text:
I'm just throwing this out there but my current experience with sapient
is leading me to think that the term 'Interaction Design /
Architecture' has a position in UE that is locatable and almost
inoffensive. I think it sits right in between 'Information
Architecture' and 'Interface Design', and doesn't actually replace the
second, and so I'm referring my work within this project entitled as
Interaction Architecture, on purpose, though with hesitation.
Please, if someone can come up with a word between Architecture and
Design, I would think Interaction Something-Or-Rather, i.e.
ThisList/IXD/ID, we would sit happily between the LIS and HCI
communities without ruffling any feathers.
Not to flag an unresolved outstanding issue again, but, perhaps we can
find a term here?
Thanks.. back to the entation.
CD Evans
I strongly support Dave's response on this post. (I'm also thrilled to see
Dave begin to consider the idea that IA could be seen as a subunit of IxD,
which is my own personal feeling.)
Most Interaction Designers, in my experience, are responsible for
Information Architecture and Interface Design in the context of designing
solutions for digital products. Only the larger and/or more focused
organizations & consultancies tend to have the luxury to assign separate
individuals to each of those roles.
We HAVE to band together behind the professional appellation of Interaction
Design. If you are performing design work for digital products & services,
you are an IxD practitioner. We have to recognize that people working in
organizations that are used to having IAs and UI Designers pull together to
do IxD work are going to have to manage change within their organizations.
This doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do, for all of us to succeed
professionally as IxD practitioners in the long-term.
-----Original Message-----
discuss-interactiondesigners.com-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com
[mailto:discuss-interactiondesigners.com-bounces at lists.interactiondesign
ers.com]On Behalf Of David Heller
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 4:59 AM
To: 'IxD Discussion'
Subject: [ID Discuss] RE: Where Interaction Sits.
[Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted material.]
Not sure what is wrong w/ Interaction Design.
We design the behaviors of systems as they interact with humans.
And when you talk about IA as being something at the edge of your plane of
IA < > UI Design, I would tend to disagree on your plane.
UI Design is the overlap of IxD and Visual Design
IA is the overlap of IxD and Library Science
SO I think of IxD not as a go between, but rather a lynch pin requirement
for the others.
Now of course the first thing we might argue about is "what is IA?" ... I'll
leave that for the SIGIA-L and AIfIA lists to do since no one really wants
to deal with that little problem. I know that companies born from the
dot-com era like Sapient usually use the IA = UX model of defining IA which
works fine for them as most of what they do is build web sites, that are
content consumption or information management systems.
I have also been thinking of a different relationship lately between IA and
IxD where IA is actually a subunit of IxD in that IA are the specific
qualities of making information/content ready for consumption which in
essense is a type of interaction/behavior. Just a theory I've been
exploring. What is the point of metadata, facets, and taxonomies? To make
something findable (later). Finding is a behavior/interaction with the
But I digress.
I say, Interaction Design is the term to stick with. It is gaining ground
here in the US slowly. People inside the UX community are starting to
understand what I mean. I.e. I went to an IDSA (industrial Design society of
america) meeting recently and talked about IxD and UX and they got it, liked
it and were excited about working with us in the future to the point of
inviting us straight out to talk about IxD at their next conference.
-- dave
-----Original Message-----
discuss-interactiondesigners.com-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com
[mailto:discuss-interactiondesigners.com-bounces at lists.interactiondesign
ers.com]On Behalf Of CD Evans
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 4:49 AM
To: David Heller
Cc: 'IxD Discussion'
Subject: [ID Discuss] Where Interaction Sits.


