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Published March 18, 2014
Part two in an exclusive, five-part series exploring how America could once again put men on the moon.
The telephone. The light bulb. The automobile, airplane, commercial airliner and television. Interstate highways, modern weapon systems, computers. The cellphone.
The U.S. has led in major technological advances in the 19th and 20th centuries, inventing, enhancing or perfecting many small steps and giant leaps. So why shouldn't we continue to lead in space exploration -- including establishing a permanent human presence beyond our Earth?
Recently, China landed an unmanned rover on the moon, although the country appears to have lost contact with the vehicle and the outcome is hazy. I applaud any country that wants to explore space and further our understanding of our solar system. China has come a long way since the Mao Zedong era. It has embraced capitalism -- though it still needs to embrace democracy and increase individual freedom.
But I don't want to cede the moon to China.
American achievements have made our lives better and safer and have helped to strengthen our children's advancements in technological excellence. Americans are the greatest competitors in history. We want to be first -- we don't like to lose. And, I contend, we and the world's populations are better for it. Put simply, we make the rest of the world rise to our level if they want to compete.
Without our leadership, China's ambitious moon initiative may establish it as the "go-to" nation for space exploration. Many nations of the world privately say they want the moon to be the next step in space exploration -- but they can't get there on their own. They need a technically savvy and resourceful country to lead. China and the U.S. are likely the only nations on earth that can do so. Russia seems to have lost its passion for human space flight; to my knowledge, the country hasn't designed any major new human spacecraft hardware in over a decade.
If the U.S. is unwilling to step into the leadership role, these nations will turn to China.
But what is China's objective for its moon missions? What is its vision? Is it only for national pride? Do the Chinese want to establish themselves as the world's leader in space? Do they plan to bring in other nations? Some reports have even suggested their intentions are to militarize the moon.
If such a thing were possible, could U.S. missiles protect the country with a three- or four-day notice of a missile strike off the moon, which would mean a far higher velocity attack than missiles launched from Earth -- with no initial heat signature to launch an intercept missile at?
Today, Congress has directed NASA to develop the Apollo-like Orion capsule and to work on a heavy lift launch system, both worthy goals and elements critical to a return to the moon. NASA also is working on test vehicles such as Johnson Space Center's Morpheus, which are training the future space engineers needed for a Lunar Lander design and developing autonomous landing technology to land safely on the Moon's surface. But even with all these projects, NASA and the U.S. are focused on asteroid missions that will take decades to achieve limited return. The Chinese challenge should force a reconsideration of near-term objectives in order to maintain our leadership in space exploration.
If we choose not to reach toward the moon, we will lose that position.

subset: commoncrawl


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Two people were feared dead and two others seriously injured after a man apparently set himself on fire aboard a moving shinkansen bullet train in Japan on Tuesday. The train -- a super-fast Nozomi bullet train -- was travelling from Tokyo towards Osaka, reportedly with around 1,000 passengers on board, when the fire broke out near Odawara, southwest of Tokyo. "We received information indicating that a fire broke out near a toilet and two people were in cardiopulmonary arrest," a spokesman for Odawara Fire Department said.
TOKYO (AP) — Asian stock markets bounced back Tuesday, recouping some of the previous day's sharp losses, but investors remained worried the crisis in Greece could spread to other financially weak countries.


text: Admitting the PIL, the high court also issued a notice to KC Bokadia, producer of the film. In his petition filed last week, a Hyderabad-based rights activist T Dhangopal Rao has alleged that the actor and the film producer have intentionally insulted the national flag. "The film poster shows Mallika sitting atop a car fitted with a beacon and wrapped in tricolour below her waist. Also read: Complaint filed against Mallika Sherawat for 'disrespecting' national flagOffended by it, I filed the petition seeking action against the actor," Rao told mediapersons. Use of the national flag for commercial purposes is an insult to the nation's honour, Rao claimed in the petition and sought the court to restrain the producer from further exhibiting the poster as part of the film's promotion. Assistant solicitor general of India, Narayan Reddy, who represents the Government of India in the Hyderabad High Court, said the court ordered notices to the Centre, the film's producer and the actor and asked the secretary of the Union Home Ministry (respondent 1) and other respondents to file their counter affidavits within three weeks.


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CONTEST: Own 'Happily N'Ever After' on DVD!
This certainly isn't your parent's fairy tales...
From John H. Williams (Oscar winning producer of both the billion dollar box office hit "Shrek" and "Valiant"), BAF Berlin Animation Film and BFC Berliner Film Companie comes an exciting new animated feature for the whole family. Inspired by the classic Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales (the second best-selling book in the world, after the Bible), this feature CGI comedy explores what would happen if the balance of good and evil were set out of whack in Fairy Tale Land.
Cast & crew
The Wizard
Dwarf 1 / Dwarf 2 / Giant
Fairy Godmother
Stepsister 2 / Witch 2 / Baby's Mother
This certainly isn't your parent's fairy tales...
By Evan "Mushy" Jacobs | 8 years ago
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We've got your first look inside the upcoming animated adventure.
By Brian | 9 years ago
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The animated take on Cinderella starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., George Carlin, and Andy Dick.
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LGBTQ identified youth shouldn't have to educate everyone in their life (parents, family, friends, teachers, etc.) about being LGBTQ.
It means supporting each other in the struggle to challenge those using women's reproductive health as a bargaining chip in the game of patriarchal politics.
This April Fool's Day is a good time to check any unfamiliar names on Democratic primary ballots to make sure that Trojan horse candidates don't sneak votes away from candidates who support real Democratic values.
We would love to stop talking about the war on women. But for that to happen, Republican will need to stop inserting themselves into the doctor-patient relationship and quit using anti-woman legislation to boost their chances in a primary election.
Unless the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Texas legislation, it is almost certain to create tragedies under the hideous guise of language that claims to protect women's health.
There is no end to growing season this close to the Mexican border and the fields are only barren between plantings. Crops, however, are not the only income producer for landowners in far South Texas.
The cost of offering family planning coverage to employees accounts for less than one percent of total employee coverage costs. These costs are easily offset by savings to the employer due to averted unplanned births.
Almost any one of today's providers could make more money, and have a far easier life, in another job. Instead, they choose to do what they do, so women can choose to control their bodies and their lives. That's worth celebrating.
March 31 is just around the corner and Planned Parenthood staff and volunteers are working double time to ensure our patients and the communities we serve have information about new, more affordable health insurance plans available to them thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
You are to be forgiven if you cannot think of anything that could be called a women's health "legislative achievement" coming out of Texas recently.
When it comes to high-minded discussions about feminism, nobody knows quite how to talk about abortion. Organizers of the TEDWomen conference -- a prominent forum for these discussions -- have chosen to "solve" that problem by prohibiting any talk about abortion at all. Jaw, meet floor.
When I began work on my book, I spoke with women like me who had had no access to safe and legal abortion. Our stories are of trips in strange cars, blindfolded and defenseless, to kitchen-table abortions performed by untrained criminals. But soon I began hearing equally distressing stories from young women today.
I was honored to be part of a historic and joyful event on Saturday, February 8, as an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 North Carolinians streamed into their capital city from all over their state to participate in an historic Moral March on Raleigh.
In the weeks and months to come, Planned Parenthood will continue to join our allies in urging members of Congress to put politics aside and work together to restore voter protection under the Voting Rights Amendment Act.
The goal is not having a perfect record of perfect activism. Nobody has that. Including transgender folks in the reproductive justice movement complicates things -- and that's a good thing.


