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Staff Picks
Don't forget to check out our staff picks for kids!
October 28, 2013
The Professionals
by Laukkanen, Owen
It started as a joke. Four college grads with no job prospects decide that their choices come down to robbing a bank or serving lattes. Bank robbery being a risky and low-return-on-investment endeavor, they decide that ransoming the bankers themselves might be a better source of money. But not for big bucks, that gets police involvement and media attention. Fifty or sixty thousand dollars is chump change for these guys, so they're unlikely to raise a ruckus or demand retribution. The first time is a lark: Can we do it? Then it's: Can we do it again? Until a couple of years go by and the four friends have a long string of successes, are halfway to their retirement goal. But one day they kidnap the wrong man, one with mob connections, and, suddenly, the police aren't their biggest worry. Laukkanen has not only written a terrific book—the biggest problem I had with it was turning the pages fast enough to keep up with the story—but has also given a compelling illustration of how one bad decision can set events in motion from which there is no turning back.
— Recommended by Cheryl Holtsclaw, West Indianapolis Library
October 21, 2013
The Luminaries
by Catton, Eleanor
My girl has won! I gushed about The Luminaries, last month, in a Reader's Connection post; and now Eleanor Catton has won the Man Booker Prize.
She has called the novel an "astrological murder mystery," so the library may shelve it with mysteries. I think we should buy 12 copies for each branch, assign each copy to a different sign of the zodiac, and shelve them in the duodecimal sectors into which the branch has been divided.
If you don't have the stamina to click on the above link and go to my review, I'll tell you that the story is set during the New Zealand gold rush of the 1860's. One fellow has disappeared, another has died under suspicious circumstances, and twelve men have gathered to discuss what can be done about crimes that may have been committed. The novel is 800-some pages long, and as Alice Jones wrote in The Independent, "What sets it apart, and presumably dazzled the [Man Booker] judges, is its fiendishly intricate structure . . . "
At 28, Ms. Catton is the youngest author to ever win the Booker. I wish her a long and prolific life.
— Recommended by Glenn Halberstadt, Information Technology
October 14, 2013
Loving Frank
by Horan, Nancy
Historical fiction well done. Author Nancy Horan tackles the scandalous love of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney. By writing as fiction, the author has the liberty to grace our characters with feeling and conversation, while Horan's well-researched adherence to the very public couple's tumultuous history makes the story seem more biography than fiction.
Frank and Mamah both fell in love and left their respective spouses and children for one another. Both knew what they wanted from life and were not to be bothered by the conventionalities of 1909 Chicago. After time in Europe, Frank designed their Wisconsin home, Taliesin. It was here, in 1914 that Mamah, her two children, and four others were murdered, as the home burned.
You can read many books about Frank Lloyd Wright, and in most, Mamah is but a footnote. The finest commendation for Loving Frank is that Mamah is given life again; and we as readers learn, she is a very modern woman, coping with the Gilded Age, and sometimes Frank.
— Recommended by Mike Hylton, Irvington Library
October 7, 2013
The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation
by Letts, Elizabeth
It must have been fate that brought Henry de Leyer and the horse he later named Snowman together. Henry was looking for a horse that he could use for riding lessons and was hoping to find one at the local auction. But Henry was late and only arrived in time to see the last horses being loaded on the truck headed for the slaughterhouse. As Henry looked over the sad lot he noticed a dirty, scarred plow horse looking steadily back at him. Something clicked and Henry bought the horse for $80.00.
This docile animal, who had only ever known a plow, soon exhibited a hidden talent – he could jump. De Leyer, who had been an equestrian in his native Holland before World War II, recognized the special gift his horse had and soon had Snowman entered in jumping competitions. Snowman and Henry rose through the rarified air of show jumping, ultimately competing in national shows usually dominated by the rich and privileged of society. Their symbiotic relationship proved what man and animal can accomplish when they combine their talent, skill and determination to achieve great things.
A documentary film on Snowman and Henry de Leyer is planned for release in late 2013.
— Recommended by Kim Vanderwilt, Lawrence Library
September 30, 2013
The Wave
by Mosley, Walter
Errol Porter, a man down on his luck, happens to come across a man who resembles his late father when he was much younger. However, as he starts to interact with the stranger, Errol finds that stranger's past and his father's past seem to be an identical match. Errol ventures to uncover answers behind this particular mystery, but the adventure takes Errol down timeless paths and opens up ancient doors that Errol my not be ready to acknowledge.
— Recommended by Rodney Freeman, Spades Park Library

subset: commoncrawl


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POSITION: Center
SHOOTS: Left
BIRTHPLACE: Fargo, ND, USA
DRAFTED: BUF: 2000-220 overall
|2014-15: Ranked seventh in the NHL in face-off efficiency (56.4 percent), the sixth consecutive season he's ranked among the League's Top 10 in the category… Ranked fifth in the League in road face-off efficiency (58.9 percent), and fourth in shorthanded draws won (127)… Ranked second on the team and first among club forwards in hits (143)... Set a career high in blocked shots (58)... Led the team in penalty minutes (60). PLAYOFFS: Appeared in all six of Nashville's postseason contests, leading the club in penalty minutes (22)… Ranked eighth among all skaters in face-off efficiency (56 percent).
2013-14: Ranked fourth in the NHL in face-off efficiency (58 percent), the fifth consecutive season he's ranked among the League's Top 10 in the category… Ranked third in the League in road face-off winning percentage (57.4) and fifth in shorthanded draws won (128)… Hit double digits in goals for the fifth time in his career, with seven of his 10 goals coming on the road… Set career highs in shooting percentage (13.5) face-offs taken (1,200), face-offs won (696) and blocked shots (55)… Led Nashville forwards in average shorthanded time on ice (2:28)… Registered his 200th career point with a goal on Jan. 9 vs. Anaheim… Nashville's nominee for the 2014 Masterton Trophy.
2012-13: Ranked third in the NHL in face-off efficiency (57.7%), the fourth straight season he's ranked among the League's Top 10 in the category… Ranked second in even-strength face-off efficiency (59.9%) and home face-off winning percentage (62%)… Ranked 19th among League forwards in average shorthanded ice time (2:24)… Notched his first multi-point/assist performance as a Predator on Feb. 5 at St. Louis, played in his 500th career game two nights later on Feb. 7 vs. Los Angeles, then scored his first regular-season goal as a Predator and recorded his 600th career penalty minute two nights after that on Feb. 9 at Minnesota… Missed 25 games - including the final 10 of the regular season - due to injury.
2011-12: Ranked sixth in the NHL in face-off efficiency (57.3%)… Tied a career high in game-winning goals (3)… Ranked ninth among League forwards in shorthanded time on ice per game (2:45)… Recorded an assist in his Predators debut on March 3 at Florida... Missed 12 games due to injury. PLAYOFFS: Ranked seventh in postseason face-off efficiency (60.1%)… His first goal as a Predator was Nashville's first goal of the 2012 Playoffs in a 3-2 win over Detroit in Game One of the WCQ… Led all skaters in average shorthanded ice time (2:55) during the playoffs.