text:
The fact that Nurse Jackie, the critically-heralded Showtime half-hour dramedy starring the former Mrs. Tony Soprano, Edie Falco, feels singular and fresh, has a lot to do with TV first-timer Liz Brixius. Yes, she's paired up with small screen veteran Linda Wallem (Cybill and That 70's Show), and she's co-created the show based on a concept originated by Evan Dunsky, but this Minnesota native brings the kind of smarts and intangibly potent personality that can only come from someone who's lived a while in the real world far beyond the Hollywood bubble.
It comes from such things as a handful of trips to rehab in the Midwest for alcohol and drug addiction early in life. "I just enjoyed a good cocktail at a very young age," she quips. Sobriety finally stuck in her 20s and she went to grad school to study poetry, which she then taught at the University of Massachusetts.
She knew she wanted to earn a living as a writer, but teaching poetry was far too expendable a vocation. Magazine writing in New York didn't feel any more viable, so she decided to try her hand at daytime drama. Although she ditched most of her comp lit classes in college to go drinking, she explains, she also watched a lot of soaps during her nearly half dozen trips to houses of recovery.
If this sounds almost too honest and funny and unabashedly real, that's because this is how the crisply articulate Brixius is. And this is exactly what she's brought to Nurse Jackie. On the recommendation of TV producer Linda Gottlieb – whom she claims, "I stalked" – she eventually moved to L.A. and worked her way from a floater to the story department at William Morris, where a script she'd written called Sprinkler Queen got to Sandra Bullock, who had Warner Bros. buy it. When Showtime wanted to tweak Dunsky's original Nurse Jackie, Brixius and Wallem were called in to reimagine it.
Brixius spoke with the Writers Guild of America, West Web site about her maiden TV venture, what she meant to do with the show, and what has surprised her about how it's unfolded.
What for you is the defining hook of this show?
I think that the most essential thing about this show is depicting the crumbling heath care [system] – which is really going on – not glamorizing a hospital, the way that almost every show has this gorgeous cast and these super smart doctors overcoming great obstacles and exotic diseases.
This is a very blue collar woman who is not in charge, but takes charge. She is very human and very relatable – she's not full of hair and makeup, she's not more wealthy or more educated or prettier than everyone around her.
How would you describe the personality of the show's writing room?
Generous. Dark. Hilarious. Almost all are addicts of one kind or another, and they have diverse backgrounds.
Why do you think almost all of them are addicts? Do you think that's inherent to the obsessive nature of a writer?
Yeah, I do. I think that with addiction comes obsession, and with obsession comes really penetrating focus. All the stories we do are pretty intimate. We don't do, "Oh my God, the patient swallowed a bomb and it's going to go off while we operate on him!" Our drama comes from these small, intense psychological places.
In what ways has the show and its stories surprised you or gone in directions that you didn't expect?
Linda and I always thought that [Dr. Eleanor] O'Hara was going to be an icy blonde American clinician. Eve Best walked in the room wearing beat-up boots, practically had sticks in her hair. Because she was in The Homecoming on Broadway at the time, she was completely dressed down, unglamorous and British, and nailed it. Immediately the trajectory for O'Hara changed.
Linda and I saw Zoe Barkow as this maybe one- or two-note character but as we watched Merritt Wever, our actor, inhabit Zoe, we realized we had something so magical that we made a commitment to start writing for that.
Is it more gratifying for you as a writer to see exactly what you created on the page come to life or to see something you didn't write spring with unexpected power from the situation you created?
The latter. I think seeing something exactly as you imagine it is a very finite feeling. It's over. What Linda and I love is seeing something that we were very certain about when we wrote it given to an actor and director, [and watching] it go through two more translations. We never try to harness it back into what we imagined, unless we absolutely disagree with the translation, which so far hasn't happened.
We're honored when someone takes what we've done and does it as faithfully as they can, but part of them leaks into it…
That's what you want.
That's what we want because when that happens it becomes truer and more universal in that moment.
How conscious are you of redefining the depiction of women on TV and how much is just incidental in the course of telling the stories you want to tell?
It's the byproduct of the telling the story we want to tell. Neither Linda nor I thought it was particularly noteworthy that Jackie was married and had a boyfriend at work because the history of television is littered with the affairs of married men at work… We were at TCA [Television Critics Association] and that was the first thing people brought up. We thought, "Wow, what a double-standard that intelligent, well-rounded viewers have."
And they would say, "What are all the nurses going to think about being depicted as philanderers and drug addicts?" And we were like, "We're not trying to depict all nurses. We're trying to depict one woman." It's one woman's story.
If you had to give me one golden lesson that you've learned so far as a writer-creator during this experience, what would it be?
That television is a hugely collaborative endeavor. If you're interested in being singled out as an artist, write poems and submit them to The New Yorker… The writers break their backs trying to come up with stories and we, as a room, decide what stories fit where to mirror Jackie's life in this episode. We table all of our outlines and all our scripts. It is a joint vision that produces a singular voice. Whoever gets their name on the script is a very lucky person because a lot of people gave the very best of themselves.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Learn why these talented women chose to pass on their brush with fame.
Star Experience: Kimberley A. Johnson played a police officer on the daytime drama, Days Of Our Lives, for seven years. "The makeup crew referred to me as, 'Diva Cop,' because I'm 6 feet tall and blond," she said.
Now: Founder of Ark Stories Publishing along with her mother, Ann Werner. She also runs The Body and Self Image Blog where contributers share what it feels like to live in their skin. "I got the idea in my twenties as I noticed so many of the actresses were petite and a size 0," she said. "I hated my body and myself, and it was difficult for me to have a good body image. I always knew I wanted to contribute something positive."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "I am delighted that I will not be on the cover of a tabloid with a big red circle and arrow pointing to a zit on my face! Being an author suits me just fine."
Star Experience: An actress in Warhol's early movies, Susan Blond later segued into advertising at Interview Magazine. From there she became the first female vice president in the record business. "I was with Michael Jackson when he was getting his handprint at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles," Blond said. "The fans pushed us against this wall behind us. You can see how we could all be crushed to death— one big bully or push. You really have a life or death feeling when you're a star."
Now: Founder of Susan Blond, Inc., a publicity agency, representing the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. Celebrity clients have included Usher, Akon, writer/creater Robert Kirkman and Sean Paul.
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "The thing about superstars is that every single person they meet needs something. For example, if they don't smile or let them take a picture, the person will remember it for the rest of their lives— there's that constant pressure."
Star Experience: Susie Shubert was the lead singer of a few bands in Los Angeles during late 80s and early 90s. "We played a lot of free gigs and spent a lot of money at Kinkos to tirelessly stand around the Sunset Strip, forcing our homemade flyers on people to promote our upcoming shows," Shubert said.
Now: Assistant manager of a boutique store and the author of the blog, "Finding Borneo: My Son Has Asperger's and All I got Was This Lousy Handbook..." "I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I have asked myself, 'What if?'" Shubert said about her previous life. "But I know my decision was me being true to myself. As glamorous as those lives seem, I know first-hand that money and privilege doesn't necessarily make you a happy person."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "I reached a point where I felt sad and lonely all the time, exhausted by the whole rat race. I longed for meaningful relationships (both in friendships and love!) as I had very few of those in all of my time there. It was a true 'aha' moment for me to leave that all behind, realizing who I really was and coming to terms with the fact that that life would never really fulfill me."
Star Experience: Stephanie Keshe moved to Nashville after graduating from college with a degree in vocal performance, hoping to become a country music star. While working as a bartender, she befriended folks in the music industry, and landed her first job as an associate editor for a trade publication. "The lifestyle in the industry is so much better than being a starving artist," Keshe said.
Now: Regional recording representative, traveling to radio stations around the country to ensure airplay for Curb Records' artists. In her career, she's worked with superstars like Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes, Rodney Atkins, Clay Walker, and helped build up new acts like Lee Brice and Ashley Gearing. "It's the most amazing feeling when you're at a concert, and you hear thousands of fans singing along to a song that got on the radio because of your hard work," Keshe said. "I cry every time."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "Twitter. You can easily see the hateful things people will say about you. I can't imagine what that would do to your psyche to read negative, awful things about yourself on a daily basis."
Star Experience: Jennifer Hancock worked professionally as a singer and is a member of the grammy association. "During that time, mp3.com started up and I actually had a hit on it," she said. "My song, Chuck, the bungee jumping spider of doom, made the top 20 list of comedy songs one year."
Now: Stay-at-home mom and author of The Humanist Approach to Happiness: Practical Wisdom. She also does public speaking— as well as play music and sing for her own enjoyment. "The best part for me is that I still get to be creative with music, but I'm not stressed out about getting a gig or in trying to do work that pleases other people," she said. "The only person I need to please is myself and my son, for whom I make up songs."
Why She's Glad She's Not Famous: "My life is my own. I don't have responsibilities to anyone but myself."
Star Experience: Karen Schaefer moved to Los Angeles in her late 20s to become an actress. Was cast in a movie with Bruce Willis and Sarah Jessica Parker. "I was all the dead bodies that floated in the river," she said. "The river was freezing. The director would yell, 'Cut,' and Bruce Willis would start yelling for people to get me blankets and a heater."
Now: Founded The Association of Property Scene Designers, which helps women build and develop their own home staging and home staging training companies. Author of home staging books and the children's series, Phoebee Fleabee. "Acting was more about me, but I love what I do now because I have the ability to empower others to change their lives for the better and to live to their fullest potential," Schaefer said. "Life is all about the good you can do."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "My husband, Pete, is the salt of the earth. If I would have stayed in LA and kept at it, I never would have married him. And besides, I really don't think anyone wants to see me in a bikini on the front of the National Enquirer with a long debate on my cellulite."
Star Experience: After graduating with a degree in journalism, Shannon Colleary decided to try her hand at acting, and was cast as the lead in a film produced by Roman Coppola called Smash, Crash and Burn. "Unfortunately, the film never came out," she said. She went on to dance in music videos for bands like Guns N Roses and INXS, and play the odd guest role on sitcoms.
Now: Foremost a wife and mother, Colleary also writes screenplays, her most recent for Lifetime TV. And she is the author of the blog, "The Woman Formerly Known as Beautiful", where one of her posts, a parody of why celebrities wish they were anonymous, won BlogHer's Voice of the Year 2011.
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "I'm so grateful I'm not a celeb when I see photos of Halle Berry, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow trucking their kids around. I would hate having my children in the middle of that kind of maelstrom. Also, who really wants to go through menopause in the public eye. 'Cuz that's where I'm headed baby and it ain't gonna be pretty."
Star Experience: Lisa Helfend Meyer studied acting in college. "I pursued it even more intensely than my academics and desperately wanted to be successful with it," she said. But because her parents wanted her to become a lawyer, she didn't attempt a career in it upon graduation.
Now: Founder of the Los Angeles firm, Meyer, Olson, Lowy & Meyers, LLP, the country's only major family law firm led exclusively by female partners. "The intellectual and emotional rigor necessary to represent men and women in some of the most difficult times of their lives with divorce, custody battles, is an amazingly gratifying experience," Meyer said.
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "I still have a career after turning 50. Most female actresses find the going rough after 40."
Star Experience: Jilene Framke worked with celebs at her local Fox television affiliate. "I was jumping in limos with 90210 stars to do PR at 5 am, producing station promos with NBA and NFL players, hosted an itty bitty educational kids' program, and interviewed amazing musicians like Bruce Cockburn and Peter Himmelman."
Now: Framke styles wardrobes, writes a freelance column, and runs a small business called Angel Toes Inc. "My work is gratifying," Framke said. "The women I work with are so thrilled to discover there are outfits out there they feel great in. That makes me happy. And my blog and freelance fashion column allow me to just sit, think and write."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "I could probably better answer the question this way: 'I'm thankful I don't work on behalf of the famous in 2011' because fame can mean something very different in this decade. You know: Reality shows, scandals, stuff like that. If I had to get up at 4am to escort a Jersey Shore or similar reality show star to a stint on a morning drive show, I'd question MY own reality."
Star Experience: Liz Banfield shot CNN correspondent Sanjay Gupta's wedding as well as the cover of Real Simple Family.
Now: Formerly an advertising executive at top agency Fallon, Banfield relaunched as a professional photographer. "More than a job, it's a life's work," she said. Her wedding and lifestyle photography has been published in Martha Stewart Living, Town & Country, People and Country Living. "I love to 'blend in' to a situation so that people feel unselfconscious about being photographed."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "I would hate the feeling that my every move would be watched and judged by complete strangers."
Star Experience: Jess Wright works with famous musicians when her radio station puts on huge concerts and hosts station visits.
Now: Radio personality and Program Director of a country radio station. "I get to be involved in helping musicians succeed in their careers, and as a music lover that makes me proud of what I do," she said. "And I get to use the extensive reach of our radio signal to make a difference in the community and show our listeners how they can make a difference, too, even if they don't have a lot of money to spend."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "My ego is already big enough — could you imagine if I had throngs of screaming fans following me everywhere? Not pretty."
Star Experience: Valerie Allen has done personal public relations for clients like Dr. Drew Pinsky, Bobby Brown, and Brigitte Nielsen. "Outside of appearing on Romper Room when I was a kid, I never had a desire to be in the spotlight," Allen said. "I am definitely a behind-the-scenes type of person."
Now: Formerly a television producer, Allen is the founder of Valerie Allen PR in Los Angeles. "It's really fun to work with clients to shape their messages and segments, and then see them on The Today Show or Ellen, or even the local news," Allen said. "The most rewarding aspect of my career has been the honor and pleasure of working with Dr. Drew Pinsky for 14 years."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "The media landscape has changed and celebrity coverage is more intense and brutal than ever, especially on the internet. I'd absolutely hate to have to be camera ready every time I walked out the door."
Star Experience: Diane Lockner does promotional work for a record label, acting as a liaison between musicians and radio stations. Celebrities she's worked with include The Stones, Lenny Kravitz and Justin Timberlake.
Now: She left the world of pop and rock music for the country scene. "Country artists are beyond genuine," she said, based on her experience with artists like Keith Urban and Lady A. "I've been doing this job for over 20 years, and still wake up every single day loving my job. I couldn't imagine doing anything else."
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "I think you lose sight of who you are and start to question everyone and everything. And the things people say and do and expect from celebs—I simply do not have the patience."
Star Experience: Cindy Rae Betting is a freelance make-up/hair artist. Celebrity clients include singers Prince and Alanis Morisette, as well as actors Teri Garr and Will Smith.
Now: Style and beauty consultant for major television networks, cable channels, retail stores and Fortune 500 companies.
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "You are always 'on' when you are a celebrity and that can be very trying — to always be so careful of your image and how something you say or do may be misconstrued to your detriment."
Star Experience: Formerly an actress in New York City, Cheryl Brinkley relocated to Minneapolis, where she acted both at the Guthrie Theater and in commercials.
Now: Adjunct faculty in the Department of Theater and Dance at Macalester College. Brinkley also launched B. VOCAL, LLC, which offers speech, communication and performance coaching. "What I learned in the theater translates to a priceless advantage in human communication and relationships," she said.
Why She's Glad She's Not a Celeb: "I don't want who I am and what I do to be in any way dependent upon how I look. Keeping up an outer appearance is exhausting. I'd rather put that energy into creating and delivering better service to my clients."We can put our passion where we want
Jennifer Jeanne Patterson is a freelance writer and author of52 Fights. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three children. Find her blog at Unplanned Cooking.
Related: Stars Who Lost it All
First Published Tue, 2011-09-06 11:19
Find this story at:


text:
University of Toronto white paper "Accessibility Issues with OOXML"
By Peter Korn on Jul 24, 2007
Jutta Treviranus, Director of the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre and Dr. Stephen A. Hockema, faculty member of Information Studies - both at the University of Toronto - have just published the white paper "Accessibility Issues with OOXML". This paper describes some of the accessibility challenges that people with disabilities face with office documents and office formats generally, and then notes the accessibility issues that they have found in OOXML. Treviranus & Hockema note in the overview of the paper:
Even though they state that their work is a "cursory glance", rather than a "thorough accessibility review", their paper notes a number of specific technical issues, some of which come from their inspection of the ~6,000 page OOXML specification (and others from the Microsoft white paper "Accessibility of Ecma Office Open XML File Formats").
Here is the two paragraph introduction to their paper:
Office Open XML (OOXML) is an electronic document file format based on XML originally developed by Microsoft Corporation to their proprietary Microsoft Office suite as an alternative for previous proprietary document formats. In December, 2006, the organization Ecma International published a standard (ECMA-376) based upon this format. Ecma International then submitted this standard to the International Standard Organization's JTC-1 committee for fast-track consideration of its adoption as an international standard. As of July, 2007, that process is ongoing.
If the ISO adopts OOXML as a standard, this will have significant implications, as many national, regional and municipal governments mandate the use of a standard format in public schools and for all official government documents and records. In an increasingly electronic and on-line document world, the accessibility of this format has clear implications for members of disadvantaged or minority communities and persons with disabilities, as access to educational materials, government services, records, opportunities, participation and representation is at stake. Hence, accessibility should be a crucial prerequisite for standardization and adoption. With this in mind, this paper undertakes a preliminary analysis of the OOXML format with respect to its accessibility, with emphasis on accessibility to persons with disabilities. We will demonstrate that the OOXML format fails to adequately support accessibility of documents.
And here is the one paragraph conclusion of their paper:
There are grave issues with respect to the accessibility of Office Open XML as a format and potential standard that should preclude its adoption at present. It may be the case that OOXML can be improved to ameliorate some of the more specific technical concerns, but it is most likely too late for the higher-level issues, especially those inherent in the process by which OOXML was developed. We suggest that energy would be better spent in the ongoing effort to improve the existing ISO ODF standard (with which OOXML would overlap and compete if it is adopted). In any event, decisions with respect to standardized document formats should be made in consultation with members of disability communities, disabilities experts and developers of assistive technologies, with universal accessibility as a core requirement as opposed to an ad hoc afterthought.
There is quite a lot more in between introduction & conclusion, but I fear I wouldn't do it justice trying to summarize here. I encourage you to read the original yourself!


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Click here to print the memoriam below
Sherrill Joy Morrell(1945 - 2011)
In Loving Memory Of
My Darling Wife
May 7, 1945 - Jan. 24, 2011
Two years ago today you went home to heaven where we will get to be together for ever and ever. Thanks to Jesus for his great gift of salvation. You were God's greatest gift to me and we had 46 wonderful years together. God knew how much I loved and needed you and you were such a beautiful wife to me and the best mother in the world. I love you Sherrill and still need you and miss you so much, but heaven needed you more. God called you home and now I know you are safe in the arms of Jesus. Save a place for me.
Your loving husband, Steve
Published in BDN Maine on Jan. 24, 2013


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This module is the intermediate level of the Graduate English Course. Some students will be channelled to it based on their results in the Diagnostic English Test. Other students take it after completing the Basic Level Writing module.
It is a 48-hour module taught over 12 weeks with 2 two-hour tutorials per week.
The module provides the opportunity for postgraduate students from non-English medium universities to develop their academic writing skills by writing several academic texts and to explore the grammar and style of academic writing in their own discipline.
At the end of the module students should be able to:
They should also be able to write the following texts with minimal support:


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Did you know that one of the best ways to make money online is by creating a niche website? This is something that more and more people are getting into simply because they see how profitable they can be.
What I want to talk about with you today is how to create quality niche websites and give you tips on the process. The reason I want to do this right now is because I am tired of seeing so many people putting their time and money into something and doing it the wrong way. Trust me, about 70% of all niche websites are setup the wrong way and because of that they are not making that much money.
Before I get to the tips, I first want to tell you what you need to do in order to create a quality website. The very first thing you need to do is find some easy to rank for exact match domains. Once you do this you need to setup the site using WordPress and then make sure that your homepage is optimized for your main keyword. Once you have done this you need to write 4 more articles and place them as posts, this is done to help theme your site and make sure that there are some longer tail keywords coming to your site.
Now, in order to get you started I have done some of the work for you. Below you will find XX keywords and exact match domain names that you can get to start building a website from. All you need to do is go to Godaddy.com and purchase your domain name.
How to clean a laptop screen – 2400 local searches – CPC $3.01 – howtocleanalaptopscreen.org
how to fix scratched games – 1000 local searches – CPC $2.46 – howtofixscratchedgames.net & .org
how to clean an over – 1600 local searches – CPC $2.56 – howtocleananoven.org
black gloves – 1000 local searches – CPC $0.95 – blackgloves.org
how to shine shoes – 2400 local searches – CPC $1.06 – howtoshineshoes.net & .org
Tips To Create Quality Niche Websites
Write Quality Articles
The most important thing that you can do when creating niche websites is to write quality articles for it. Most people think that quality is not as important as backlinks and the amount of content that they have, but it really is. The better your content is and the more of it that you have, the better your website will look in the eyes of the search engines (especially Google).
Guru Tip: Get other people to write articles for you. Many gurus advise people to pay other writers to write articles for them because the more variety you have on your site (regarding style) will benefit your site.
Interlink All Articles
Something that many website owners forget to do is interlink all their articles to relevant pages. The best way to go about doing this is using a plugin that is called SEO Smart Links. The great thing about this particular plugin is that you can setup which words will link to which pages and then it does it for you automatically. Trust me, interlinking to all your articles is a great way to spread the link juice from one page to another.
Build Backlinks
Did you know that behind content, backlinks are one of the most important things a niche website can have? When you are starting to build backlinks to your niche website you need to do a few things to make it work effectively. The first thing you need to know is that you should never do profile links, blog comments or forum posts. What I would recommend doing is building links using guest posts and article marketing. The reason why I recommend building links using these methods is because the links will have relevant content around them which will help strengthen the backlinks.
Slowly Add Content
The last thing that you need to do is slowly add content as you see your site rise on the search engines. The most important thing you can do is slowly add the content because Google doesn't like to see 10 new blog posts up on a site that has been inactive for weeks. Trust me, adding 1 new blog post every few days is more than enough to get your niche site to rank for your particular keywords as long as you are building backlinks.
As you can see, creating quality niche websites is not that difficult. If you want to create your very own niche website, then I highly recommend that you pick up one of the domain names above and start there. The nice thing is that I already did the hard part (keyword research) and now all you have to do is buy the site through Godaddy.com and get started.