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Tyler Seguin at GEM, Mayor Menino visits the South End
Bruin Tyler Seguin was spotted at GEM in Downtown Crossing on Saturday night. Hours later, the NHL lockout was over. . . . Mayor Tom Menino was seen dining at Estelle's Southern Cuisine in the South End on Saturday. . . . Patriots Rob Gronkowski and
Julian Edelman were spotted over the weekend at Shrine at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
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37 year old man | Corona, CA, USA | Seeking women 21-36 within 50 miles
I'm Here you lucky people!!
So why am I here again?? Let's see, I don't like to meet girls at bars..(What a redundant relationship that would be,, let's exchange numbers and hope we don't lose the napkin before morning) All my friends' wife's friends are married so no options there. Going to do the online thing and see what pans out. About Me; I like to Hunt, Fish, Camp, The River, Wakeboard, Snowboard, Surf, Hike, The gym, Travel, Sushi, Fine wine (but not above Charles Shaw), Wine tasting, fine dining, riding bikes, Golf, Hanging poolside with my 6 yr old son. What am I looking for?? I want someone to call my own, someone who is honest, godly, has self respect, my best friend, pure, good hearted, loves kids, educated, career driven, a giver not a taker, funny, witty, likes to laugh, enjoys the outdoors and is just as beautiful inside as outside. What I don't want; let's be real here, there has to be an attraction so for those of you with an estranged relationship with reality, 160 – 200 lbs is not "average build!!" I'm sorry but I will always try to look good for you and be a representation of each other, I just don't like bigger girls. I don't want to hear that you love me after 3 weeks of talking; it makes you look like a fool and a liar!! I don't want talk about your ex's, who you dated and don't really care that you slept with a pro motocross guy.. Congratulations, not only are you stupid but a joke as well. And for the few people out there that don't check their pictures before you post them, it is really not cute to take a picture of yourself in the mirror and have a tampon wrapper in the toilet (yes that happened) also when taking pictures of yourself make sure the background is clean otherwise it can be misconstrued that you are really a hamster and live in a cage. If you are going to message me, please don't tell me that you want to eat spaghetti –O's off of my chest, or you want to be the mother of my children.. Not the smartest guy in the world, but I'm pretty sure you won't get a response.
Camping , Cooking , Dining out , Fishing/Hunting , Music and concerts , Playing sports , Travel/Sightseeing , Volunteering , Wine tasting
Auto racing / Motorcross, Baseball, Cycling, Golf, Swimming, Weights / Machines
I exercise 3-4 times per week.
I have Dogs
I have a little fat English Bulldog.. She is awesome
The beach, desert, Lake Havasu, Parker... love the comedy clubs
Anything outdoors
Z{{Cta}} {{#if HasMoreInfo}} ?{{CtaSecondary}} {{/if}}
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|5'11" (180cms)
|5'0" (152cms) to 5'11" (180cms)
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I am a Sr. Production Coordinator for a commercial roofing company based in LA. I run all aspects of production for our Nor-Cal and So- Cal offices
|$100,001 to $150,000
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|Never Married, Widow / Widower, Currently Separated, Divorced
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The Fed is still in the game, and stocks are reacting
Mark Garrison
Interview by
Jul 11, 2013 Susan Schmidt, head of equities at Mesirow Financial, discusses the key takeaways of the latest notes from the Federal Reserve.
Fantasy trading site allows users to 'play' the stock market
Ben Johnson
Interview by
Jul 11, 2013 Players are signing up for Wall Street Magnate in droves, in part, because the simulated experience reflects the stock market in real time.
Thomson Reuters expected to suspend data sneak peaks: Report
Sabri Ben-Achour
Interview with
Jul 8, 2013 Is ok to pay to get the jump on market-moving news? Thomson Reuters is expected to suspend the practice of selling so-called sneak peeks of certain economic data to select clients today.
How will US snooping impact US-EU trade negotiations?
Andrew Walker
Interview with
Jul 8, 2013 The U.S. and EU kick off trade talks today, but there may be an unpleasant odor as negotiations begin: European anger over U.S. spying revelations.
Europe eyes America's June jobs report
Stephen Beard
Interview with
Jul 5, 2013 What is designed to give insight into the labor market may also guide future interest rates, since the Federal Reserve will be watching -- and so will Europe.
Spanish town embraces socialism
Guy Hedgecoe
Jul 4, 2013 Mayor of Spanish town says socialism blunts sharp edges of the country's economic crisis.
Markets spike on Egypt's sharp turn
Kimberly Adams
Interview with
Jul 4, 2013 Markets in Egypt rose so quickly this morning officials had to temporarily suspend trading.
Breaking away from the stock market masses
Allan Sloan
Interview with
Jul 3, 2013 In the years climbing out of the great recession, regular investors were leary of buying stock, thrice burned, enduringly shy. But in the last six months, as the S&P 500 index has gone up 13 percent, the masses are back to buying.
Cairo stock market hits three month high amid protests
Claire Read
Interview with
Jul 2, 2013 With protesters, the military and the Egyptian government heading for new confrontations, the stock market in Cairo is up.
EU to U.S.: Stop bugging us
Stephen Beard
Jul 1, 2013 A multi-billion dollar free trade deal between the U.S. and Europe could be in jeopardy following the latest U.S. spying revelations.


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Creative Techniques for Couples in LoveEngagement photography used to mean the traditional, conservative headshots found in wedding sections of newspapers everywhere. But The Art of Engagement Photography shows wedding photographers how to tap into a new revenue source by offering couples personalized, upscale engagement sessions and beautiful, romantic images to use in their wedding decorations, invitations, and albums. Wedding and
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Digital Wedding Photographer's PlannerA full-color reference to planning for and executing a successful wedding day shoot Wedding photography has become a major industry, and the number of photographers getting into this field is rapidly increasing—making it even more competitive. Written by top wedding photographer, Kenny Kim, this full-color reference walks you through all the major (and minor) steps involved in planning and
Shooting Great Digital Photos For Dummies, Pocket EditionMake your photos better than ever with these great tips! Photography is fun, and thebetter your photos, the morefun you'll have. This little bookis packed with advice to help you set up super shots, make the most of lighting, explore exposure, and sharpen your focus. Learn to take advantage of your camera's settings, and watch your confidence grow as your images improve. Open the book and find:
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Digital Field Guide (Book #204)Easy-to-understand techniques for getting the most from your Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR At nearly $3,000 for the body only, the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR is for amateurs and semi-professionals who are serious about taking great photos-and this go-anywhere guide shares insight for doing just that. Authors Charlotte Lowrie and Brian McLernon walk you step by step through each function on the Canon EOS 5D
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Sight-Seeing Tours , South Africa - Kruger Park Safaris with Viva Safaris. Each safari is an exciting blend of the comfort and intimacy of our own private Game Lodges and thrill of touring the internationally renowned Kruger National Park at very reasonable rates.
Sight-Seeing Tours Kruger Park South Africa