CAREER NOTES: Ranked third in the NHL in face-off percentage (59.8%) in 2010-11… Tied a career high in goals (12) for the third consecutive season and set a career high in game-winning goals (3) in 2010-11… Ranked second on the 2010-11 Sabres in penalty minutes (101)… Recorded his 100th career assist on April 9, 2011 at Columbus… Ranked 10th in 2011 playoff face-off efficiency (54.9%)… Represented the United States for the first time in international competition at the 2011 World Championships… Ranked sixth in the NHL in face-off winning percentage (57.4) in 2009-10… Set career highs in goals (12) and penalty minutes (108) in 2008-09… Scored his first and only career shorthanded goal on March 4, 2009 vs. Montreal… Notched his 100th career point on Feb. 21, 2009 at NY Rangers… Posted career highs in points (36) and assists (26) in 2007-08… Played in all 82 regular-season contests for the first time in his career in 2007-08… One of just four NHL forwards to amass more than 150 hits (199) and 40 blocked shots (48) in 2007-08, recording career highs in both categories… Posted career highs in shots (137), power-play goals (5) and average ice time (17:09) in 2007-08… Set a personal best in plus/minus rating (+11) in 2006-07… Ranked fourth among rookie forwards in hits (126) and fifth in blocked shots (41) in 2005-06… Tied for second in games played by a rookie (18) during Buffalo's run to the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals… Ranked second among rookies in hits (38) during the 2006 playoffs… Helped the Rochester American's to the AHL's best regular-season record (51-19-4-6, 112pts) in 2004-05… Tied for the Rochester team lead in goals (5) and points (11) during the 2005 AHL playoffs… Ranked second on 2003-04 Amerks in penalty minutes (169)… Tied for eighth in the 2003 AHL playoffs in assists (10)… Tied for eighth in AHL rookie points (53) and second in assists (39) in 2002-03… The lone Rochester player to appear in all 80 games in 2002-03… Named Rochester's 2003 Unsung Hero and the Booster Club's 2003 Most Improved Player.
AMATEUR: Spent all three seasons of his junior career with his hometown Portland Winterhawks (WHL), recording 135 points (53g-82a) and 480 penalty minutes in 198 games… Voted team MVP by his teammates in 2002-03… Fired the hardest shot in the history of the Winterhawks' Skills Challenge in the 2001 event (97 MPH)… 2001 Western Conference nominee for WHL Humanitarian of the Year in part because of his work with Emmanuel Children's Hospital… Finished second in playoff goals per game (.625) during the 2001 postseason, helping Portland win the Western Conference and advance to the WHL Final… Tied for ninth in the 2001 WHL playoffs in points (10g-6a-16pts)… Named Portland's 2000 Scholastic Player and a finalist for the WHL Scholastic Player of the Year Award.
BACKGROUND: Nickname "Goose"… Sold "The Goose is Loose" hats on Goose28.com to benefit Camp Good Day during his time in Buffalo, and is looking to partner with a charity in Nashville to continue his outreach… Lists advancing to the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals with Buffalo as his biggest hockey accomplishment… Spends his summers in his hometown of Portland, Ore… His first car was a 1979 Golf Rabbit. It was pea green, and a four-speed with no power steering.
TRANSACTIONS: Feb. 27, 2012 – Acquired along with a fourth-round pick in the 2013 Entry Draft from Buffalo for a first-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft (traded to Calgary; Calgary selected Mark Jankowski)… June 25, 2000 – Buffalo's sixth selection, 220th overall (seventh round), in the 2000 Entry Draft.


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That Big VIX Drop Isn't Necessarily a Bullish Indicator
While last week's VIX slide was one for the ages, it isn't necessarily a bullish indicator for stocks in the days and weeks ahead.
The market's so-called fear barometer fell 37% over the last five trading days through Friday's close, the worst five-day slide since 1990. But drops of that magnitude historically have been followed by weaker-than-usual performances in the stock market.
In the nine previous instances in which the VIX fell by 30% or more over a five-day span, stocks have lagged their customary returns, Bespoke Investment Group says.
As the chart shows, the S&P 500 has averaged a 1.5% decline over the next week, Bespoke says. The index also averages a drop in the ensuing month and three-month time horizons.
Over the next six months, the S&P 500 has averaged a 3% gain, below a 3.9% average return for all six-month periods since 1990.
"The results are not attractive," says Paul Hickey, c0-founder at Bespoke.
The VIX is calculated from the prices investors are willing to pay for options tied to the S&P 500. It is often used to hedge stock investments because of the way it tends to rise as stocks fall.
"Based on these prior periods, when option traders perceive there to be less risk in the market and let down their guard, investors should raise theirs," Hickey says.
On Monday, the VIX edged up less than 1% to 13.93, even as stocks fell. The VIX currently sits well below its longterm average of roughly 20.
The S&P 500 recently fell 0.3% to 1461 during the final trading hour, after jumping 4.6% last week, its best performance since December 2011.
For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.


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EXCLUSIVE: Deadpool Dons the Venom Symbiote in "Back In Black" #1 First Look
Comic Books
Showing results 173-212 of 226
In an all-new, all-fan question and answer session, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada tackles crossovers with DC, cancelled titles and calls in Matt Fraction for a hand.
In an all-new, all-fan question and answer session, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada tackles crossovers with DC, canceled titles and calls in Matt Fraction for a hand.
Longtime legal debates and questions about classic Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman work are all set aside as Marvel Comics plan to move forward first with a wave of reprints spotlighting Mick Anglo's original British Marvelman tales.
To wrap the Emerald City ComiCon, Marvel Comics E-i-C Joe Quesada rocked out to songs about video games and comic books alongside the nerd rock duo, and CBR has a full photo parade!
Joe Quesada brings his trademark Q&A to Seattle along with some of Marvel's biggest writers, sharing advice, wit, and a teaser or two on projects from "Marvelman" to "Spider-Woman" with folks in the northwest.
Joe Quesada, Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, and the whole Marvel crew tackled questions, controversies, and rolled out some surprises during their appearance at this yearâs Emerald City ComiCon.
Joe Quesada is back with a new Friday installment of Cup O' Joe where the Marvel E-i-C dives into the new management at the Distinguished Competition, his upcoming rock show and the future of the X-Men Universe.
The publisher's post-Siege plans kick off with a reignited series for their biggest franchise featuring Captain America, Iron Man and Thor at the helm and Brian Michael Bendis in the writer's seat delivering stories filled with optimism.
Joe Quesada takes CBR behind the scenes and shows us the process he used to create his four interlocking covers for "Siege," from the initial Iron Man sketch that the concept sprang from to the final penciled artwork.