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Zymomonas mobilis bacterium might be tricky to say, but this bioethanol-producing microbe could become a household name if Indiana University biologists have their way. The biologists claim have found a quicker, cheaper, cleaner way to increase bioethanol production in this microorganism by using the most abundant element in the Earth's atmosphere: nitrogen gas (N2). By replacing chemical fertilizers with N2, production costs could be slashed and cellulose ethanol derived from wood pulp made much more economically viable – so much so that the researchers believe it may compete with corn ethanol and gasoline on price.Read More
Although the causes of world hunger are numerous, it certainly doesn't help that factors such as arid conditions and limited land space make it difficult to grow food crops in certain places. If people in those areas could eat foods derived from plants that are hardy to the region, but that aren't considered nutritious, it would go a long way towards addressing the problem. Well, that may soon be a reality, thanks to a newly-developed process that allows cellulose to be converted into starch.Read More
The Forest Products Laboratory of the US Forest Service has opened a US$1.7 million pilot plant for the production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from wood by-products materials such as wood chips and sawdust. Prepared properly, CNCs are stronger and stiffer than Kevlar or carbon fibers, so that putting CNC into composite materials results in high strength, low weight products. In addition, the cost of CNCs is less than ten percent of the cost of Kevlar fiber or carbon fiber. These qualities have attracted the interest of the military for use in lightweight armor and ballistic glass (CNCs are transparent), as well as companies in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer products, and medical industries.Read More
In order to improve the sustainability credentials of biofuels, experts have been trying to figure out ways to produce them from non-food sources, such as cellulose – the material that makes up the cell walls of plants. Now, researchers from the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology (WIST) at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point have patented a process that they say paves the way for the creation of biofuels from cellulosic plant material.Read More
Hopefully, your old newspapers don't just end up in the landfill. In the future, however, they might not even be used to make more paper – instead they may be the feedstock for a biofuel-producing strain of bacteria. Named "TU-103," the microorganism was recently discovered by a team of scientists at New Orleans' Tulane University. It converts cellulose – such as that found in newspapers – into butanol, which can be substituted for gasoline.Read More
With the situation in Libya causing a spike in fuel prices worldwide there's some good biofuel-related news out of the U.S. Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) that could help to reduce many countries' dependence on oil imports. For the first time, BESC researchers have succeeded in producing isobutanol directly from cellulosic plant matter using bacteria. Being a higher grade of alcohol than ethanol, isobutanol holds particular promise as a gasoline replacement as it can be burned in regular car engines with a heat value similar to gasoline.Read More
Engineers at University of Wisconsin-Madison have found a way to convert 95% of the energy of cellulosic biomass into jet fuel using stable, inexpensive catalysts, basic equipment and minimal processing. The end hydrocarbon product is so similar to jet fuel that it is ready for application by present internal engine designs. Read More
While it may not quite be the Mr. Fusion energy reactor Doc Brown uses to convert household scraps into power for his time-traveling DeLorean, scientists have found a way to turn discarded fruit peels, newspapers and other waste products into cheap fuel to power the world's vehicles. Its developer says the new approach is greener and less expensive than the current methods available to run vehicles on cleaner fuel and is part of his goal to relegate gasoline to a secondary fuel.Read More
If there's one thing there seems to be an endless supply of, it's garbage. The idea of turning the trash that currently ends up in landfill into a fuel to combat the growing energy crisis and tackle carbon emissions isn't new. Companies like Waste2tricity in the UK are already looking to convert waste from business and industry into clean electricity. Now scientists in Singapore and Switzerland have added credence to the idea, saying that replacing gasoline with biofuel derived from processed waste biomass could cut global emissions by 80%.Read More
June 25, 2008 Mazda has committed to cutting the fuel consumption of its vehicles by an average of 30% by 2015. The company is exploring a combination of fuel-cutting initiatives, including the development of lighter-weight technologies aimed at reducing vehicle weight by 100 kilograms from 2011, carbon neutral bioplastics, an Idle Stop system and an advanced version of the emissions-reducing Three Layer Wet Paint System fist introduced in 2005. Integral to the plan is the renewal of its entire powertrain lineup by 2015, with tests of its hydrogen hybrid system continuing ahead of plans for release in Japan in the coming fiscal year, as well as plans for a new gasoline rotary engine and new diesel engines. Read More
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SANTA CLARA, CA—July 12, 2006—NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, today announced that NVIDIA® GeForce® graphics processing units (GPUs) and NVIDIA nForce® media communications processors (MCPs) are available in the latest models of HP's top-selling consumer notebook PCs.
NVIDIA technology is available in three new HP consumer models including:
The new HP models are the latest in a growing number of HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario consumer notebook PCs to feature NVIDIA graphics and mobile technology—bringing leading-edge 3D graphics, home theater quality video, and long battery life to notebook PC users.
"The presence of NVIDIA GeForce GPU and NVIDIA nForce MCP solutions in these HP notebooks signals the increasing use of GPUs for mainstream PCs," said Jeff Fisher, Senior Vice President of the GPU Business at NVIDIA. "Consumers will experience dramatically improved graphics, gaming, and video in these notebooks, with the long battery life they have come to expect."
"At HP we strive to enable the best customer experiences," said Jonathan Kaye, director of consumer notebooks product marketing at HP. "Working with the NVIDIA GeForce GPUs has enabled HP to deliver high-performance and leading-edge image quality to our mobile customers, allowing them to enjoy the full benefits of the latest notebook technology whether for entertainment, home office or any digital lifestyle application."
The NVIDIA GeForce GPUs and nForce MCPs feature technology designed to improve the mobile computing experience:
Notebook Availability
The new AMD-based notebooks with NVIDIA GPUs will be available on select HP models on July 12.
i Microsoft's recommendation for graphics with Windows Vista can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/evaluate/hardware/vistahardware.mspx#EFAA
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies. The Company creates innovative, industry-changing products for computing, consumer electronics, and mobile devices. NVIDIA is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA and has offices throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas. For more information, visit www.nvidia.com.
Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, the benefits, features, performance, and capabilities of NVIDIA GeForce Go GPUs, nForce Go chipsets and NVIDIA PowerMizer technology, future HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario consumer notebook PCs to feature NVIDIA products and technologies, availability and sources of availability of HP notebooks incorporating NVIDIA products and technologies, and statements regarding Microsoft Windows Vista are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, delays in ramping new products into production, loss in performance when our products and technologies are paired with our partners' products, prohibitive pricing of new products, development of new, higher performance technologies, manufacturing or software defects, changes in features demanded by mobile consumers, general industry trends including cyclical trends in the semiconductor industry, market acceptance of a competitor's product instead of our product, the impact of competitive products and pricing alternatives, and other risks detailed from time to time in the reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2006. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.


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What is closed-form expression for $F(n)$ when $F(n)=F(n-1)+F(n-2)$ and $F(0)=a$, $F(1)=b$ and $a,b>0$ ? It seems to be simple generalization of Fibonacci sequence but I can't find closed form for it nor by myself neither using google.
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What is closed-form expression for $F(n)$ when $F(n)=F(n-1)+F(n-2)$ and $F(0)=a$,$F(1)=b$ and $a,b>0$?
All solutions to the recurrence $F(n)=F(n-1)+F(n-2)$ are of the form
for some constants $A$ and $B$, where $$\varphi=\frac{1+\sqrt5}2\quad\text{and}\quad\widehat\varphi=\frac{1-\sqrt5}2\;.$$
To find $A$ and $B$, just substitute your initial values into $(1)$ to get
$$\left\{\begin{align*} &a=F(0)=A+B\\ &b=F(1)=\varphi A+\widehat\varphi B\;, \end{align*}\right.$$
and solve the resulting system for $A$ and $B$.
Note that $$ \binom{F(n)}{F(n+1)} = \begin{bmatrix} 0 & 1\\[6pt] 1 & 1 \end{bmatrix} \cdot \binom{F(n-1)}{F(n)} = \begin{bmatrix} 0 & 1\\[6pt] 1 & 1 \end{bmatrix}^n \binom{a}{b} $$ so the problem essentially reduces to diagonalize the matrix $M=\begin{bmatrix}0&1\\1&1\end{bmatrix}$.
Denoting $\phi_1=\frac{1-\sqrt 5}{2}$ and $\phi_2=\frac{1+\sqrt 5}{2}$ (the roots of $x^2-x-1=0$) you have $$ \begin{bmatrix} 0 & 1\\ 1 & 1 \end{bmatrix} = T \begin{bmatrix} \phi_1 & 0\\ 0 & \phi_2 \end{bmatrix} T^{-1} $$ where, $$ T = \begin{bmatrix} -\phi_2 & -\phi_1\\ 1 & 1 \end{bmatrix} \quad\text{and}\quad T^{-1} = \frac{1}{\sqrt 5} \begin{bmatrix} -1 & -\phi_1\\ 1 & \phi_2 \end{bmatrix} $$ so that $$ \binom{F(n)}{F(n+1)} = T \begin{bmatrix} \phi_1^n & 0\\[6pt] 0 & \phi_2^n \end{bmatrix} T^{-1} \binom{a}{b} $$ The first row tells you that $$ F(n) = \phi_1\phi_2 \frac { (\phi_1^{n-1}-\phi_2^{n-1})a + (\phi_1^n-\phi_2^n)b } { \sqrt 5 } $$
The analysis is essentially the same as the one that gives the "Binet" formula for the Fibonacci sequence. Let $\alpha$, $\beta$ be the two roots of the equation $x^2-x-1=0$. Then
So set $A+B=a$ and $A\alpha +B\beta=b$, and solve this system of two linear equations for $A$ and $B$. For example, with $a=2$ and $b=1$, we get the Lucas numbers,
You can form the generating function for this particular sequence; it is the same as that for the Fib Seq, but the different initial conditions lead to a different function:
$$g(z) = \frac{a+(b-a)z}{1-z-z^2}$$
To get the numbers in the sequence, Taylor expand this function.
$F(n)=aFib(n-1)+bFib(n)$ (This is assuming Fib(0)=0Fib(1)=1)
You get this by assuming $F(n)=ah_n+b g_n$ and realizing that h and g satisfy the Fibonacci recurrence and the initial conditions are shifted ahead.