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Results 1 to 13 of 14
Thread: Sail away
June 14th, 2005 #1Registered User
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Sail away
Hi guys,
I did a speedpainting of this, but I felt like elaborating on it a bit more than a speedpainting. So here's something I did between 2-3 hours in Photoshop CS 2.
- Similar Threads
- Full sail anyone?
- Anyone Goes Or Went To Full Sail
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- Art: Gossamer Sail
Last edited by annisahmad; June 16th, 2005 at 06:10 AM.http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66735 <-- The Sketchbook
Hide this ad by registering as a memberJune 14th, 2005 #2
wow thats really nice.. you did a great job.. I like the color you used for the water as well.. would love to see more. oh, and dude or dudette your site rocks!
Mainloop- man i must be dyslexic.. cuz i thought you asked how many people are on lsd
June 14th, 2005 #3
Yes, this is really nice. Great job
June 14th, 2005 #4
This is very lovely Annisahmad, I'm always partial to boat paintings. Great work for the short time spent. I like the soft lighting, color and the texture you have.
June 14th, 2005 #5
oh wow. I can't draw boats for the life of me. That's an awesome piece! keep up the good work!
June 14th, 2005 #6Registered User
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thanks guys. i appreciate it
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66735 <-- The Sketchbook
June 14th, 2005 #7
Awesome work.
Only thing I see kind of clashing, in my opinion, is how the sky is so balanced with the purple/blue and the clouds, but the water is all one major color, which makes it look kind of lifeless to me.
All in all, I'd buy that, it's a really great painting.
Only the heart intrinsically noble can succeed...
Check out My Sketchbook: Leave critiques, encouragement, and good jokes within.
June 14th, 2005 #8
pretty dope man!
June 14th, 2005 #9Registered User
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always good to see something different from the normal sci-fi/photoshop post. very refreshing.
June 15th, 2005 #10
really good, and yeah a refreshing subject.. nice mood set by the composition.. i think the mountain range in back is too saturated, could use some more of the blue in the sky to gray it down some... almost a tangent between the rolled up sail and the top of the mountain.. sorry dont know any boat terminology.. good post
June 15th, 2005 #11
wow, i really like your website design, did you do that as well?
June 15th, 2005 #12
I just took a second look at the painting... nevermind what I said about the water, it's perfect.
Took a look at your website, the art and the site itself are equally awesome!
Only the heart intrinsically noble can succeed...
Check out My Sketchbook: Leave critiques, encouragement, and good jokes within.
June 15th, 2005 #13
looks nice,
maybe the boat could use more detail
but everything looks good
i like the clouds too


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Excerpt, Product Closeup
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Shopping Guide: Heart Light City
Obesity and Speed Empire waist Ruffle Dress
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Obesity and Speed Empire waist Ruffle Dress, $113
Tags: graphic print, hearts, holiday, valentines day
Obesity and Speed Empire waist Ruffle Dress, $113
Plus, Ben and Jen will continue to live together post-split, and President Obama has no love for guacamole with peas.
Michael B. Jordan — Michael on "The Wire," Vince on "Friday Night Lights," Oscar Grant in "Fruitville Station" — was already fine as hell, but it looks like he spent quite a bit of time at the gym preparing for his "Rocky" spin-off movie, "Creed." The trailer dropped on Tuesday and features Sly Stallone reprising…
All the church elders who helped cover this up will be named as well. …
Don't cry, Ben! There are so many Jennifers in the sea!


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Couristan Recife Collection 1001-1500 Casual Cocoa Rug
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text:
I would strongly recommend that the 'mass rev ascension' be the last event of the day.
We do not want to have people needing to be in two places at once, that is watching the 'formal team-mega fly' and needing to prepare for the 'mass rev ascension'. For Bristol it has been suggested that the 'formal team-mega fly' would be the final programmed event. Maybe the 'mass rev ascension' should occur just before the 'formal team-mega fly' and be followed by the 'Team 36' proposal.
1. The clean up afterwards has a tendency to cut into other scheduled events.
2. Mass Rev ascension pilots will likely learn a lot from observing the "pros".
3. The mass ascension is liable to end up taking quite a bit of field.
Besides, in the spirit of things... Everyone puts the final touch on the anniversary event.
The "pros" do their show, then the floor opens up for everyone, just like the end of a good TV show.
All the players come out, interact with audience members, etc.


text:
Men's Hair Color Tips, Real Men Get Dye Jobs- Men know that looking polished means going that extra round in the grooming department. Hair color for men is a skyrocketing segment in the hair color industry.Published on July 24, 2002
More On: evergreen
Timeless evergreen style and fashion posts
Look better for less. Why spend a king's ransom to look great? Read our tips to look great and spend less- a bargain hunter's ecstasy.Published on January 01, 1998
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eyeglasess tips, eyeglass face shape, eyeglass shape, fitting glasses, eyeglass for your face, eyeglasses, eyeglass, sunglasses, prescription glasses, buy eyeglasses online, opticalPublished on January 01, 1998
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text:
Camus Collection
The New Camus collection uses American walnut as its distinguishing feature
In recent years we have witnessed significant changes in attitudes to wood and how it is used. The result is a widespread increase in the use of wood in building. The case studies below illustrate examples of how hardwoods have successfully worked to provide both form and function in building design.
We are always keen to identify new and exciting projects using American hardwoods. Please contact us for more information
The New Camus collection uses American walnut as its distinguishing feature
Design of new landscaped terrace as part of a staged refurbishment
Designed by local Vietnamese architects a21studio, the newly opened GEM Convention Center is one of the largest convention centres in the Central Business District of Ho Chi Minh City, located in District 1.
American walnut brings a touch of class to Swiss private clinic's main lobby
Located at a major crossroad within the city, this Music & Dance School is part of a wider urban regeneration project.
The Glòries shopping centre opened 'El Mercat' in the vibrant Spanish city of Barcelona on 18 September 2014. It is a new food court, where the American red oak ceiling gives the space a unified look.
American oak flooring brings luxury to residential buildings in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Striking bakery design in Montreal calls on American tulipwood to bring contrast and warmth
American White Oak Welcomes Travellers at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Azerbaijan
Select a species:


text: Apple T-Mobile A report says T-Mobile is blocking employees from taking Sept. 20 off because that's when the latest iPhone may go on sale. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images This photo is featured in these articles: Home New iPhone 5S to go on sale Sept. 20? T-Mobile move suggests it will Home IPhone trade-in program may start Friday; you may want to skip it


