO needs to execute well and play an aggressive game. Rift certainly came out of the gate more polished than most games and Trion has played the recruitment and retention game very hard from day one.
This aggressive posture has lead some to believe that Rift must not be doing well, and they might well be forgiven that point of view. Certainly, in the past, game companies have waited until things have gone sour before trotting out the inducements that Trion has offered up, from free copies of the game to generous price breaks on subscription plans to free server merges (at least under specific circumstances).
But if Rift has a million
subscribers customers, clearly they have been showing all the right moves. This is a game that, I must admit, comes across as "yet another fantasy MMORPG" to me. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the the fantasy segment of that chart is the most crowded segment, which makes it all that more difficult to succeed.
So to make it to the million
subscriber customer mark is (still) a big freakin' deal.
Of course, I said "if" they have a million
subscribers customers. I have no evidence to say that they do not, just that past experience with David Reid being a less than reliable source of information. (I know a former Massively Editor-in-Chief who is still spitting nails about that one.)
Let's hope that at Trion Worlds he is on solid ground and that Rift is succeeding as well as he represents!
That would be good for the whole genre.
[Edit: As somebody pointed out in the comments, Mr. Reid said "customers" not "subscribers." They still may very well be in second place behind WoW, but the number of subscribers might not be a million.]
Trion – Those 600,000 Missing WoW Players, They Play Rift June 8, 2011Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Rift, World of Warcraft.
Tags: Trion Worlds
12 comments
In an interesting follow up to a question I posed a while back about where the 600,000 players who left World of Warcraft went, David Reid of Trion Worlds says he knows where they went. They went to Rift.
Rift has sold nearly a million boxes. Did they all go to former WoW players?
Blizzard, Trion Worlds, and Obvious Juxtapositions May 23, 2011Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in Blizzard, entertainment, Rift, World of Warcraft.
Tags: Server Transfers, Trion Worlds
21 comments
Now this made for a pair of eye opening announcements.
Last week Blizzard mentioned that it might charge a premium to allow players to group up and do instances with their Real ID friends on other servers.
Then today, Trion Worlds announced that they were going to allow free, once a week, server transfers.
On the surface, this is very easy to cast as "Trion = Good, Blizzard = Evil."
I mean, Blizzard wants you to PAY to play with your friends! Granted, they are such good friends you rolled up on different servers, but they are still your friends! And you have to use their dubious Real ID service to do it. That is two strikes right there.
You want to shake your head in disbelief when you read this sort of thing.
Meanwhile Trion is giving us what we want, mobility amongst the many server silos. Once a week, you can move. Blizzard charges you $25 for the privileged, and I seem to recall that the you cannot move again for another 30 days. (And $25 seemed like a good price a couple years back, when SOE was charging $50 for character transfers.)
It is hard not to stand up and cheer for Trion Worlds.
But it makes you wonder what is really going on.
Because, almost assuredly, something other than the obvious is going on.
On the Blizzard side of things, you might wonder if they really want people to use this service. Or if they want the overhead of server transfers. As was pointed out over at Blessing of Kings, charging for them is a barrier that keeps only those who really want the service from using it.
The realities of having so many players means that sometimes you want to allow flexibility, but discourage it just to keep costs under control. A certain percentage of server transfers end up in a call to customer services. So even if the transfer is no more than a database entry, once a live human is on the line an individual transfer is probably a loss.
Not the best justification in the world, but I can't tell you how much a customer service call really costs Blizz.
Meanwhile, here is Trion Worlds, with Rift a couple of months old now. I have to wonder if they are being clever about dealing with a contraction of population, if the initial rush has peaked and they now have more servers running that are really viable.
Announcing server mergers is always viewed as bad news.
But announcing free server transfers, that is a huge win. Not only will your population take care of your server mergers for you, how and when they want to (some people love to play on nearly deserted servers), but the good publicity makes Rift look like a game you really want to play.
Each announcement may be more a reflection of the situation in which the company finds itself.
Of course, this is speculation on my part, but it seems like reasonable speculation. And it all seems like an indictment against this many separate servers architecture, which is the real problem with which both companies are attempting to deal.
What do you think is going on?
Rift Coming to Amazon's Gold Box Today May 18, 2011Posted by Wilhelm Arcturus in entertainment, Misc MMOs, Rift.
Tags: amazon.com, Trion Worlds
4 comments
Today's Amazon US Gold Box specials are all video game related, and come 14:00 Pacific Daylight Savings Time (21:00 UTC), it looks like Rift will be the featured product.
The rest of the selections today look to be console focused, but it was interesting to see that Trion got Rift on the list.
Unless I am totally wrong and there is some other game featuring Guardians and Defiant.
Anyway, we'll see what kind of deal they offer in a few hours.
Addendum: By way of a follow up, here was the price.
Not a bad price I suppose, but not low enough for a game I don't have time to play.


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Regular Article
High-temperature deformation and recrystallization: A variational analysis and its application to olivine aggregates
Article first published online: 29 MAR 2013
DOI: 10.1002/jgrb.50125
©2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
Volume 118, Issue 3, pages 943–967, March 2013
Additional Information
How to Cite
2013), High-temperature deformation and recrystallization: A variational analysis and its application to olivine aggregates J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth, 118, 943–967, doi:10.1002/jgrb.50125., and (
Publication History
- Issue published online: 26 APR 2013
- Article first published online: 29 MAR 2013
- Accepted manuscript online: 22 FEB 2013 01:23PM EST
- Manuscript Accepted: 10 FEB 2013
- Manuscript Revised: 5 FEB 2013
- Manuscript Received: 1 MAR 2012
Funded by
- German Science Foundation. Grant Number: SFB 526
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
- high-temperature deformation;
- extremum principle;
- thermodynamics;
- olivine;
- piezometer
[1] We develop a framework for a variational analysis of microstructural evolution during inelastic high-temperature deformation accommodated by dislocation mechanisms and diffusive mass transport. A polycrystalline aggregate is represented by a distribution function characterizing the state of individual grains by three variables, dislocation density, grain size, and elastic strain. The aggregate's free energy comprises elastic energy and energies of lattice distortions due to dislocations and grain boundaries. The work performed by the external loading is consumed by changes in the number of defects and their migration leading to inelastic deformation. The variational approach minimizes the rate of change of free energy with the evolution of the state variables under constraints on the aggregate volume, on a relation between changes in plastic strain and dislocation density, and on the form of the dissipation functionals for defect processes. The constrained minimization results in four basic evolution equations, one each for the evolution in grain size and dislocation density and flow laws for dislocation and diffusion creep. Analytical steady state scaling relations between stress and dislocation density and grain size (piezometers) are derived for quasi-homogeneous materials characterized by a unique relation between grain size and dislocation density. Our model matches all currently available experimental observations regarding high-temperature deformation of olivine aggregates with plausible values for the involved micromechanical model parameters. The relation between strain rate and stress for olivine aggregates maintaining a steady state microstructure is distinctly nonlinear in stark contrast to the majority of geodynamical modeling relying on linear relations, i.e., Newtonian behavior.