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Keeping Up with the Kardashians returned with a two-day special, which showcased Khole Kardashian's struggle with her failing marriage with husband Lamar Odom. Currently, the reality tv star has filed for divorce from Odom; the show, being filmed months pier to the divorce, documents how the decision came about. In the episode, Khole's mother Kris Jenner spoke about how heartbreaking the situation. "It's so sad to sit back and watch somebody's life implode right before your very eyes," says Kris. "Six months ago she had a husband and a family and a bond that I thought would be unbreakable."
Khole was under a lot of stress dealing with her husbands alleged drug use and infidelity, but the last straw was when her father-in-law made comments to the media about her family. "People want to point the finger, but we have nothing to do with anything that's going on," she said. "If anything, we've been a support system. Take me through the mud, but please don't drag my family through it." After the comments were released, Odom tried to get his wife to look past his father's statements. "Lamar called and was crying," Kardashian revealed. "He was really sad and he kept apologizing about today. He was making me cry."
Although, the couples reconcile looked dim the Kardashian family wanted to be their for both of them. Khloe's sister Kourtney Kardashian spoke to Odom, "We love you and we're here for you. I just want to do whatever I can." Later in the episode, Khloe and Kourtney's other sister Kim revealed her sorrows for all that was happened. "My heart breaks for Khloé," she said. "I feel like she's in such a place where she just is kind of stuck and I understand now why she's made so many of the choices that she's made, but now that she has endured so much I just really want her to figure out what she's going to do next."
Suggested Links
- Khloe Kardashion takes to Twitter LA Lakers Victory Parade excitement: 'A Crazy Experience' [PHOTOS]
- Khloe' Kardashian Odom officially new 'X Factor' cohost
- Khloe Kardashian's sister Kim tells her that Lamar Odom is ruining the business
- Khloé Kardashian Odom and Lamar Odom fighting to save their marriage


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Oct. 22, 2012
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford Athletics and its' student-athletes continued the Cardinal for the Community program Sunday afternoon, hosting Buddy Day at women's soccer. With the opportunity to experience the game with local youth, athletes from eight different teams including men's basketball, swimming, softball, field hockey, women's crew, men's water polo, women's gymnastics, wrestling spent time with the kids.
The event brought 44 kids from three organizations including the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, G.O.A.L.S. after-school program and InnVision Shelter Network. Cardinal student-athletes had a tremendous opportunity to mentor and get to know the youth.
"This is an amazing experience for our kids," said Andrea Arroyo, Lead Children's Services Coordinator at InnVision Shelter Network. "You look up into the stands and all you see are smiles, both the kids and the student-athletes. It's amazing the connections that get made in such a short time at these events."
Buddies arrived an hour before kickoff and were paired into groups with 23 student-athletes. The groups had the chance to show their spirit by painting their faces, making posters and getting acquainted with each other. Soon enough, the kids got a chance to exert some energy playing tag and soccer before heading into Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
The kids sat with the student-athletes throughout the course of the game and their Cardinal spirit really showed as the game wore on. The groups led the crowd in a GO-STANFORD cheer and got wild when the second goal of the game was scored on a corner kick right in front of the group.
"You can tell that everyone is having a fantastic time," said Arroyo. "Our kids don't usually get this much attention, so they are loving every minute of this experience. Getting to connect with the athletes, having a great day on the Stanford campus and just getting to be kids and have fun."
The student-athletes had a great time giving back to the youth and sharing key life lessons as well, which directly benefitted the organizations' missions to serve youth. Kelly Burke, Director of Youth Programming for G.O.A.L.S., an after school program that focuses on engaging youth in team sports as a way to reduce childhood obesity, was thrilled with the Buddy Day and felt the kids really gained a great deal from the day.
"Our youth look forward to coming out to the Stanford events," said Burke. "The kids always have the most amazing experience getting to know the athletes and spend time at Stanford."
"They walk away empowered to pursue higher education goals, think about their health and well-being, and aim big. We really value our relationship with Stanford Athletics and are thrilled to continue to partner with them on Cardinal for the Community events, such as Buddy Day."
About Cardinal for the Community: Cardinal for the Community connects Stanford student-athletes with community groups to build sustainable partnerships and support the surrounding community. C4C is supported by Stanford Athletics and the Haas Center for Public Service. For more information click here.
About Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula: The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula provides places where young people aged 6-18 are welcome and can belong after school and all day during the summer within East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City. For more information click here.
About InnVision Shelter Network: InnVision Shelter Network is committed to assisting homeless families and individuals across the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley gain permanent housing. For more information click here.


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Apple trumps competitors of future iPhones with mass sapphire glass production
The big giants dominating the smartphone era have always been at war, but Apple may have just taken a great leap that puts it ahead of the competition. Sealing its fate with GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT), Apple just announced two days ago that the new partnership will enable the commercialization of ASF165 sapphire growth furnaces. While this is merely the beginning of a new endeavor, it may well be the ticket to Apple landing that elusive first place in the smartphone race.
It seems that Apple has certainly gone to great lengths to ensure that its competitors are unable to copy this technology, because the production of sapphire glass does not come cheap, even more so for the mass distribution and volume production that GTAT is capable of. There has been a lot of hearsay and talk regarding this new partnership and process, but it is now officially underway after years of speculation. This milestone sets iPhones apart now that it will be flaunting a high-quality sapphire glass display , something that no other manufacturer can do. This groundbreaking development will set the standard and will remain relevant starting with the upcoming iPhone 6 and all other upgrades in the many years to come.
Next to the diamond, sapphire is considered as the second hardest material. This gives the next generation of iPhones an incredible resistance to scratching, as doing any of that kind of damage to sapphire is tremendously difficult. But is the sapphire glass stronger or weaker than Corning's Gorilla Glass?
Hard to say. Cases have been made for both materials, but factors are always variable and the results remain to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Apple will most definitely take this first mover advantage seriously and maximize the best qualities of sapphire glass while maintaining its production cost low.
What does this mean for competitors Samsung and Google? It undoubtedly isn't easy to duplicate this kind of technology, especially since Apple has kept its technique of mass-producing low-cost sapphire glass a well-guarded secret. But whether this will put Apple ahead of the game forever or will simply give it a short head start, the fact remains that avid users will soon be able to reap the benefits of this new technology by the third quarter of this year. Expected to debut with the iPhone 6, the sapphire glass display will give an anti-scratch toughness that will be exclusive to iPhone users only. Or at least, that is what Apple hopes to achieve.
Apple secures exclusive sapphire glass production for the iPhone 6 and beyond
GT Advanced Technologies Vs. Corning: Crystalline Sapphire Is Better (And Worse) Than Gorilla Glass


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Monday night, US State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf was interviewed by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. Kelly's trial attorney skills definitely helped her expose President Obama's Iraq policy as tons of trashtalking.
This exchange happened early in the interview:
Megyn Kelly: Let me refresh the viewers that -- it was just in January that this group just took over Fallujah and started flying the al-Qa'ida flag and the president was asked about that. And he told New York Magazine, I think it was, that, this is the analogy, that "This is the analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think it's accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers jerseys, that doesn't make them Kobe Bryant. Did he underestimate the threat?
Marie Harf: Not at all. Look, this is a threat we've been talking to the Iraqis and other partners in the region about for months. We talked about it just last November, before the comments you mentioned, with Prime Minister Maliki when he was here.
Ms. Harf was just caught in an impossible situation. A president who compares a terrorist organization with a jayvee team isn't taking them seriously. Either that or he's taking them seriously in private but he's trashtalking them in public. That isn't wise, either, because Maliki needs certainty from the United States.
Maliki isn't getting that certainty from the United States, which is why Maliki is cozying up with the Iranians. They're telling him that they'll unconditionally stand with him. President Obama is telling him he'll half-heartedly stand with Iraq if Iraq does what they're told by the Obama administration.
Here's another revealing exchange:
Megyn Kelly: Then why did President Obama refer to them as a group that's jayvee?
Marie Harf: Well, it's a group that's changing. The terrorist threat changes on a week-by-week and month-by-month basis.
Megyn Kelly: Oh, come on. In January, they're jayvee and now that we're in June, they're this devastating terrorist group that's basically taken over Iraq?
Marie Harf: We have been very clear about the threat from ISIL but we have seen them grow in strength, mostly because of the situation in Syria. They have been able to gain strength there and, unfortunately, what we've seen from the Iraqi army surprised a lot of people and couldn't stand up to the fight.
Most people would agree with Megyn Kelly that an administration that's trashtalking a terrorist organization in January can't credibly say that they're now an elite fighting force in June. Military units improve but nobody thinks they improve that fast.
This is what happens when an administration with a reputation for trashtalking sends out a spokesperson in an attempt to fool a well prepared journalist. The well-intentioned spokesperson usually gets her head handed to her.