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by Heather Doney cross posted from her blog Becoming Worldly This is a post for homeschooling's "old guard," the people who first started homeschooling and unschooling back in the day. Writing this post has been hard to do. I do not want to make enemies of the old guard unschoolers and homeschoolers. I just want them to do the right thing. … [Read more...]
To Homeschooling's "Old Guard:" 20 Truths You Need to Hear
Cloistered Fruit (Not) An Open Letter to the Pearls
by Samantha cross posted from her blog Defeating The DragonsSo, a friend of mine sent me this post by Michael and Debi Pearl the other day. I encourage you to go read it, just so that you have some context for the following rant and can follow along. … [Read more...]
CTBHHM: Debi Pearl and the Sex-Obsessed Babysitter
by Libby Anne cross-posted from her blog Love, Joy, FeminismCreated To Be His Help Meet, pp. 65-67Debi starts with a letter from a reader. Dear Pearls, … [Read more...]
Laughter is Good Medicine: Adam & Eve?
So here we are again, it's not Monday but it sure feels like it after the long weekend. So here's something to given you a giggle. No disrespect meant to any Asian culture or people. … [Read more...]
Sovereign Grace Ministries and Abuse: Time to Speak Out
by Kristen RosserFor some time I've been watching with a heavy heart the progress of the lawsuit initially filed against Sovereign Grace Ministries in October 2012. The original news articles have long since been archived, but the evangelical watchdog blog site The Wartburg Watch … [Read more...]
Josh Harris Reveals Childhood Abuse
by CaluluYou remember Josh Harris, author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" and pastor of Maryland mega church Covenant Life Church?He's been in the news during the separation of Covenant Life Church and their denominational links to Sovereign Grace Ministries over the last year. … [Read more...]
CTBHHM: Else God Will Drive You Mad (Literally)
by Libby AnneCreated To Be His Help Meet, pp. 59-63Having threatened her readers with all manner of "cruel" consequences for not following God's marriage plan with its emphasis on wifely submission, … [Read more...]
Abusive Theology, Oklahoma and Us
by Joel L. Watts crossposted from The Huffington PostIt would seem when John Piper tweets, the world takes notice in much the same way it notices the words Pat Robertson says -- with much gnashing of teeth. Almost immediately after the monster of massive currents touched down in Moore, Okla, John Piper tweeted Job 1.19: … [Read more...]
Vision Forum & Defending Parental Rights at the Expense of Children
by CaluluIt seems that HSLDA isn't the only weapon in the evangelical world against the wicked world supposedly persecuting them. This morning as I was reading through Doug Phillips of Vision Forum's blog, dodging the pleas for money and the ads for all the crap Vision Forum sells, … [Read more...]
Learning The Words: Introduction and Request For Guest Posts
by Samantha During my first two years in college, I had to take courses in musical theory. I sat in a room full of people who had a hard time picking up on things like V-7 chords, borrowing, figured bass, the circle of fifths, chord progressions… … [Read more...]