Marvel E-I-C Joe Quesada returns to his weekly column to answer reader questions about everything from the future of online comics to the fate of books like "Iron Fist" and "X-Men: Origins," and much more.
The Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, as well as the one of Big Apple Comic-Con's guests of honor, took to the stage last weekend to speak with fans about cartoons, movies, manga, motion comics and all things Marvel related.
While no announcement was made about a new "Alpha Flight" book, the Canadian audience at Fan Expo was provided with a peek into the future of Marvel Comics with Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, and CBR was there.
Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada held court for a special edition of âStanleyâ Cup Oâ Joe Saturday at FanExpo in Toronto, Canada where he revealed news about âX-Factor,â âClone Saga,â Red Hulk and âYoung Avengers.â
Joe Quesada's back to take you behind the scenes into the creation of not one, but two covers he did for Wizard Magazine promoting the "One More Day" storyline in the latest Cup O' Doodles exclusively on CBR!
In this special CBR TV edition of CUP O' JOE from Comic-Con International, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada answers your questions about Charlie Huston, Stephen King and "Spectacular Spider-Man."
In the first post-Comic-Con edition of CUP O' JOE, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada talks to CBR about his convention experience, Marvel's big Marvelman news, and how the publisher plans to structure its new "events."
In this special CBR TV edition of CUP O' JOE from Comic-Con International, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada answers your questions about "Daredevil: End of Days" and the end of Andy Diggle"s run on "Thunderbolts."
Check out the rest of Joe Quesada's artwork for Hasbro's Marvel 70th Anniversary packaging, some of which is exclusive to Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Joe Quesada presents the creative process behind the creation of the first official Marvelman piece of artwork in nearly two decades in this special Comic-Con International edition of Cup O' Doodles.
Joe Quesada stops by the CBR yacht to discuss Marvel's biggest news of the weekend - the company's just announced acquisition of the long time legally entangled Marvelman character!
Check out Joe Quesada's many sketches and production process behind the artwork for Hasbro's Marvel 70th Anniversary packaging, some of which is exclusive to Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Joe Quesada discusses his additional job as Marvel's Chief Creative Officer of Animation, updates you on the long-awaited "Black Panther" animated series for BET, and talks about the new "Web of Spider-Man" monthly.
Joe Quesada answers your questions about topics like what gear he uses to draw to the digital preservation of Marvel's archives. Plus the exclusive debut of the "Spider-Woman" motion comics trailer!
Joe Quesada takes you behind the scenes and shows you some work that perhaps you've not seen quite like this, a series of illustrations done for the Iron Man direct-to-dvd animated release.
In this week's CUP O' JOE, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada answers your questions about Norman Osborn and his Dark Reign. Joe also goes behind-the-scenes of the Ultimate Comics line and previews exclusive artwork.
Joe Quesada wishes you a Happy Independence Day by taking you through his step-by-step process to create a variant cover for "Captain America: Reborn" #1.
In this all-new CUP O' Q&A, Joe Quesada tackles the subject most asked about by CBR readers: Marvel's $3.99 price point. Joe goes in-depth on the topic, also addressing Marvel's MAX and younger readers lines.
Joe Quesada is back with loads of exclusive artwork and insights into Marvel's process for new events and series, thoughts on convention season, surprising revelations about Spider-Girl, and an amazing story from Mark Waid.
In this week's CUP O' Q&A, Joe Quesada goes in-depth on the future of Runaways and its creators, the fate of Iron Man and Pepper Potts, and what exactly is up with Dazzler's chances for a solo title.
Joe Quesada talks about hanging out with Mickey Rourke on the set of "Iron Man 2" and discusses his increased role in Marvel's animation operations, with new details about "Super Hero Squad."
Joe Quesada responds to humorous criticisms of his "Captain America: Reborn" cover, provides a long awaited update on Allan Heinberg's Young Avengers, and praises DC's "Wednesday Comics."
Joe shares with you five doodles of Captain America he worked on during a Marvel creative summit held to discuss the events following Cap's death in "Captain America" #25.
In this first installment in an ongoing series of CUP O' JOE fan question-and-answer sessions, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada talks about long-delayed projects and goes in-depth about the return of "The Clone Saga."
Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada addresses fans' concerns about the cancellations of "Captain Britain & MI13" and "Spider-Girl," talks about Marvel's slightly unusual summer plans, and confesses to event fatigue.
Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada talks to CBR about his first meetings with "Thor" director Kenneth Branagh and "Iron Man 2" director Jon Favreau, and what Marvel does to prepare the public for these films.
Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada takes you behind the scenes into the making of the cover for "Amazing Spider-Man" #594, from initial concept to the final colors and all the steps in between.
In this second installment of a two-part interview with CBR TV, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada discusses the first year of Spider-Man's Brand New Day and Marvel's expansion into original digital content.
In this first installment of a two-part interview with CBR TV, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada discusses his staff's obsession with Twitter and director Kenneth Brannagh's approach to the Thunder God, Thor.
Check out CBR's full report from Marvel's Cup O' Joe panel at New York Comic Con, featuring Marvel Comics Editor- in-Chief Joe Quesada, Brian Michael Bendis, CB Cebulski and Dan Buckley.
Archives: All | Comic Books | TV/Film | Video Games | Web Comics


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Sunday, March 18, 2012
{Seville: Real Alcázar}
22 comments:
i want my skirt back...ReplyDelete
Stunning! I was in Seville, but never got to see this, next time it will be a must!ReplyDelete
Love the pictures- I am so inspired to go to Seville from your posts!ReplyDelete
so lovely! and how it is you manage to look adorable while traveling? i normally just look dishevelled and confused.ReplyDelete
these photos are absolutely beautiful!! really makes me want to go to Seville! your skirt is cute, too :)ReplyDelete
Stunning! What a beautiful place. I love the skirt.ReplyDelete
While Seville looks gorgeous I am mostly coveting that maxi skirt! Aren't they just perfect?ReplyDelete
um, these photos are amazing, but obviously everyone always says this to you so i dont even need to. so moving on...to my favorite photo: the reflection photo, that is absolutely stunning & i will now be trying to recreate this whenever i see water. #thanksalotReplyDelete
seriously, this post is awesome & it might be my favorite to date.