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Jake Peavy: Loss of Jacoby Ellsbury hurts, but Red Sox 'feel like the team to beat'
|02.15.14 at 10:19 am ET
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox right-hander Jake Peavy suggested that the departure of Jacoby Ellsbury for the Yankees on a seven-year, $153 million contract represents a notable loss for his team, but suggested that the team is hopeful that Jackie Bradley Jr. and Grady Sizemore will help to offset that loss.
"Certainly losing the players we lost, it hurts. We all know what Jacoby brought to the table and how great of a defender he was in center field. Obviously an offensive player and then him on the basepaths. So we know that we have a hole there," said Peavy. "Jackie Bradley has shown in times past that he's plenty capable of filling in. And hopefully the more he plays, the more comfortable he becomes. His talent and ability that's in him, we know, will come out. Obviously we're hoping for that '¦ Grady Sizemore and keeping him healthy, we'll have a very good option there."
Peavy also suggested that he and other members of the Sox would like to see free agent shortstop Stephen Drew come back to Boston.
"I think a lot of people are holding out hope that there's a chance he may come walk into this locker room any day," said Peavy. "We understand that doesn't look very promising. At the same time we all saw in the playoffs what [Xander Bogaerts] brings to the table. And we've all seen [Will Middlebrooks]. But we have plenty enough in this room to do what we want to get done and that's win a world championship."
Asked if the Red Sox remain the team to beat, Peavy said that the team wouldn't duck from any such labels.
"That's not for me to go out and say but I can promise you this, whether we are or we aren't, we'll take the field like we are every night," said Peavy. "That starts here, the first time we take the field at spring training we'll feel like the team to beat no matter what anybody says. That's just the mentality this team will always be with."
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Known for being the world's first researcher to have guided a magnetic sphere through a living artery, Professor Martel is announcing a spectacular new breakthrough in the field of nanomedicine. Using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, his team successfully guided microcarriers loaded with a dose of anti-cancer drug through the bloodstream of a living rabbit, right up to a targeted area in the liver, where the drug was successfully administered. This is a medical first that will help improve chemoembolization, a current treatment for liver cancer.
Microcarriers on a mission
The therapeutic magnetic microcarriers (TMMCs) were developed by Pierre Pouponneau, a PhD candidate under the joint direction of Professors Jean-Christophe Leroux and Martel. These tiny drug-delivery agents, made from biodegradable polymer and measuring 50 micrometers in diameter -- just under the breadth of a hair -- encapsulate a dose of a therapeutic agent (in this case, doxorubicin) as well as magnetic nanoparticles. Essentially tiny magnets, the nanoparticles are what allow the upgraded MRI system to guide the microcarriers through the blood vessels to the targeted organ. During the experiments, the TMMCs injected into the bloodstream were guided through the hepatic artery to the targeted part of the liver where the drug was progressively released. The results of these in-vivo experiments have recently been published in the prestigious journal Biomaterials and the patent describing this technology has just been issued in the United States.
The Nanorobotics Laboratory, which aims to develop new platforms for medical intervention, works closely with interventional radiologist Dr. Gilles Soulez and his team of the Imaging Research Platform at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal Research Centre to develop medical protocols adapted for future use on humans.
Dr. Martel and his team receive financial support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canada Research Chair (CRC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT) and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ).
From left to right: Pierre Pouponneau, Polytechnique Montréal; Dr. Louis Gaboury, Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer; Dr. Gilles Soulez, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal Research Centre; Dr. Sylvain Martel, Polytechnique Montréal. Absent: Dr. Jean-Christophe Leroux, Université de Montréal and ETH Zürich.
Polytechnique Montréal's Nanorobotics Laboratory:
March 16, 2007, Fantastic Voyage: from Science Fiction to Reality?
RÉFÉRENCE : Pouponneau, P., Leroux, J.-C., Soulez, G., Gaboury, L. and Martel, S. (2011). Co-encapsulation of magnetic
nanoparticles and doxorubicin into biodegradable microcarriers for deep tissue targeting by vascular MRI navigation.
Biomaterials. Volume 32, Issue 13, May 2011, Pages 3481-3486.
(DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.12.059)
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10 Feb 02:00 2006
BCP 61, advancing to draft
Sam Hartman <hartmans-ietf <at> mit.edu>
Hi. I'd like to remind everyone of BCP 61. It says roughly that protocols we approve need a mandatory to implement security mechanism. We here in the security area think that's a great idea. O, by the way, we're here to help you. As part of our plan for world domination^h^h^hhelping you, we've created a number of security solutions including things like SASL, TLS, IPsec, Kerberos, GSS-API, and CMS. We really like it when you use these security services instead of inventing your own. First, it makes it hugely easier for us to review your documents. Second, it makes it easier when we need to do algorithm upgrades to things like hash functions or replace DES with AES. Finally it probably makes your security easier to deploy. There's this littple problem though. All of the above are at proposed standard. For a number of reasons they are not moving to draft as soon as anyone would like. So, I see two options that I don't like. First, we can avoid security in anything going to draft. Draft becomes a dumping ground for all the older protocols (plus a few things like SNMP that invent their own security) without updates that add security. Secondly, we can block everything from going to draft. Does anyone want to work on a better answer to this? --Sam(Continue reading)


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Sunderland Association Football Club Current Players
- Position:Forward
- Origin:England
- Height(cm):183
- Weight(kg):87
- Join Date:31/01/2013
* On loan at Blackburn Rovers
Sunderland signed striker Danny Graham on the final day of the January 2013 transfer window.
Danny started his professional career with Middlesbrough in 2003. His four years with the Teessiders were peppered with loan spells across the divisions, including Derby County, Leeds United, Blackpool and Carlisle United, before he finally sealed a permanent move to Brunton Park in 2007.
In 89 appearances for the Cumbrians Danny notched 29 goals, despite United's desire to keep him at the club, Danny was offered the chance to move up to the Championship with Watford, a move that saw the striker's goals per game ratio soar.
He made an immediate impact for the Hornets following his step-up when he scored on his debut against Doncaster Rovers. His rich vein of form in front of goal for the Hornets saw him become their top scorer, amassing 14 goals in his maiden season.
Danny continued to terrorise Championship defences throughout the following campaign and equalled Watford's record for most goals scored in consecutive games when he found the back of the net in seven successive games.
After bagging 24 goals he was once again top scorer for his club and the league, resulting in him being named in the Championship's team of the season. As you would expect that feat put clubs throughout the country on red alert as interest in the hitman continued to grow.
After fending off a bid from QPR, Watford conceded defeat and let Danny join newly-promoted Swansea City for £3.5 million ahead of the 2011-12 season.
He repaid the faith manager Brendan Rodgers showed in him as he continued his impressive scoring record with City.
After grabbing his first goal against Stoke City he scored in the following three games. Danny has also grabbed the winning goals for the Swans in victories over Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
During his time in South Wales, he made 62 appearances and scored 21 goals and a one for all stats fans out there, Swansea only ever lost two games that the striker scored in.
Danny joined Hull City on loan in July 2013, making 20 appearances for the Tigers before heading to Middlesbrough, again on loan, on the final day of the January 2014 transfer window.
Danny made 18 appearances during his time on Teesside, scoring six goals, the first of which came as he notched a brace in a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town.
He joined Wolves on loan in November 2014 before returning to Wearside in January, and he made a memorable impact putting in a number of tireless displays before scoring his first Sunderland goal in a 2-0 win over Everton.
Danny joined Blackburn Rovers on loan in January 2016.
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Game Stats
Attacking Player Statistics
How do the attacking match stats break down?
- Goals
- Total Shots
- Key Passes
- Accurate Crosses
- Free-Kicks Won
Pass Accuracy
For every pass, how many were successfully received by a team-mate?
Defensive Player Statistics
How do the defensive match stats break down?
- Shots Blocked
- Clearances
- Crosses Blocked
- Duels Won
- Interceptions
- Fouls Conceded
- 4Liam Bridcutt*
- 6Lee Cattermole
- 7Sebastian Larsson
- 8Jack Rodwell
- 14Jordi Gomez*
- 17Jeremain Lens
- 20Ola Toivonen
- 21Yann M'Vila
- 22Wahbi Khazri
- 28Charis Mavrias*
- 30Will Buckley*
- Emanuele Giaccherini*


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It is important to talk with other educators on issues that relate to children, their families, community at large and personal professional growth in the field of early childhood education. One such way is through professional learning community (PLC). This may be a challenging act for some pre-k teachers due to being the only classroom onsite but there is hope to be an active PLC member.
Here are suggestions toward becoming an active PLC member next school year.
1. Talk with local early childhood association to start PLC meetings once a month on topics of interest by participants (attend). Moving to the active role you can present on various topics (name on agenda), create email listserv to send out announcements of upcoming meetings/events. For every meeting have an agenda, sign-in sheet and other needed materials for attendees.
2. Join (attend) online social media outlets such as early childhood education blog and Face Book PLC for early childhood educators. Moving toward being an active member you must post information through comments and/or questions then post replies to attendees to read. It is important to understand you must be posting/responding (active) and not just reviewing posted information. Also, your posted information should be clear concise to grow the readers professionally. In addition, you must participate in at least 3 to 4 times per month to gain the concept of actively participating in a PLC.
3. You can take the leadership role by obtaining neighboring early childhood sites email addresses and compile introductory letter to start a PLC at central location (secure first) to accommodate attendee's on-site meetings. In the introductory letter introduce yourself, purpose/goal of meeting, date, time and your contact information. At the first meeting other protocol information can be shared for future ones and meeting at least once a month with an agenda, sign-in sheet, and other needed materials per attendee.
4. Another alternative is to start an on-site PLC with colleagues. Survey colleagues on different topics of interest to be discussed. Research information to present and/or facilitator to share on requested topics. As part of the conversation at the first meeting select date/time for the gathering at least once a month with an agenda, sign-in sheet and other needed materials per attendee.
As you seek out more productive ways to be an active participant in PLC hopefully the above ideas will assist in bringing you together with like-minded early childhood educators at PLC meetings. It is a great means to know you are not alone in your thoughts and actions to work with children, their families, colleagues, community at large and your own professional growth and development in early childhood education. Let's talk!