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Posted on 06/30/2015 - 15:04
Today started with some good ol' bug fixing. My first order of business was fixing some NEO Scavenger bugs. It looks like the locked/disabled iSlab allowed players to tell time, and Rollo's conversation encounter lacked an exit choice. Both of these were pretty easy fixes, so I knocked those out in a few minutes.
Next up was the problem I described yesterday with the neko and Windows targets of the social prototype. It took some considerable trace-debugging to figure out, but I eventually narrowed it down to three causes.
First, it looks like I was accidentally operating on an array while accessing it in my tilemap. As most programmers know, this is a big no-no. The array basically got shorter while something else was using it, causing a crash when it tried to access indices that weren't there anymore. This was crash #1 (and somehow ignored/harmless in certain platform builds).
Crash #2 was a similar issue, except this time in pathfinding. AIs were occasionally asking for directions to a place just outside the map. This was largely due to the way the prototype chooses path destinations. It tries to choose a position in front of a crewman, so it looks like the sprites are standing near each other instead of on top of each other. Some simple bounds-checking here solved this issue.
Finally, there was a null-pointer bug that was causing occasional crashes, too. This was due to an interaction trying to access a condition that may or may not exist on a crew, and when it was missing, it resulted in a crash.
All three were pretty easy fixes, just really hard to find without a JIT debugger (i.e. Flash pauses and highlights the offending code before a crash exit in FlashDevelop, but the Windows and Neko targets can't do this in FlashDevelop).
With that out of the way, my next task was to see if I could make things a bit easier to understand by adding more visual cues. I decided on some status icons for each social stat, so I could at least see the current priority of each crew, if there was one. Right now, a colored icon will appear below each sprite if they have a stat in need of attention. Each stat has a different icon.
It may not make sense in the final product, but for now, it makes it a tad easier for me to debug and test. And after testing it a bit more, I think the next logical step is for me to switch back to the tilemap/ship editor, to see if I can add some more functional tile types for other AI needs. Things like sleeping, eating, etc. to fill up their time (and hopefully avoid social overload).
Vacation/Out of Office
Also, just a heads-up that I'll be on vacation starting tomorrow for a week, and I'll be back on the 9th (next Thursday). It's Canada Day tomorrow, a national holiday, and Independence Day in the US on the 4th, so it's a pretty big weekend coming up. I'll be taking the time to hang out with family, lounge around a campfire, and hopefully not bake in the extreme heat.
I'll be periodically checking messages over the vacation, just in case there are any emergencies. But until I'm back, there won't be any updates/devlog posts. Enjoy the holidays, those of you celebrating, and for the rest, hope you have a good week!
Posted on 06/29/2015 - 16:33
Hey Folks! Hope everyone had a good weekend. It was melting hot here the past few days. 40C on Saturday, and 42C yesterday, with no wind. Being outside was unbearable, and indoors would've been worse were it not for a valiant window AC we have in our living room. Poor thing could barely keep up, and even with it running, the house was up around 27-28C.
We had some merciful cloud cover today, and the temp was "only" in the 30s. It certainly got me thinking about what the world would be like if this becomes the new norm!
After some email/PR stuff this morning, and a surprise letter from the IRS was dealt with, it was back to work on the social prototype.
When we last left off, the social sim was mostly working, but some AIs were running away with certain solo interactions. So to help offset this behavior, I added a few minor drawbacks to the solo activities. Push-ups and ignoring people now come with minor social drawbacks (e.g. friendship, family, intimacy), which should make them less attractive the more they are used in close succession.
I also hooked-up a bit more relationship code to their decision-making. Previously, I setup code to track social stat changes that happen when interacting with other AIs. So if Kaylee has her SelfRespect hurt by Jayne, she'll store info saying as much for future reference.
Today, I used this stored info to modify their decision-making logic accordingly. If Kaylee is looking for SelfRespect, she'll check her relationship stats with the target, and if that target has abused that stat, she'll give it a lower rank than other AI targets.
So far, this seems to temper things a bit. We are seeing a lot less of the solo activities being repeated, and I think even social interactions are less repetitive. There still comes a point, however, where it seems like all the AIs are tired of social interaction and hiding from each other, even though they have serious deficiencies in certain stats. This could be normal, or may just be a result of having little else to do with their time (like sleep, eat, work, etc.).
I also briefly looked into compiling a Windows native target for the prototype, to perhaps see if I could get it to run faster (for better data collection). And I ran into an issue: the app closes silently after a few seconds of running. No error message, no stack trace. It just exits as if I had quit, without warning.
This seems to happen on the Windows target after a couple to almost 10 seconds, reliably. I also tried a neko target, which is a sort of fast native platform that works on all OSes, and that seems to be crashing a few seconds after starting due to a bad array index. The trouble is, it's crashing in a place that doesn't tell me much (a draw call for the tilemap, which seems like it should either fail right away or not at all, instead of several hundred draw calls into the run).
The Flash target runs indefinitely, but I suspect it might be gracefully ignoring/recovering from whatever issue is causing this. I should probably nip this in the bud, as the ultimate goal is to maintain code that'll run on all platforms natively.
That's all for today. Have a good night, all. And stay cool! (Or warm, if you're in the southern hemisphere :)
Posted on 06/26/2015 - 15:34
I spent some more time testing and tweaking the social stat sim today, and noticed one potential issue. I set the AIs loose while I was off eating lunch, so I could have a long data set to plot. And the result revealed some bad trends.
Overall, it looks like the stats have a prevailing trend away from zero. Some decreased linearly over time, others increased. And while some of this can be accounted for by the gradual "tick" functions which increase/decrease each stat over time, some of these stats were affected by greater forces.
For example, one AI appears to have alternated almost exclusively between seeking autonomy (and failing) and seeking achievement. The failure to get the former in each interaction may have led to the latter, which is fine. But the behavior was so single-minded that I think I need to interrupt that priority somehow. E.g. the quest for autonomy was failing regularly, so AI should stop doing it because it's resulting in more damage than good.
Conversely, that same AI pounded on the push-ups almost as often, resulting in a plummeting achievement stat. Again, this may have been in response to the failed autonomy interactions, since push-ups take some of the sting out of failed autonomy (addressing hurt pride, sense of achievement, esteem, etc.). But AIs can't be falling back on that all the time, and since it's a solo activity, it's low-hanging fruit for them.
Of course, the way I'm describing this doesn't sound all that bad. The AIs are basically doing exactly what they should based on the rules. I just need more interesting/dramatic rules :)
I also did some UI work to expose more data in real-time during the sim. It's nothing ready for prime-time, but it helps me see what's going on. And to that end, I also added the ability to pause the sim with the space key. So it's getting a bit more robust.
I still need to figure out a better UI for it, though, to make it clearer in an instant who feels what and what they're doing. And I need to add more variety to their goal-seeking.
That's all for now. Have a good weekend, all!
Posted on 06/25/2015 - 16:34
Continuing yesterday's work on the social interactions, I decided to do some data analysis to see how things were trending over time. It seemed like the discreet interactions were doing what they should, but what's the big picture?
Well, as it turned out, there was a pretty major (yet sneaky) bug in the code. The game was incorrectly loading interaction data for the effects applied to the granter (recipient) in an interaction, and it was causing weird drops in stats. This was fortunately easy to fix, and once done, this is what life looked like for one AI:
Probably not surprising at first glance. Most of the stats fluctuate over time, and hold pretty steady. For reference, 25 on the y-axis represents the "discomfort" threshold. Anything above that creates a priority that needs to be resolved in the AI. Also, any dot on the line represents an interaction of some sort. E.g. Chatting, insulting, offering to help another, etc.
So we initially see "StatFamily" (light green) and "StatContact" (yellow) up at 30, which is a problem. This AI misses their family, and people in general. However, in almost no time, the yellow starts going down, and this is the result of several "Esteem" and "Friendship" interactions with other crew (possibly as a petitioner, or as a granter).
Shortly after that, we also see the green "family" line drop. This is where the AI stared longingly at a family photo to get a little comfort. It's a bit hard to see, but little else is affected during these interactions. There's a slight increase in achievement discomfort, since they're not being productive, but that's it.
Fortunately, with those two discomforts addressed, they were in pretty good shape. A lot of the rest of the interactions are probably responses to other AIs needing things until about 4/5ths of the way through, when the esteem stat (light blue) shoots up to 34. The result of another AI defying them.
This AI then goes immediately into action trying to restore their esteem stat. First, they rebuff the disobedient AI's acting-out by telling them to get back in line.
That drops the esteem down a bit, but the privacy (gold) line has now become a crisis. This AI needs some alone time, but also some esteem. So what does it do? It starts doing push-ups, furiously. It's one interaction that requires no social contact (avoids privacy discomfort increase) while reducing a little esteem discomfort (feels more respected by others, regardless of whether they are).
Incidentally, push-ups are only tangentially related to esteem, and are really meant to reduce the achievement discomfort, which is why we see the other light blue line (achievement) drop precipitously.
Another esteem discomfort hits us, and we see another esteem peak, with privacy peaking, and we do more push-ups until we feel better. Achievement discomfort, meanwhile, has dropped way into negative territory.
overall, I think the AI is behaving correctly, given the tools at its disposal. The interactions are a bit contrived, but that's more of a data/polish issue, and I think it can be sorted out.
I still lack any sort of relationship tracking, so this is all rather primordial social chaos. Any AI will do when looking for a partner, and it's basically whichever one they find first that isn't busy.
I also think it's sorely lacking user-feedback. This graph shows some pretty complex behavior under the hood, but the player just sees sprites walking around, interacting blankly, and can't really tell what's going on. The text log of interactions makes for interesting reading, but flies by quickly, and probably takes the user's eyes off the action to read too much.
I may need some more contextual clues on the sprites to denote what they're doing.
Still, I think this is shaping-up to a working system! Now the hard part: making it engaging.
Posted on 06/24/2015 - 16:13
I managed to get the latest crew interaction prototype changes working.
To recap, I recently decided to change each interaction to have effects on "us," "them," and to also have a list of expected effects for "us," to help each crew make decisions. The crew looks at each available other crew, checks each possible interaction for a "score," and chooses the best fit for its current needs.
Then, they path to the target crew, do their "petition" interaction, apply their actual effects to each other, and await a reply from the "granter." This granter applies effects to himself and the petitioner, and each start looking for another interaction partner/interaction for their next goal.
Right now, there is only one interaction type for each social need, and most have only an "allow" or "deny" reply available. A few are solo interactions, meant for non-social needs (like privacy or achievement). Here's what a running crew log looks like:
Crew.hx:114: Mal steps towards Kaylee, and sternly assures them that's not the case.
Crew.hx:279: Kaylee defiantly tells Mal, "I can do what I want!"
Crew.hx:279: Jayne asks Wash what's up.
Crew.hx:114: Mal throws up their hands. "Whatever! I don't care."
Crew.hx:114: Wash shoots the breeze with Jayne.
Crew.hx:279: Simon offers to help Mal out.
Crew.hx:279: Jayne does a stupid trick for Wash.
Crew.hx:114: Mal steps aside, to make room for Simon.
Crew.hx:114: "How'd you do that!" Wash excitedly exclaims.
Crew.hx:279: Jayne does a stupid trick for Wash.
Crew.hx:114: "How'd you do that!" Wash excitedly exclaims.
Crew.hx:279: Kaylee starts telling Mal old war stories.
Crew.hx:114: Mal guffaws, telling another story they're reminded of.
Crew.hx:279: Jayne does a stupid trick for Wash.
Crew.hx:114: "How'd you do that!" Wash excitedly exclaims.
Crew.hx:279: Kaylee defiantly tells Mal, "I can do what I want!"
Crew.hx:114: Mal throws up their hands. "Whatever! I don't care."
Crew.hx:279: Jayne does a stupid trick for Wash.
Crew.hx:114: "How'd you do that!" Wash excitedly exclaims.
Crew.hx:279: Simon offers to help Mal out.
Crew.hx:279: Jayne does a stupid trick for Wash.
Crew.hx:114: Mal steps aside, to make room for Simon.
Crew.hx:114: "How'd you do that!" Wash excitedly exclaims.
Crew.hx:279: Simon offers to help Jayne out.
Crew.hx:114: Jayne steps aside, to make room for Simon.
Crew.hx:279: Kaylee starts telling Wash old war stories.
Crew.hx:114: Wash guffaws, telling another story they're reminded of.
Crew.hx:279: Jayne does a stupid trick for Mal.
Crew.hx:114: "How'd you do that!" Mal excitedly exclaims.
Crew.hx:279: Simon offers to help Wash out.
Crew.hx:114: Wash tells Simon to "back off!"
Crew.hx:279: Mal offers to help Wash out.
Crew.hx:279: Kaylee starts telling Jayne old war stories.
Crew.hx:114: Wash tells Mal to "back off!"
Crew.hx:114: Jayne guffaws, telling another story they're reminded of.