Beuatiful. I'll be adding Seville to my wanderlust wishlist, stat. Where did the fun skirt come from?ReplyDelete
This place is beautiful! I hope you enjoyed the history behind it too. beautiful photos and cute outfit. I miss Sevilla!ReplyDelete
What gorgeous shots, your skirt is divine. The 1st pic is so inspiring.ReplyDelete
These pictures, oh how I love them! I miss Spain. Thank you for taking me back! :)ReplyDelete
Gorgeous photos! Seville is now added to my ever-growing list of places to visit.ReplyDelete
Absolutely breathtaking! And that skirt... I want!ReplyDelete
GORGEOUS! And your outfit! Love!!ReplyDelete
I love your outfit. All of your photographs are breathtaking! I can't get enough. I hope to visit there someday..ReplyDelete
These pictures are so beautiful. I am overcome with wanderlust now. : )ReplyDelete
I love you skirt--so pretty.ReplyDelete
As are the photos--makes me want to hop on a plane right now.
this place looks amazing! I have plans to get back to spain this summer and now am thinking we need to find a way to seville while we are there! and I know everyone else said it, but that skirt is darling!ReplyDelete
The combination of that skirt and hat is the bomb-dot-com. Love the pictures!ReplyDelete
I love each and every one of these photos! So beautiful. You have such a great eye. And I love the action you're using lately - it's so soft and natural - just beautiful, Liz!ReplyDelete
Fantastic pics! :) I never went there when I went to Seville - I must return! :)ReplyDelete


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I just yesterday did w3d1 of Couch to 5K and my knee is killing me! It ached a little during week two, but I put this down to being new at running and my body trying to cope. I've a pain in the side of my knee, just to the right of my left kneecap (on one leg only) which is tender to touch and hard to walk on. II've also a pain at the back of the same leg at the back, around the base of my thigh where it meets my kneecap - is this the dreaded runners' knee?
I'm planning on resting a week and treating it with RICE but would like to know how I managed to get injured so quickly and how I can avoid it in future.
As background, my running shoes are new (though I didn't get my gait analysed as I wanted to see if running was for me first) and I didn't push myself TOO much during the runs. I was careful to warm up before each run and stretch out afterwards. I run on tarmac roads, no hills, and have been varying my route to avoid the camber of the road always being on one side and have been conscious of avoiding heel strike. My dayjob involves sitting a lot (bent knees). I am reasonably fit and have done a lot of aerobics, body weight training and cycling prior to starting running.
Could it be that I'm just not cut out to be a runner? I hope not - I'd kind of fallen in love with it.
My advice is to go ahead and get your gait analyzed and get the right shoe for your stride. I had knee problems similar to what you're describing, and they completely went away once I got the right shoes. Good luck!
New Year's Color Run (5k) - 01/01/13
Oshkosh Half-Marathon - 04/21/13
You may be right that your body is still trying to cope with the new punishment that you're putting on it but it sounds like something else. Obviously, most of us here are just a bunch of hacks so take any advice, medical or otherwise, with a grain of salt. Personally, I think you should go out and run a marathon, now -- fight through the pain as, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger! Uhmmm, kidding.
By all means, take it easy and rest up if the pain is bad. As was said, going to a reputable running store and being properly fit for shoes may also be a good idea. And, sometimes doctors and/or chiropractors need to be brought into the equation. Whatever the case, I hope you heal up soon so that you can get back out there!
My blog: RunningMyMouthOff.com
I agree with the other responses that proper shoes are critical. Along with that is good form while running. If you haven't had any coaching or analysis then I'd recommend getting some. I did that last year when I started training for my half ironman and it was instrumental in helping my running. I found running on wooden board walks were great for getting it right because the shoes squeaked more if I was heel striking or not landing my steps right. Hills will be your friend at some point, but the main effort should be on getting your legs to adapt to the stresses of running for now.
As for the leg pain, the safest option is to consult a doctor. A friend in my triathlon club had knee surgery and is working back to form. He said his PT told him pain under 6 or 7 on 1 to 10 was just part of training and to keep at it. Personally I always allow plenty of recovery time between runs because it's a slower build up than any of the other sports you mentioned. Give yourself some time off and enjoy doing some walking instead. The harder you work the longer it takes to recover. I needed 7 weeks to get over my half ironman, but that was a pretty extreme day out. Training for a half marathon most of my runs are around 2 to 5 miles 3 times a week. Your 5k training plan should be a good guideline but I'd be doing 1 to 2 mile runs 3 times a week varying the effort levels. Don't go too hard until you get more comfortable doing it.
In the end I'm sure you'll be fine and enjoying some great personal achievements in the near future.
Any pain that does not go away while running/get worst or changes your form/gait is bad pain!
I agree w/ BOSNPM. You originally posted one week ago, lieslieslies, on Nov.10. Has the pain subsided or reduced with rest?
There's a lot going on in your leg in the area you're talking about.
Pain on either side of your knee could be "runners' knee", precipitated by stress either to your IT band (on the outside) or hamstring complex (on the inside).
Pain behind your knee can likewise be a range of things. There are two spots where the tendons of your femoral biceps cross the tendons of your gastrocnemius (calf muscles), either or both of which can be come inflamed with use.
It's all inflammation, unless you can recall doing something traumatic to your knee (a tweak/twist/impact). So RICE, plus, when you're feeling better, make sure you're stretching and strengthening the muscles. You need to do both to prevent recurrence. Also try ARNICA gel or ointment...you can find it in any drugstore chain.
If you're still in severe pain, seeing a physician's a good idea.
"If you think you will fail or that you will succeed, you'll be right."
Recent and Upcoming Races:
New York NY - ING NY Marathon, Nov. 6, 2011 - Finish time 4:53:24
If you are new to running then you need to go slowly. The pain you describe is that of a ligament or tendon from overuse. Overuse is different for each degree of fitness and it is a pain most often felt when you have reached your longest fitness distance (for now). For ligament or tendon injuries rest/rest is mandatory. You cannot run through that pain and it cannot be massaged out . Runners are not very good at resting and so many injuries that could be repaired in a few weeks take several months. Get your biomechanics checked. You will likey have pronation or supponation in one or both ankles, as many of us do,. That causes massive pressure on the knee and hip joint and can over time cause permanent damage to the joints. That can be corrected with orthotics or shoes designed to compensate for that condition.
As a new runner I recommend running on a soft track for a month or two until all the connective tissues have had a chance to build some strength. If pain comes on and you notice it is getting worse, then you have gone as far as you ought to for that day.
You need to ensure that you are developing a ball of the foot strike and not/not a heel strike. A heel strike means that your foot is in front of your body. When that happens your leg and heel is really a bit up in the air and when the heel strikes the ground, you will have to pole vault your body over it. Try standing straight up on both legs and then put your right leg in front of you by 12 inches (don't lean over, just stand straight up). Have someone check this out for you and you will find that your foot is now about 2 inches off the ground. It has to come back to the ground and on the heel, so lean/move forward and let the heel come to the ground. Now you will have to vault over that lowered position. The shock to the joints is very damaging and it is a very exhaustive way to run.