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All prospective music majors must audition for admission to the Department of Music. Auditions must be completed by March 1 in order to be considered for music scholarships.
Music, BA
Our Bachelor of Arts in Music prepares you for diverse career opportunities in keeping with the liberal arts tradition of Taylor University. This degree requires a foreign language and combines well with minors in other fields, such as communication, pre-law or business.
Musical Theatre, BFA
If you're a serious artist passionate about music, theatre, and dance, consider the BFA in Musical Theatre. Music, dance, and theatre faculty challenge students to take their art to the next level—and engage their faith throughout the process. Learn more.
Theatre Arts, BA & BS
Develop skills in communication, acting, stagecraft and management, and play direction with a major in theatre arts. All students in this major participate in at least two theatre productions each year. Students also direct their own productions, and there are opportunities to be part of Taylor's traveling theatre company. The Bachelor of Arts option requires a foreign language. The Bachelor of Science option pairs communication studies requirements with Taylor's systems curriculum. Learn more.
The following Bachelor of Music degrees emphasize the development of skills, concepts, and sensitivities essential for the professional life of a musician. As a performer, composer, scholar, or teacher, a professional musician must exhibit technical competence as well as a broad knowledge of music and music literature.
Music Composition, BM
A music composition major prepares you to study further in graduate school, teach theory and/or composition at high school or college levels, and compose or arrange sacred or secular music. It also leads to numerous opportunities in radio, television, and other related fields.
Music Performance, BM
A music performance major offers concentrations in piano, vocal and instrumental music performance. This program will prepare you for graduate school and possible careers as a solo performer, accompanist, private teacher, professional ensemble member, conductor, or college professor. This major will assist you in developing organ, piano, voice, brass, percussion, strings, and woodwinds performance skills in areas including technique, interpretation, practice strategies, and performance experiences.
Music Education, BM
Our music education major leads to teacher certification and prepares you to teach in public schools at the elementary, junior high, and senior high school levels. Concentrations include:
- Instrumental: Instrumental music education is designed for piano, brass, percussion, string, and woodwind majors and prepares you to teach instrumental and general music at the elementary and secondary levels (K-12) in the public schools.
- Choral: Choral music education is designed for voice, piano, and organ majors and prepares you to teach choral and general music at the elementary and secondary levels (K-12).
The following Bachelor of Science degrees provide a broad-based musical foundation with concentrations to prepare you for possible vocational opportunities in the music industry, music theatre, or church.
Church Music Ministries, BS
A church music ministries major prepares you as a musician to serve the modern evangelical church in music ministry, worship leading, and pastoral/leadership duties.
Music Management, BS
A music management major provides you with skills in music and basic knowledge of business management principles, in preparation for a career on the business side of the music industry.
Music Marketing, BS
A music marketing major provides you with skills in music and basic knowledge of business marketing principles. These two sides pair up to build a solid foundation for the student interested in doing marketing for the music industry.
- Applied Music is designed to increase your skills in performance ability.
- Church Music Ministries prepares you to become worship leader in traditional and contemporary church music programs.
- Keyboard Pedagogy prepares you to teach private piano lessons and operate a professional studio.
- Music Composition is designed to assist you in development of your music composition skills for classical or popular applications.


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Hugo's House of Horrors was a game created on the computer. It was compatible with DOS, an old system that no longer is used today. In order to play something such as this, the best shot would have to be through the form of a DOS emulator. Even then, there is no guarantee as it will depend on your own computer. It was the type of game that involved typing and also controlling the character.
In this game, the plot is that Penelope had gone to the house to babysit but it was a trap. Hugo has to rescue her and that's about all that can truly be said about the game itself. It was a rather simple plot. Much like games that had involved rescuing someone important, this was no different.
The genre was more along the lines of adventure but also had typing in commands to obtain items that are going to be needed. All that would be needed would be to type in a phrase an answer would immediately show up. Use the arrow keys to go in any direction. It is horror themed as it seems to be based around Halloween characteristics.
The gameplay involves using the arrows and typing in commands. It seems simple enough to understand in terms of the type of gameplay it is. It is responsive as long as the keyboard is working. Other than that, there really isn't much that could be added or said about it.
It also involves some problem solving. There is a mask to be obtained and different items to collect. All you have to do is type in the command to take them and that's about all that can be said. Make sure to collect all items as necessary.
After the beginning, there isn't much else in the way of music. The only other time seems to be when there is a dog that is coming after Hugo and unless the steak is thrown, the dog is going to attack.
Overall, the game is ok. It's not going to win awards for originality but it's a fun little challenge at first. It's mainly for someone who would enjoy older games that would have you walk and also be able to type in commands. It doesn't show the action being done but at least it acknowledges that it was. It is unlikely to find this game at a store as it is rare and besides most computers probably wouldn't play it on a normal convention. As mentioned in the beginning, the best bet would be the DOS emulator.


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Are we really leaving Iraq at the end of 2011?
Regions / Iraq
By supporting the establishment of U.S. consulates in the Kurdish region, Congress is meddling in Iraqi affairs.
The U.S. occupation has never been a part of the solution and never will be.
The recent Iraqi elections have brought the country a few steps closer to true self-determination.
Measuring economic development in Afghanistan by the same yardstick as a Pentagon mission is a recipe for disaster.
The military brass once again floats the idea of indefinite occupation in Iraq.
The Pentagon is now calling its operation in Iraq "New Dawn." But for Iraqis, as columnist Frida Berrigan points out, it just means same occupiers, different day.
The Obama administration's policy toward Iraq largely continues the policies of the Bush years.
The tragic effects of the policies that motivate those abroad to attack U.S. soldiers have finally hit home in a direct and devastating way.
Where to find the funds for health care reform? Sometimes the answer can be found in poetry.


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Motoman Robots Arc Welding
Frames for Sectional Snowplows
Robotic welding system accommodates wide range of sizes, including 8', 10', 12', and 14' L frames for light-duty snow plows and 12', 14', 16', 19' and 22' L frames for heavy-duty models. Robots surpass goal of producing 10 frames per 10-hour shift. Cell welds 12' frames in 42-45 minutes (25-30% faster than requirement), with similar stellar results for other frame sizes. Flexible cell design accommodates wide range of frame sizes, but keeps centerline of parts consistent, which facilitates programming by allowing points to be taught on one side of the positioner and then shifted to the other side. Robot solution provides consistent high-quality welding, which improves frame fit-up and aesthetics.
Project Challenges
- Provide robotic system capable of producing approximately 10 snow plow frames per 10-hour shift. Manual process can produce approximately three frames per day.
- Frames for light-duty plows are available in 8', 10', 12', and 14' lengths and frames for heavy-duty plows come in 12', 14', 16', 19' and 22' lengths.
- Frames are made of A36 mild steel and require approximately 175-200 welds each. Most are single pass welds approximately 101.6-127 mm (4-5" L); some require two passes and/or weaving.
- Improve productivity, while also increasing weld quality and consistency.
Motoman Robotics Solution
- (2) Motoman HP50-20 robots with:
- (1) NX100 DR2C robot controller -- dual robot controllers interfaced with one programming pendant
- (2) Robot base risers
- (2) Miller Auto-Axcess® weld packages – 450 Amp, water-cooled
- ComArc 200V high-speed touch sensing – dual robot package
- (2) Motoman Tough Gun® torch packages
- (2) Reamer/sprayer nozzle cleaning stations with wire cutters.
- (2) Motoman MHT-1600 headstock/tailstock positioners – AC servo-controlled with 3,000 kg (6,615.0-lb rated load, 3.28-sec 180-degree sweep; 10.6 rpm headstock speed; and 95 mm (3.7") off center of gravity at rated load.
- (4) Mobile headstock and tailstock sub-bases – one pair with manual adjustment for part length variations from 8'-19' and a second pair for part length variations from 8'-22'.
- Custom fixture package.
- (2) Operator stations on stand-alone pedestals (one primary, one secondary).
- Common equipment base for robot controller, and welding power supplies and disconnects.
- Cell guarding that meets ANSI/RIA 15.06-1999 safety standard, including 2.4-m (8') safety fence, one personnel gate, four sliding doors (two at each positioner load/unload station), arc flash protection curtains, and a three-color status beacon.
Fixtures/Tooling Details
Motoman Robotics provided two sets of fixture receivers per headstock/ tailstock positioner (a total of four bolt-on fixture adapters). Each positioner has one set for light-duty frames and another for heavy-duty frames. The operator bolts fixture adapters to parts off-line and uses an overhead crane to lift them into the headstock/tailstock fixture receivers.
Schedule a Consultation
See if robotics is a good fit for your business. Click below to contact an automation specialist with experience in your industry.


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Unemployed and under-employed Americans are enduring hiring discrimination as well as financial and emotional distress. By David Elliot Many people know that some 14 million Americans, officially about 9 percent of the nation's work force, are unemployed. Another 12 million are under-employed. That means they'd like full-time work but can't get it, or maybe they're …
Tag Archive: under-employed
Dec 05 2011
Hardly working
Permanent link to this article: http://www.easttexasreview.com/hardly-working/