Crew.hx:279: Wash starts furiously doing push-ups.
Crew.hx:279: Kaylee offers to help Jayne out.
Crew.hx:114: Jayne steps aside, to make room for Kaylee.
Crew.hx:279: Simon offers to help Mal out.
Crew.hx:114: Mal steps aside, to make room for Simon.
Crew.hx:279: Wash starts furiously doing push-ups.
Crew.hx:279: Simon starts furiously doing push-ups.
Crew.hx:279: Mal asks Wash if they come here often.
Crew.hx:279: Kaylee offers to help Jayne out.
Crew.hx:279: Simon starts furiously doing push-ups.
Crew.hx:114: Wash says, "ew."
Crew.hx:114: Jayne steps aside, to make room for Kaylee.
Crew.hx:279: Simon starts furiously doing push-ups.
First of all, the good news: there were some funny bits in there. Even as the guy who wrote all that text, seeing certain character names use certain interaction types in certain orders caused me to chuckle. Jayne's incessant need to show off his stupid trick, for example, Kaylee's willful argument with Mal, or Wash being grossed-out by Mal's advances were all fun to read. I think there's room for a player's imagination to fill-in some fun stories, with some more tweaking.
The bad news is that it gets old fast. The limited number of interaction types and replies to each won't last long, and I'll need to decide if this can be solved by simply adding more variants per-need. More replies per interaction. And perhaps, a way to chain one interaction into another so they criss-cross a bit more organically.
As for the sim, I think the characters' needs are more or less fluctuating and responding correctly to these interactions. It's a bit hard to tell, just based on the text, so I'm looking into ways to track and graph this info to glean more info from it.
There's also the concept of relationships and permanence that's currently missing. Each crew should develop relations with other crew that skew towards liking interaction vs. not, and I'll have to think about whether a) it's worth modeling, and b) how to model it. I have a few ideas, but it warrants more thought.
That's about all for today. Have a good night, all!
Posted on 06/23/2015 - 16:21
Hey Folks! Today's work was a mix of business admin and prototyping.
Since Rochelle has some free time in the near future, we've talked about having her help out with some business tasks. There are some things I do periodically to keep things running smoothly, and her help can give me a bit more dev time. Some examples of such tasks include backing-up the website's database off-site, deleting order emails older than 1 month (to comply with privacy policy), and making sure the Steam key redemption system is topped-up so it doesn't run dry.
That latter task is something I used to do by manually crafting SQL commands with a list of keys and importing it into the database. Since it was a fiddly process, with lots of room for errors, and also pretty important to customers, I decided to bite the bullet and make it more automatic. I wrote some web tools that let the user simply paste a list of keys into a form, and submit the form to upload them to the site. Faster and less room for error!
There may be a few other things worth asking her help on, but we're going to get these off and running first, and see how much more time she has left.
After that was done, I turned my attention back to the social prototype. Specifically, I left of working on the interaction system, trying to make it more colorful. Previously, it was just alternating between satisfying the need for social contact vs. privacy, and was pretty linear.
I've since added ways for AI to satisfy all the basic social needs in my data model, and was able to test that out today. It was a slight improvement, watching crew "offer to help" each other, "stare longingly at old photos," or "trade war stories." I also saw quite a few of them "start avoiding all eye contact" when they got tired of people.
It's still a long way from HBO drama writing, but things felt a bit more alive.
One thing I noticed, however, was that the interaction system felt a bit confusing when I was adding interaction data. At the moment, it only had one list of effects which got applied to the petitioner in an interaction. So if an AI (petitioner) approached another AI (granter), and asked for support, the petitioner got effects immediately, and the granter got nothing. I was planning on having the granter then decide on an appropriate response, and that response would either grant the petition (do nothing) or deny it (reverse the effects).
The more I used this, the more confusing it became. Instead, I think it might be more logical to have an interaction apply one list of effects to the petitioner, another list to the granter, and a third list represents what the petitioner was hoping to get by asking. This way, the AI can still look at all the other AIs for a petition that satisfies their needs (the third list, above), then seek out that AI to ask. The act of asking then applies effects to the petitioner (first list) and to the granter (second list), and the response can contain the reward (if granted) or a penalty (if denied).
Now, that's a lot of lists. However, I think this sort of complex logic will allow the person writing the data (i.e. me, or modders) to understand things better. And it also allows for things like the petitioner to lose face immediately by asking for something, and to take that into consideration when choosing a goal. Similarly, the granter will be affected by the petition before making their decision, so if they're near their breaking point and someone pesters them with a request, they can snap accordingly.
Or so the theory goes :) We'll see if it works!
Posted on 06/22/2015 - 15:07
Hey Folks! Hope everyone had a good weekend. We had the most perfect weekend weather here. Sunny, 25C, a nice breeze, cool nights...and we took the opportunity to head into town Saturday for an art show, some food, and wandering. We saw this really neat door knocker made by a metalsmith student. It was a skinless human leg that swung at the knee and hit a tree trunk with its heel to knock the door. Bizarre, but cool!
Back in development news, today was mostly spent wrestling with Flas. (Argh!) There was a bug in the v1.11 browser version I tried to upload Friday, and I had to temporarily revert to v1.06 until today. For whatever reason, it stopped loading at 95%.
It took me most of today to figure out why, but it was the modding debug info stuff I added to the loading screen in v1.10. Adding text to the clipboard stalled the game from proceeding to the title screen after loading. (Because of course that makes sense.)
Anyway, I nixed that bit for the browser version, since it's redundant, and we seem to be loading normally again!
I also had an interview this morning with Rick Lane of Custom PC Magazine, in which we (coincidentally/ironically) discussed developing games in Flash. I hear this is due for their next issue, so if I get more info, I'll let you know!
Also, my E3 interview with Clayton of FraggedNation is online at YouTube. In it, we chat about NEO Scavenger, the upcoming mobile edition, and what's next! There are also some screenshots and mockups cycling in the corner of the feed, if you haven't seen those yet. Do check it out!
That's all for today! I'll likely be getting back into prototyping tomorrow, barring any surprises. Have a good night, all!
Posted on 06/19/2015 - 16:02
NEO Scavenger is now officially updated to v1.11! Since the test builds have been relatively stable, I've just finished updating the default builds to 1.11 on all sites. The "test" links are no longer necessary, and have been removed for now.
This updates the following builds:
- Flash version on the official site
- Downloadable versions on official site
- Steam default builds
- Desura customers must [url=connect their account to bluebottlegames.com to receive further updates.
- DRM-free downloads at Humble Bundle (pending approval), GOG (pending approval), ShinyLoot (pending approval), and IndieGameStand
New changes include:
- Game now looks in /data subfolder for xml data, instead of root game folder.
- Game now loads data from either a single neogame.xml file or separate xml data files for each data type.
- Game will try neogame.xml first, then separate files.
- Base game data has been moved into separate data files, for easier reading.
- Loading screen log messages are copied to the clipboard upon reaching the title screen.
- Fixed a null-pointer bug in wounding code that occurred if no valid wound chosen before modifying stats.
- Fixed a null-pointer bug in HandleCombatResponse if player died in combat.
- Fixed a bug that caused Ginny to never give reward if all questions answered.
- Fixed a bug that incorrectly identified string ID request for sounds as item IDs, causing crashes.
The main updates here are improvements to modding and bug fixes.
As always, if there are any issues with the new build, let me know on the forums!
Posted on 06/18/2015 - 16:18
I was able to fix the bug in the petitioner/granter interaction code this morning. I had a redundant check for a reply going on that was causing the process to exit before it started. It also had a bug that miscalculated goal values, resulting in every goal being a chat reply instead of just a chat.
I also made a tweak to the way the map lists crew when queried, so the list is always provided in a random order. This helped reduce the imbalance of requests on whomever was listed first in the map's manifest.
With that out of the way, I was able to watch the crew run around and chat, occasionally snapping at each other. Not much to see yet, unfortunately.
I started composing a broader list of interactions. Things like forgiving, ignoring, disrespecting, praising, etc. However, as I was working on that, it occurred to me that some of these make more sense as part of a chain of interactions. I.e. not all interactions should be petition->grant/deny->end. Some could be back-and-forth for several rounds before it's over, and this might make it more interesting. E.g. chat->listen->chat->joke->praise->end
I could probably wedge this in the existing interaction code by simply allowing each reply to point at either another interaction or ending node. But before I do that, I need to solve a UI problem.
Right now, if two AIs interact, they basically start doing so from across the map. Mal, for example, queues an interaction with Kaylee, who may be in another room. Kaylee stops what she's doing and waits while Mal approaches. When Mal gets there, they instantly interact and reply faster than the eye can see, and continue wandering.
Ideally, these interactions would be more visible, and this means slowing them down. So I've added a duration to each interaction. Now, when Mal reaches Kaylee, the UI shows him as "chatting to Kaylee" for 30 seconds before she gets the effects applied. Then, she chats back instantly, Mal gets those effects, and they continue wandering.
I'll need to make sure both parties have durations here, and not just the petitioner. Then, I'll need to see if I can setup a way for interactions to spawn chained interactions.
Then, I'll probably start filling in some more test data, with potential interaction chains, and test it out again. Iteration continues!
Have a good night, all!
Posted on 06/17/2015 - 16:29
Hey Folks! I continued work on the social sim prototype today, and made an interesting enhancement to it: petitioners and granters.
Initially, I got the system working such that crew slowly increased social stats, each stat at a different rate. And when those stats crossed certain thresholds, they got discomfort conditions applied to them.
These crew members also had preferences which dictated that they wanted a certain stat to be below a certain number. In most cases, this was the same as the discomfort thresholds. Once this threshold was passed, the crew would look around the ship for other crew to satisfy the need, seek them out, and interact with them. This interaction would add and remove conditions that were defined for that interaction type.
E.g. when a crew was lacking social contact, they'd look for crew with a "chat" interaction, and then path to them to chat. This chat would cause their social contact stat to improve.
I also had a "reply" built into each interaction. So if Mal chatted with Simon, Simon also chatted back to Mal. They both were affected by the interaction.
This alone wasn't much different than my old prototype's behavior, except that there were now more stats to track. And to test this out, I also applied a privacy stat penalty anytime someone chatted.
The hope was that certain crew would become overwhelmed with chatting and want some personal space. In practice, this didn't happen often, but is possible due to the stat effects having the wrong values.
However, the few times it did happen, I ran into a problem. If someone was "frazzled" (chatted-to too much, and needed more privacy), they would still chat to others who requested it. This isn't really good for the simulation, since the crew basically act like walking social vending machines.
The trouble was that my interactions were always the same. If Mal wanted to chat to Simon, the result was always improved social contact, and reduced privacy. Simon could be seething mad and would still "grant" Mal the same positive stat effects.
What I wanted was for Simon to do something different if this happened. I wanted Mal to seek a chat, and get snapped-at instead.
Enter "petitioners" and "granters."
There's a really good book out there by Robin D. Laws, called "Hamlet's Hit Points." In it, Robin breaks down three seminal works of drama into component pieces, and describes how this process can help one better game master their RPG sessions. Specifically, he talks about the concept of a "petitioner," someone who wants something from another, and a "granter," the person who is being asked. (Incidentally, Robin also published a pen and paper RPG based on these dramatic rules, called Hillfolk. Check it out!)
In our example above, Mal is petitioning Simon for social contact. And Simon may either "grant" this contact, or maybe deny it if he's tired of Mal. In my test case, I decided I want Simon to "snap" at Mal if he needs more privacy when petitioned.
So I've changed the underlying interaction system as follows: now interactions have a list of possible reply interactions, instead of a single one. And each of these replies has a trigger. If a crew petitions for "chat," the game will check each of the "chat" interaction's possibly replies (chat reply or snap reply) to see if it can trigger. In most cases, "chat" will trigger. But if a crew has "frazzled" set (i.e. needs more privacy), "chat" will fail but "snap" will succeed. The petitioner will get "snap" when they asked for "chat."
Theoretically, this will apply different effects to the petitioner (and granter) than the usual chat. Probably a change in their "esteem" stat, and a lesser "social contact" bonus. (It is still social contact, after all!)
My testing so far, however, shows some bugs. For one thing, it looks like the game is causing interactions to double-up, and possibly only to work if there's a snap granted. This is probably a minor bug, and one which I'll look into tomorrow!
Have a good night, all!