Running style is crucial to pain and injury free running. I am not a doctor but have had surgery on my right knee and the left was going. I say was going because it does not cause me any pain now. A few years ago I could not run 3 miles without severe pain in my left knee. I saved my left knee minicus ligament by doing single legged squats and double legged squats. The single leg squats are incredible for building strength and stability in each knee, independent of the other and nothing else can do this. I also did squats with both feet on the floor using 60 lbs. of weight on my shoulders. Those two exercises are vital to knee strength and if you like skiing they really help there too.
I have been running for 25 years, 10 of which were with a running club, completed many Olympic distance triathlons and at 63 yrs. of age completed the Penticton Ironman this past summer for a second time, with no joint or muscle pain. I attribute my pain free running to landing on the ball of my foot and doing the knee strengthening exercise noted above.
I hope this helps you run pain free well into your retirement years.
Kindest regards,
Hi, I suggest learning to run without shoes. Practice running on grass without shoes. You may wear socks, but run on grass without shoes.
Practice running at a cadence of 90 (180 steps per minute). I have Seiko DM-50 Digital Metronome which I set for 60 beats per second, then I run with three steps per second. (Sometimes, I set the DM-50 for 63 beats per minute, for 189 steps per minute.) Your steps will be shorter, and you won't overstride. (Overstriding can be a cause of running injuries.)
Practice running on your forefoot/midfoot. Avoid landing on your heels. Touch down on your forefoot/midfoot, then let your heel settle to the ground. When descending a hill, increase your cadence, and avoid landing on your heels.
When running on a composition track, you may wear socks or minimalist running shoes. Rely on your forefoot/midfoot touchdown to cushion your footsteps.
Eventually, with the forefoot/midfoot running style, you will learn to run without cushy shoes. The EVA of cushioned shoes tends to be less supportive of the foot than the low profile of the minimalist shoe. I almost always remove the sock liners of my shoes.
My running and racing shoes weigh as little as 8.8 ounces per pair for size 12. My running and racing shoes have a heel lift of 0 to rarely over 4 mm.
ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.


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Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 12. We're pouring the last of the tees and clearing underbrush to get the course in tip-top shape. Come with shovels, saw, rakes and other implements of destruction.
3 tees were poured this past weekend. We have to have a tree guy trim the branches on #3, so that will be done when he can get out there.
Other things to do include new signage to replace the stolen ones and additional directional signage.


text:
Former Rochester man found dead in Maine; medical examiner still working on autopsy
Before moving to Detroit, Ricky Cole lived in Newport and Rochester, N.H., according to police records.
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It's a very serious matter. The GNU/Linux desktop is not ready. It is lacking an important, even essential, component without which it will fail. It's got all the rest, the opposition has been squashed on every single detail except this one—but it is essential.
A free desktop can be adjusted to its user preferences: transluscent windows, themed borders, virtual desktops, more themes than you can shake a keyboard at, widgets, automatic integrations of Plug'n'Play devices—hardly requiring a driver these days, entrancing screen savers, complete freedom to modify the desktop's appearance...
That's not all: you have a dozen email and collaborative tools, several instant messengers, a fistful of web browsers, a horde of file managers, whatever you need to organize and/or modify media files, CD/DVD burners, a few office productivity suites, GUI database frontends, programming environments, media players able to playback whatever format you throw at them—even some they shouldn't, useless but funny resource wasters (Xeyes, etc.)...
But, force is to say that the current distribution model makes gaming on your Linux-based computer a difficult endeavour—and this comes from the fact that installing games on Linux (or BSD, let's not mention Hurd) is tricky.
- Installing Win32-based games: there are solutions, the most free being Wine. But Wine is a tough nut to crack: binary packages are sometimes outdated, and compiling the source is long and tedious (at least, installation got better with needing only to run winecfg once to be set). Other solutions cost a dime too—provided any of these solutions support your game. You also often end up looking for a no-CD crack because copy protection support is still in its infancy.
- Installing free games: even there, it's not easy. If your distribution doesn't include the necessary packages, you're in for a long road getting this and that source package to compile, then compile the game itself—and see it crash because the library it linked itself to has completely changed between versions, or because it doesn't like your compiler. If it does start, then you find out that this game is incomplete, its documentation sparse or its implementation doesn't agree with your sound module—and screeches will soon tear out your eardrums.
Of course, there are exceptions: games such as Wesnoth will probably have a package working on your distribution, usually of a current version, be provided as dynamically- or statically-linked package, and may even be kept current in your distribution's repositories. The same, proprietary games will have an open-sourced engine code, and installing the game will be limited to installing a pre-packaged engine package and copy the resources file to disk—think Id software.
Thing is, you can never enter a store, fancy a game you just discovered, buy a boxed set, put the CD in the drive, see it install itself and play—like most gamers do.
There's more behind the games
It's my theory that gaming in GNU/Linux is poor mainly because nowadays, graphics plays a rather large part in the game. The main GPU makers, nVidia and ATi, have drivers for GNU/Linux, sure, but they're usually not shipped with a distro and usually require a bit of work. My Radeon drivers work now, but I had to do some Googling to find out how to get them to work. On top of that, if ever I recompile Linux, I have to reinstall them, even if it's the exact same Linux version
Forget windows for games buy a playstation3 and use Gnu/Linux
That's what I'm going to do. I'm 30y/old i´ve been using Microsoft O/S since DOS.
One Day, i just happen to stumble into Richard Matthew Stallman GNU Manifesto, it was like,
WoW that´s what I believed for a long time but never had the Knowledge nor the guts to fulfill, and there it was, a real person living in my time, and already did the impossible. And it works.
So many Windows users are blind like i was. GOD FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING...
i know its going to be hard to adapt to a new O/S and a new way of working with PC but I respect the concept and i´m going to support it. Wish me luck.
For my gaming addiction, hopefully the playstation3 will support mouse and Keyboard so that should be OK.
For vista new directx10 games, think $$$$, with price of a top computer you could by a PlayStation for 6 years (+-600euros)(The lifetime of an O/S version, correct if im wrong) and the rest buy lots of games that will always play right. As for the PC, well i prefer spending my PC time learning from and contribute for the Linux open source code "Library" until Linux catches up.
Q:Will ever Win4Lin do windows vista?
I agree with you. My thoughts on the subject! (or IMHO)
I think that the problem is not in the gaming itself, but in the fact that the users are being manipulated into thinking that they need M$ or DX10 to be happy and fulfilled as a computer user. When the fact is that there is no reason in today's world not to use Linux. AHHH! Gaming. Well, I think that if you look at the game makers, of the games that are timeless (Epic, ID, etc) then you will see the game developers who are making an effort to help the community.
These developers, and c'mon when you go to a LAN party you do not play leisure suit Larry, spellforce, or flight simulator (all of which have their good qualities), you see that the need of the gamers are being met. Unreal Tournament, Quake, and Enemy Territory just to name a few, are great games that are always being played at LAN parties and over the internet. Even if you have the undying need to play WoW on Linux, it is possible - just read the articles comments on wine.