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Pokemon Black and White 2 Play as Your Rival [HACK] Free Download. Download Hacked Rom by clicking on the download button below.
The Pokémon formula hasn't evolved much over the years. Each new release brings a handful of minor revisions and graphical updates, but the core remains unaltered. Pokémon Black & White 2 is the first direct sequel to a game in this series, but rather than moving on to the brand new 3DS, Nintendo's kept it on the aging DS. Does Pokémon Black & White 2 do anything at all to change up the formula, or does it rest on the series' laurels?
Set two years after the events in Pokémon Black & White, you take the role of the new trainer on the block, embarking on an adventure to become the next Pokémon master. Aside from new areas and a few side attractions, the core formula remains unaltered–it's still all about capturing and raising Pokémon to take into battle against other trainers in your quest to earn the eight gym badges and defeat the elite four. You're strung along a linear path with few opportunities to deviate resulting in a progression cycle that's mostly all rinse and repeat.
The multiplayer elements are usually the highlight of Pokemon games, but since the inclusion of online support, Nintendo's done very little to advance the system. The process of getting online is tedious, especially the absurd restriction of having to progress far enough in the story before you can access the multiplayer components. Even if you just want to play with your pals, you'll have to go through the cumbersome process of adding friends manually. It's a counter-intuitive system and a huge missed opportunity–Pokemon should be all about effortless multiplayer.
The bottom line is that Pokémon Black & White 2 feels dated, and despite a handful of additions that try to spice things up, the series is stuck in a holding pattern.
Much like the structure of the game, the basic mechanics here continue to stick to the established blueprint. There are a few side attractions that break from the norm, but the series' allure has always been the battles. The problem here, like in previous installments, is that many of the remedial fights become a chore, which completely squelches what could be one of the more exciting aspects of the game. You're going to spend hours grinding through these types of battles in order to keep pace with the increasing difficulty, which brings the pace to a crawl. Even the boss-style battles are losing their appeal and falling to predictable patterns.
Pokémon's rock-paper-scissors style of combat is easy to understand, but difficult to master. However, with the exception of multiplayer battles, you rarely are forced to tap into the strategic well, and there's almost no opponent that can't be overcome by brute force. More advanced mechanics like turn battles and fights where you're facing multiple opponents at once do attempt to mix things up a bit, but there's nothing truly new in the mix. Some of the spin-offs in the series have given us a taste of different combat styles, and the mainline series should consider looking to them for an infusion of new ideas.
There has always been a lot of potential for Pokémon's battle system, but Nintendo continues to water it down for the sake of simplicity when it comes to the single player experience. If you're looking to get the most out of it, you need to head into competitive multiplayer.
Even when judged against the 3DS current library, Pokémon Black & White 2 manages to look passable, though the art direction carries most of the weight. Veterans of the first game will experience déjà vu, though, since much of the game's world is recycled in the sequel. This also holds true for the soundtrack, though the occasional remix is a nice touch.
Despite throwing in some new bells and whistles, Pokémon Black & White 2 doesn't deviate from established formula. It manages to deliver everything you'd expect out of a Pokémon game, and it's still a decent RPG, but it fails to take any chances or offer real innovation. Considering it's only a DS game rather than a proper sequel that takes advantage of the 3DS, it's hard not to label this as a lazy attempt to make a quick buck. Hopefully the next game brings some much needed reform.
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Flash Memory Summit 2014 - Today we sat down with Kevin Conley at FMS 2014. Kevin is just back from a trip but still made time to swing by to chat about new client and enterprise solutions coming from SanDisk. We've all ready about the new Extreme Pro SSDs available now in 256GB, 480GB and 960GB capacity sizes.
[Editors Note: TweakTown and SanDisk will give away an Extreme Pro 960GB SSD]
SanDisk has been qualified by every top tier OEM and that as led to higher SSD quality for both OEMs and customer products. SSDs are also the most cost effective PC component upgrade on the market today and nearly all users can benefit from faster storage.


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Junior High librarian, Lynn Head, is passionate about finding good books for young readers. It's that passion that led her to a book event for teens last year where she met Joelle Charbonneau, author of The Testing, a new Dystopian YA novel that is sure to rival The Hunger Games in popularity.
After reading The Testing, Lynn felt the need to get the word out about this great story. What better way than to create a book trailer. Like movie trailers, book trailers give a live-action glimpse of what you can expect in the story.
I recently sat down with Lynn to discuss her involvement in this project.
The Testing is on the Lone Star Reading List for 2014. What can you tell me about the book?
The Testing, by Joelle Charbonneau, is a high energy adventure. Some have compared it to The Hunger Games, Divergent, or Legend, but I don't think that is quite fair--except that students who enjoyed any of those other books would enjoy The Testing since they're all dystopias. In The Testing, Cia Vale and several of her friends are sent to be evaluated for entrance into the one university left in the country. Once the tests begin, Cia starts to realize that her father's parting words to her, "Trust no one," may be vital not only to passing the various tests, but also to surviving.
I fell in love with this book from the start. It's fast paced and accessible for a large number of students. Although the protagonist is female, it's not a "girl book." While there are slight hints of romance, this is not a romance dystopia. It's adventure through and through.
The Testing is a trilogy: The Testing and Independent Study are both out now, and book three, Graduation Day releases in June. Paramount has purchased the film rights, and hopefully will develop it in the near future.
How did you meet and become friends with the author, Joelle Charbonneau?
I met the author last year at my librarian convention. It's actually a great story. I was helping with a teen event, passing out water to the authors present. Joelle was sitting at a table, her Advance Reader Copies of The Testing stacked neatly in front of her. I had an armload of bottled waters, wet from chilling in a tub of ice water. I walked up to her and asked, "Would you like some water?" She replied, "Yes, please." At which point I said (to avoid getting her books wet), "Be careful, it's wet." She looked at me and smiled. Then she said, "How else would it be? Dry? Dry water?" We both started laughing and then she said that Dry Water sounded like it should be in a science fiction book--that she'd have to use it in a book if she could find a way.
At the end of the evening I plopped down in a chair not too far from her, exhausted. She asked if I wanted an ARC of The Testing. She had a few left. I said sure, and it went into my bag. When I got back to my library I pulled it out and decided to give it a try. I knew right away it was worth finishing. A few weeks later I found her author page on Facebook, and let her know how much I enjoyed reading it.
How did you get involved in producing the book trailer for The Testing?
After The Testing made it to the Lone Star Reading List, I messaged Joelle on Facebook (she remembered me from Dry Water) and expressed interest in making a trailer. She directed me to her publisher's rep. at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for approval. When she was in Houston in January to promote Independent Study, the second book in The Testing Trilogy, and A Chorus Lineup from her adult murder mysteries, Glee Club Series, we met up again to discuss the book trailer.
This mammoth endeavor went from a dream to a reality because of friends and a random comment. I was in a play, Oliver, at Playhouse 1960, and I mentioned to Travis Bell that I needed to do "something" to help promote this book on the Texas Library Association website, but that I wanted to do something exciting and original.
Knowing that I am a bit of an overachiever, he introduced me to Mark Baird, a director he thought would be interested in helping me.
Mark read the book and saw potential. He then recruited some top talent in Houston to assist and away we went. It was filmed in Waller, Chappell Hill and Clear Lake on different days. Grace Powell, the actress playing Cia, is actually from the Katy area. She's a lovely and talented actress. I expect we'll be hearing quite a bit about her in the future.
One hundred percent of the talented cast and crew donated their time. I worked this project in constant awe at the generosity of everyone involved.
Is the trailer finished yet? Where can we see it?
Here is a link to the trailer: http://youtu.be/O1OpLwj_UzE
Watch it. Like it. Comment and like it on YouTube for a chance to win a Testing Trilogy t-shirt from the author. Tweet video with #Testingtrailer for an extra chance to win.


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Paul W. S. Anderson, "AVP: Alien vs. Predator" (2004).
In my completely voluntary trawl through Paul W. S. Anderson's oeuvre — and I write "voluntary" to emphasize the fact that I wasn't threatened with sharp implements to watch this — his 2004 goo-fest with the unwieldy and literal-minded title, AVP: Alien vs. Predator, actually stands as something of an achievement. Sure, it's icky to look at, it comes with a backstory that's patent nonsense, but nonetheless provides excitement in an efficiently dumb way.
I'm beginning to see a pattern in Andersonian aesthetics: his use of confined spaces, nifty computer wireframes and heat maps of underground facilities — the temple is really just the Hive from Resident Evil — brutish fight scenes, and as much darkness and grime as possible. One may say the same of the plot and dialogue as well: a group of people picked off one by one, ludicrous exposition, and merely serviceable acting. But hey, don't let such problems get in the way of a good action flick.
A mysterious "heat bloom" appears underneath an Antarctic island, and a hastily assembled team of experts — almost all of which you want dispatched immediately — are sent to investigate what looks like an Aztec temple beneath the ice. And before you can yell "Erich von Daniken," we discover that these creatures from outer space have been here all along and responsible as well for the Egyptian pyramids and Angkor Wat. The temple itself is a deadly gladiatorial maze, part-Tomb Raider, part-Hellraiser cube, with interior design appropriately regurgitated (or reGigergated?) from the Alien series. (Good thing they brought someone who could read hieroglyphics, but I would've been a little more excited to see the Cambodian-alien connection instead.)
There's no hiding the fact that AVP is merely a spiffed-up, bloodier version of a Saturday matinee movie like Frankenstein Meets the Creature from the Black Lagoon. But it's nonetheless an ambitious attempt at a franchise crossover; we don't see that stuff very often anymore, with the exception, thankfully singular, of Freddy vs. Jason. (Don't get me started about that Homicide: Life on the Streets / Law and Order crossover episode though.) It's an interesting if nonsensical attempt, at least, at building a "mythology" that connects the two series: either the underground temple is a prison for the Aliens, with the Predators as guards, or it's a proving ground for Predator warriors-to-be, or both. The cast of AVP seems fairly game, especially Lance Henriksen, whose billionaire character is a reference to the android he plays in both James Cameron's Aliens (from 1986) and David Fincher's Alien3 (1992).*
But once most of the humans have been summarily dismembered and slimed — as annoying as they are and all — they're suddenly, surprisingly, missed. (The last person standing is Sanaa Lathan, the Ripley substitute who gets to battle (again) the ostensibly female monster boss.) The film builds up to the showdown between the titular characters, and that's where AVP begins to fall flat. It's kind of hard, after all, to sympathize with or root for creatures who, you know, aren't very expressive or articulate about their feelings. (But someone like Milla Jovovich, she's another story.)
*I was unaware of the reference until my film buddy pointed this out, particularly in a scene when Henriksen plays the five-finger fillet with a knife. So glad I know someone slightly geekier than me. She also happens to be the one who set me in my place while watching Nimrod Antal's Predators (2010), which builds on the same warrior themes as AVP.


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