text:
Monday, February 10, 2014
Maybe Not the Look I Was Going For
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PRLog - May 27, 2014 - LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Comprehensive Child Development, Inc. (CCD) is celebrating 30years of serving the Long Beach, San Pedro, and Wilmington communities. To celebrate this milestone, CCD is holding its 4th annual fundraising event, "Art of All Ages," on June 7th, 2014 from 4:00 -7:00 pm in the Duncan Anderson Design Gallery on the campus of CSU Long Beach. This event will honor Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal for her years of service and recognize special guests Rich & Pat Archbold and Damon Dunn for their dedication to CCD.
2014-09-29 15.49.54
The event features artists David Early, Christine Nguyen, Cecilia Miguez, David Gilmore, and many more in their silent auction/reception to raise funds to support families served by the organization. Works by these artists and many others will be featured along with colorful and original pieces created by the children of CCD ages 3-5. To bid online or preview the pieces available go to www.biddingowl.com/
CCD is also seeking local businesses and community members to sponsor the event to help us raise $30,000 to celebrate our 30th year of service. We held numerous "open house" art days with the children with local artist and Art of All Ages participants Myriam Joseph-Loeschen, Helen Cox, and Pat Archbold (special guest of honor).
"I know how important the work CCD does is for families and for our community. It is a joy to contribute to the organizations continued success. The premise of the art auction allows me to share my personal gifts as a contribution."
"Since my first site visit 22 plus years ago I could see how special this program was. The way the staff speak to the children, seeing them line-up to brush their teeth after snack, you can just sense the quality in their daily routines." – Helen Cox, 3 time participant of Art od All Ages
"I want to come back and do this again!" – Pat Archbold, Special Guest of Art of All Ages 4 and dedicated supporter of Art of All Ages and Comprehensive Child Development
*More pictures and details available – contact Nichols St. Louis
Nichols St. Louis
Nichols St. Louis