I have started an absolute boycott on all proprietary software and OS'es. I have had to take my knocks. Plaxo, for example – a great service for synchronization, caters to the giants, but looks to help those who are using free software like thunderbird. Ok, it is not perfect, but you can live with the information that is synced between these two programs.
I find it great (I have seen the possibilities of software integration of M$ in LH - as I was a technician for LH Systems for the last 5 years) that M$ plays well with others – to an extent -and can be integrated with almost any system. And the interoperability of its own office programs with almost all of its other software. But, who really knows how to use Excel to the fullest, who really uses the full power of Outlook, who cares if Sharepoint integrates into the AD. There are other great Open source products who can do all of this.
Eye candy! In order to belly up to compiz-fusion, Vista needs to go back to the drawing board. I have to ask myself, why individuals, mostly in their spare time, can accomplish such great things, and professionals who are making more money than is sometimes necessary, are making such empty promises. In my humble opinions, M$ has to many irons in the fire and is not very concentrated on making one good product, but making every product possible.
You don't see a Playstation crashing when running a game (at least not very often) Why, they can't afford to have a kernel that does not do what is expected of it. Just concentrate on what you are doing. That is the practice of Opensource productions. They work because Openoffice.org is not sticking their finger in every hole that comes along. And they are making an effort to prove themselves. M$ has made it, they are in every business and home around the world (for now). They are just running damage control.
To close, I want to tell Bill and M$, I do not hate, despise, or even want to degrade any of the many accomplishments that you have made along the way, but it is my personal opinion that there has been a loss of the interest in the consumer (except that he should consume again.) Make a stable OS's with 10 years of support, where the need to by extravagant new hardware is not an issue with every new release. Give the people a chance to select and deselect certain functions, or all, at installation. And, allow the world to help you by opening up your source code. What do you have to fear.
I promise you, you will not go broke, you can only profit more. People who want that which you have to offer will come to you for support, and those who can do it themselves will do that. But, in the end you hold the strings for your product in the hand. Opensource does not mean relinquishing the control. It just means opening up the portals of potential. C'mon, all the programmers in the world, working for a free, a and a better OS's under GPL which requires them to give-up their source (which you can also use @M$). Are you missing the point.
No, you know what. I am sorry, I was a little hasty. As, I said, I love Linux, and I do not think that it would be in my (OUR) interest that the wonder and dedicated people who develop the software that is loved by the world, work for your best interests. Keep your secrets and your software. And, I just hope that my Bank, Government, Church, and Family set their dollars on FREEDOM.
Yes, this is a subject I've often addressed. Of course, gaming on other platforms, including the Macintosh, is a tricky subject as well. Undoubtedly, part of the problem is that so many game developers are in the biz strictly for the money, and they haven't had the insight yet that they can still get paid for developing for GNU/Linux.
I talked to Richard Stallman about this topic once, and he said that we could separate the game assets (graphics, music, story, etc.) from the engine. The engine should be free, but the assets could (and perhaps should) be treated differently:
A game scenario can be considered art/fiction rather than software. So it is okay to split the game into engine and scenario, then treat the engine as software and the scenario as art/fiction.
I'm not sure what this separation might mean for game dev on the free platform. But if you'd like to read more from me on the matter, see my Hackers, Slackers, and Shackles article.
One thing I theorize about why there are relatively few GNU/Linux games available is because of the graphics. On Windows, DirectX is how games interface with the GPU. On GNU/Linux, it's OpenGL. Developers would have to redo many things. (Unless I'm totally wrong about that.) Also, getting OpenGL working isn't the easiest thing in the world. ATi and I think nVidia do release Linux modules for their cards, but they still require a tidbit of maintenance.
As for what Matt Barton said, that's a great idea. I know that's what Id does/did with Quake.
Debian has a few hundred games ...
Or maybe a few thousand, I'm not sure, but the KDE menus get pretty darned unweildy when you install them all!
The truth is, though, there are lots of games.
The question is more along the lines of, "Where are the good, creative games."
GNU/Linux has loads of highly playable games, if you're into just playability. The trouble comes with games with high aesthetic content: quality art and animation, meaningful storylines, that sort of thing. In particular, the kind of games that attract girls and women are almost unheard of on the GNU/Linux platform.
That was even more true in 2000, and my wife and I started The Light Princess in an effort to address that point. I wanted to tackle a game from the creative side first. I also wanted one that would appeal to a different audience than shoot-em-ups like Doom or Quake and top-down strategy games (I like those games too, actually, I just think they're over-represented). I wanted something that felt cinematic, creative, and atmospheric like the old graphic adventure games (but maybe be smarter -- like the old text adventure games). We also wanted a strong sense of story.
My wife suggested George MacDonald's story "The Light Princess" would make a good libretto, seeing as it included a lot of puzzles, and the kind of tongue-in-cheek humor that worked so well for some of the old Sierra games that we enjoyed so much, like "The Colonel's Bequest" or "Space Quest" (and of course, because, being written in 1864, it's in the public domain). Intriguingly, the game is almost entirely non-violent -- most of the action will involve talking people into helping you and/or solving puzzles and completing quests. We've thought of some places to put some "action" into the game, but they're incidental, and almost a joke. In some ways, it'll almost be like a Japanese "dating sim" game (but hopefully not so trite).
In the end, I think we've spec'd something that can only be written as free software.
The creative-first angle hasn't worked all that well, although I feel we did some amazing stuff. I haven't given up on it though, and I'm currently working (slowly) on engine development. There is a project mailing list if you're interested in following along or helping. So far, we haven't got that far in actually creating the game, but we've discovered and/or developed a lot of interesting tools and processes along the way. Right now we need to set up some kind of CMS site to make contributing artistic content easier (artists WILL NOT use a kludgy interface like Sourceforge -- one of my many discoveries in managing this project -- but they will contribute if it's easy enough to do so). Also, if you happen to know Python and have an interest in PyGame or interactive fiction engines, I could probably use some help on the engine!
I think it's interesting that Richard Stallman acknowledges the possibility of separating game content from game engine. In our case, of course, we wanted both to be free-licensed. However, the license for the creative work will likely be a Creative Commons "Attribution-ShareAlike" rather than a GPL-family license (or a dual-license, just to make sure everything is compatible). The separation of engine and content is very useful from a licensing standpoint, as is the concept of "mere aggregation".
Unfortunately, the new GPLv3 may break that. The language in the "combination" section, intended to cover all kinds of library linking (even dynamic and RPC calls) is, IMHO, vague, and potentially covers the data the program is processing, a clear violation of the stated intent of the GPL licenses. I hope that problem gets resolved during the review process (I've already commented on the draft -- I would encourage you all to look at it too, at gplv3.fsf.org.