text:
|By Marketwired .
Article Rating:
|January 22, 2014 08:38 PM EST
IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/22/14 -- Orange County Business Council (OCBC), the leading voice of business in Orange County, applauds Gov. Jerry Brown's focus during the 2014 State of the State Address on the critical issues affecting California's economic recovery.
OCBC appreciates the governor's recognition of California's role in a global economy and mention of Orange County as a leader in the biotechnology and medical device industries. OCBC applauds Gov. Brown's focus on such important infrastructure projects as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which will help lead California out of a State of Emergency caused by severe water shortages. OCBC also supports the governor's push for local control on other key issues, such as reforms to the prison system and education. He recognized that California is much too expansive and diverse to micromanage six million students, "and we shouldn't even try," Gov. Brown said.
"Gov. Brown continues to demonstrate solid leadership on many tough issues facing California's economic growth and recovery," said Lucy Dunn, President and CEO of OCBC. "He has brought stability to the legislative process in Sacramento. Stability and certainty is precisely what California businesses need in order to grow and create jobs."
While OCBC supports Gov. Brown's focus on fiscal restraint and stability, there must be more emphasis and leadership on regulation reform to advance jobs creation. At 8.5 percent unemployment, California continues to suffer one of the highest rates in the country. OCBC stands ready to work with the administration and legislature toward California's full economic recovery and employment.
About OCBC:
Orange County Business Council is the leading voice of business in Orange County, California. OCBC represents and promotes the business community, working with government and academia, to enhance Orange County's economic development and prosperity in order to preserve a high quality of life. OCBC serves member and investor businesses with nearly 250,000 employees and 2,000,000 worldwide. In providing a proactive forum for business and supporting organizations, OCBC helps assure the financial growth of America's sixth largest county. For more information, visit www.ocbc.org.
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CodePlexProject Hosting for Open Source Software
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Bastian Vollmer
Leverhulme Research Fellow
+44 (0)1865 274713
Bastian Vollmer is a Leverhulme Research Fellow at COMPAS. He is a member of the Flows and Dynamics, Citizenship and Belonging, and Welfare research clusters.
His main research interests are migration processes (particularly irregular and transit migration); control mechanisms and securitization regimes of migration; border theory; discourse theory and discourse analysis.
He was educated at Cambridge University and at the University of Amsterdam. He has an MPhil in International Relations and a PhD in Social Sciences. In the past, he held a research position at the Berlin Institute for Comparative Social Research where he conducted two research projects funded by the European Commission.
Current Projects:
Border security: discourses and practices in the UK
Does immigration enforcement matter? Irregular immigrants and control policies in the UK
Previous Projects:
Eumagine - Imagining Europe from the Outside
Fundamental rights situation of irregular immigrants in the European Union (FRIM)
Clandestino - Undocumented Migration. Counting the Uncountable -Trends and Data Across Europe
Access to territory, border management and protection of refugees project
Selected Publications:
Vollmer, B., (2014) Policy Discourses on Irregular Migration in Germany and the United Kingdom, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Vollmer, B. (2014) 'Enforcement' in B. Anderson & M. Keith (eds.) Migration: The COMPAS Anthology, Oxford: COMPAS.
Vollmer, B. (2014) 'Territoriality and Migration in the E.U. Neighbourhood - Spilling over the Wall', European Planning Studies, book review.
Vollmer, B. & F. Düvell (2014) 'United Kingdom' in A. Triandafyllidou & R. Gropas (Eds.) European Immigration - A Sourcebook. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Vollmer, B. (2013) 'Ukraine, migration, early 20th century to present', in Ness, I. (Ed.) The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration, New York: Wiley-Blackwell
Vollmer, B. (2012) 'Making light of borders: The case of the external EU border' in Migration Letters, Volume 9 (2): 131-140
Düvell, F. and Vollmer, B. (2011) European Security Challenges. EU-US Immigration Systems, Florence: European University Institute/Robert-Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies.
Vollmer, B. (2011) 'Policy Discourses on Irregular Migration in the EU - 'Number Games' and 'Political Games'', European Journal of Migration and Law, 13(3): 317- 39. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1163/157181611X587874
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International Centre for Migration Policy Development, Vienna (ICMPD)
International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion (IMISCOE) Network
Council of Migration, Germany