Of course, the fact that GNU/Linux games, in order to be distributed through the usual free-software channels, means that they will also be available to users of proprietary operating systems, so we'll never have an exclusive lock -- i.e. some kind of killer-app game that everyone will have to switch to Linux to play (Indeed, it's doubtful that we even should want that).
Thanks for the comments - the points I'd like to answer here...
@Terry Hancock: Debian having a few hundred games, or a few thousands: true. Many distros have at least a few, if not hundreds.
However, if you want to get the latest and meanest on Debian, you need to install them from 'testing' - probably breaking your nice 'stable' distro or your even nicer 'unstable'. That is, provided you run Debian or a derivative.
I'm using Mandriva; it has a few packages available as well, you can even get more questionable games running if you configure plf sources. Still, many games I want to run are not available - and I'm in to compile them and their dependances.
@Matt Barton: I didn't know RMS had addressed the problem; it does look like those few editors that have released games under Linux have gone the way he mentioned, releasing the engine sources or documenting it heavily and selling resources - Id Software's WAD files (and more recent formats), LucasArts's Scummvm (is it from them, or has it been reverse-engineered?).
The problem is most obvious with Epic's Unreal engine (not free, but there is a LOT of resources available and it's been ported to virtually any OpenGL-capable system) - those games using it are almost never released with a GNU/Linux binary.
I don't agree that gaming capabilities are poor under GNU/Linux; according to Wine developers (and they damn well know their stuff) Direct3D 9 maps very well to OpenGL - and vice-versa, and several 3D engines actually provide output to both OpenGL and Direct3D - see OGRE. It's just that the GNU world lacks professional developers. Some free games are damn impressive (Wesnoth IS, Supertux is really nice, Chromium BSU is a blast, Frozen Bubble too, and I'm citing only those I've played most).
@FoW: proprietary drivers are not often distributed with a fully free distro, however low-cost versions usually include those. Moreover, several graphics chipsets do have free 3D-accelerated drivers (think MesaGL).
The engines are here; the hardware capabilities are, too - if only game developers could be convinced to spend a few days packaging their resources and compile a GNU/Linux version, the situation would be much more different.
A computer is like air conditioning: it becomes useless when you open windows.
Money, Money, Money...
The usual comment from the commercial game developers reguarding Linux is that there isn't enough demand to justify the extra development time. Id software is one of the very few exceptions, but they are also an independent development house. They have a small team working on one game at a time and no large corperation like Microsoft breathing down their necks to push the game into stores before the Christmas shopping season.
Another issue is one of cross platform supportability. With hundreds of Linux distros out there, each with their own libraries and many not shared it is a lot easier for a development house to just deal with one OS (Windows) and worry only or mostly about the hardware variables. That being no small number as it is.
I'm surprised that no one here has mentioned the Wine offshoot Cedega from Trans Gaming Technologies It isn't free but it supposedly works fairly well for most Windows games. I haven't used it myself as the only Windows game I play right now, TES IV: Oblivion, doesn't work on Cedega, yet.
About Wine, Cedega, and all these wrappers...
They could be considered a different problem: Wine works. For example, World of Warcraft is well supported, making it play as well under Wine than it does under Windows. As a matter of fact, so did Warcraft III: the Direct3D mode was playable, and using the -opengl switch made it virtually identical under both Windows and Linux, using the retail binary. I know, I tried.
Cedega, once installed, takes you by the hand: it actually works the way that, after you're done installing it, you merely need to insert a supported game CD in your CD-ROM drive to install the software. I also supports a broad range of CD protection schemes. It is published by Transgaming, and it aims at providing an easy way to game on your Linux machine. It lacks versatility, but what it supports, it supports it well.
Wine is very often updated, and has an extensive database depicting what games work flawlessly, and how to make others work with a step-by-step method. While it is more troublesome than Cedega to use, it is more flexible as to its capabilities - an unsupported game under Cedega has little chances to work, while it may just run under Wine. It is maintained by a very broad community; some games will just work, many will work provided you get a noCD patch, the majority will have some glitch here or there, and badly programmed ones wll not work or work horribly (I had a bad experience with a badly ported Capcom game: it would load, play, and then crash the entire sound subsystem).
Crossover Office being essentially a tweaked version of Wine, the same remarks apply. It is supported by Codeweavers.
A computer is like air conditioning: it becomes useless when you open windows.
About Wine, Cedega, and all these wrappers...
I bought cedega 5 and I've given up on it - yes it may support the 'latest and greatest' - however, I also want it to support classic titles as well - tomb raider isn't supported at all, nor heavy gear 2 etc. Out of all the games I have, I only found two that would work - one was a free game (I found her - a Babylon 5 offshoot), and another was a driving game given away free with a steering wheel. The list of games that didn't work included Colin McCrae 2, which according to the cedega website, should work.
Yes the user interface is simple to use - however, if you want the actual game *to work* you need to do some tweaking to cedega's setup - with no real guidance as to exactly what parameter to change - its all very hit and miss.
With regard to the cedega website itself, its all very much geared to the latest and greatest, which is not a bad thing, but it is to the exclusion of older programs which probably more people have (or could afford).
Overall, very much not impressed with cedega.
Line in the sand...
I've been MMO gaming for years both on Windows and Linux (mostly FPS/flight sim games). I've used Wine and Cedega with mixed success (spent some coin on a Cedega membership for awhile). I am also a developer - I do integration work for a fortune 500 corporation on Unix/Linux as my day job.
I've finally come to the conclusion that as long as Linux gamers let Windows call the shots we will always have mediocre gaming on the Linux platform. Microsoft is not motivated to make it easy to interoperate with their system - in fact if you look at Steve Balmer's recent comments (http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/108806.asp?source=rss) if anything he would love to see Linux disappear altogether - or failing that, make sure everyone is on SUSE Linux which will provide a kickback to Microsoft - and even then you can be sure, from reading his comments, that integration with SUSE will always be a marginal affair if it impacts Windows numbers.
We can't settle for emulation anymore because that can be broken with every Windows service pack. We must make it financially viable for developers to port their products to the Linux platform - and I think that starts with tools. Microsoft has made game development easy with their directX APIs - there is no equivalent system for Linux - just a hodge-podge of competing systems that makes it difficult for new and established developers.
Here are my suggestions:
1. Build a common development framework and APIs that leverage OpenGL, and equivalent libraries for sound and user input devices into one package. Make it as easy to build games on Linux as it is on Windows.
2. Build a directX converter, that translates directX code to this new API. Make it easy for Windows developers to throw Linux users a bone.
3. Build a high performance online game engine and client that leverage the new framework - that is easy to install either by the user, or as a deliverable with games (and desireable for distros to include as a standard feature - so it becomes ubiquitous). Make it easy for new developers to get into the business on the Linux platform.
4. Release all of it under the GPL to the game development community -- and get some heavy hitters behind it (such as RMS and other respected people in the linux game world - Loki et al).
There are only two things holding back desktop Linux: an easy to install and upgrade distro that just works out of the box (and Ubuntu, Linspire and others are making huge inroads in that area), and a game platform that just works, and is native to Linux. All the other pieces are in place to gain parity with the Windows desktop. This is the 11th hour, and I think Microsoft knows it. Yet, as much as I look on the net, I don't see the projects we need to go the final mile...
Plenty of games
It's funny that you mention the huge variety of free software that comes with most distros and then completely ignore the fact that every major distro also comes with loads of games. GNOME alone includes sixteen games. My father, who had never used a Linux machine in his life, came over to my house and sat at my computer, and within minutes he was clicking away at mahjongg.
I suppose what you mean to say is that there is a lack of huge, expensive-to-produce proprietary games on Linux--things to resemble, say, The Sims 2 or Starcraft. That's a true statement. But that's a completely different statement than saying there's a lack of games on Linux. For every person who wiles away hours at grandiose, expensive proprietary games like the Sims, there are tons more who spend time on simple things like Solitare or on social games on places like Yahoo Games (which is fully accessible from Linux.)
As a matter of fact...
...that's exactly what I meant: there is almost no big title, the kind of games you can see adverts for on TV or on billboards, available on a GNU/Linux PC, that you can just chance upon in a store, buy, insert in your DVD drive, see it install almost by itself, and play with minimal assle.
I mean, no later than today I had a really GREAT surprise; Google Earth 4 beta is out, simultaneously on Windows, OSX and Linux. Installing it required downloading a binary, executing it and answer 'yes' to every question: default folders were ok, a symlink was created, mimetypes were updated, some menu entries generated, default system language detected and used (I'm French) and in no time I was here browsing the world from my 64-bit Enlightenment 0.16.7 desktop.
One less reason to boot under Windows.
How hard could it be for a company to develop their games in OpenGL (of which DirectX 9 is a clone), something several actually already do, compile a binary and an installer for Linux, and sell it - or even wrap it along with their Win32 PE binaries? Right now, the incentive would be great: ALL modern consumer OSes run on x86: Win32, OSX, GNU/Linux. They ALL use C/C++, they ALL provide C# compilers, even .Net support, they ALL have an OpenGL layer...
It took 2 weeks for Google to release an ELF binary of Google Earth after they tried their hands at a Wine-layered release of Picasa. Considering it is a free product, how could they justify covering 3 platforms at once?
Simple: by making porting almost irrelevant. The result is a multitextured, memory-heavy, effects-laden 3D sphere, working under the majority of desktop systems nowadays. Why would game makers be unable to do something a search company made almost as an afterthought?
A computer is like air conditioning: it becomes useless when you open windows.
There are plenty of games
over 100 commercial games available at Tux Games that 'fill that gap' - but until more people buy the games, then it is hard to get the latest and greatest. Until we get the latest and greatest, it will be hard to get people to buy them.
Welcome to the linux games circle of pain. It is being addressed (or trying to anyway) by LGP but it is a slow process. Support these guys and maybe it will speed up!
Windows slows games down
I have a copy of Doom3 that refused to run on my pc (WinXP, 1Gb Ram, latest drivers for newest card) installed Linux with the Doom3 binary & the game runs flat out, I'll happily steer clear of windows once more software runs native on Linux.
The worst is yet to come
Vista for example will allow only OpenGL 1.4 apps to run; and then, only through their owm OpenGL implementation, which runs as a layer over their DX9 legacy API.
You thought Doom 3 was slow on XP? It'll crawl along on Vista.
A computer is like air conditioning: it becomes useless when you open windows.
game as a commons-based peer production
If there aren't a whole bunch of companies producing commercial games for GNU/Linux, why not develop a game together, as a commons-based peer production. The engine would be free software and developed as usual for free software projects, the content (levels, characters, story, etc.) would be created more like Wikipedia.
In this way a truly free (as in freedom) game could be developed by many people, each contriguting what he/she can do best. Look how many mods are made for commercial and proprietary games - all of them by fans that just wanted to habe their ideas in the game. I imagine that it would be a lot easier to create mods for a totally free game, and if we could provide a place where these could be shared easily, a lot of content could come together quite fast. If the game were to be for example a role-play game, different users could create different story-lines or quests that the gamer just could download and play.
Look how fast Wikipedia grew, wouldn't that be possible for a computer game too? We just have to come up with a development strategy to coordinate the effort volunteers are willing to spend. What do you think?
"one vision"
One thing that characterizes many of the most successful creative works is the idea that they embody one clear vision (usually of the author or director).
In general, CBPP is really bad at this. It's "design by committee", and that creates a lot of problems.
A successful project is probably going to require some form of focus that makes it clear who's in charge of the creative direction of the project, or it will suffer from this problem.
(That said, of course collective projects always have many secondary opportunities for creativity. The Star Wars movies reflect more than just the creativity of George Lucas: there's also the creature effects folks (e.g. Jim Henson and ILM 'creature shops'), the actors of course, and so on).
one extendable vision
I get your point and there are probably cases in which it's true. But if you look at games like Second Life, MMORPGs, etc. there doesn't necessarily have to be 'one vision' because there are many different things to create. Of course it helps if there's someone that keeps track of the development as a whole. But this is also true for software projects. If you have a lot of potential volunteers, you still need somebody to organize them.
And considering that the effort to design new games has risen in the last years exponentially (faster computers -> more polygons per model, more different models), it would be great for game developer if they could just copy a bunch of different tree-models from a free game already existing to create quickly a forest in which not all the trees look the same.
I found a great article which explains the idea comprehensively and in which a vice president at Microsoft is quoted:
"(Gaming) is the only medium where we yield control of the protagonist. Let's yield control of the director--and the producer," said Allard, a vice president at Microsoft. "We're going to take on the Wikipedia model. We're going to take on... the open-source model, if you will, for gaming."
If even Microsoft is smelling their chance to sell games and afterwards have volunteers creating game content which will probably only run on Microsofts platforms (Windows/Xbox) and in their games, it would be a pity if the whole free software/free culture movement would miss that chance. CBPPs were pioneered by free culture, why not extend the idea to the next logical domains like gaming?
The article goes on and emphasizes the importance of open standards to exchange game content, metadata to find the stuff on the 'Net and licensing issues (naming GPL and CC).
Video games consist of a lot of software, but contain also a lot of creative ideas, story, etc. It will be important to make the infrastructure needed to create new games, extend or modify existing ones or use free games to create other work (like films, screenshots or scientific simulations) easily accessible for people interested more in creativity than in geekdom. I think there sure will be a lot of people interested in good creative game content. Placing some adds on the right places, done right, it wouldn't take too long to make some money out of it. I mean, look at You-Tube.
I think what I'm trying to say...
I think what I'm trying to say is that the development model affects the genre.
Second Life isn't "a game", it's more of "a world" (in which, perhaps, games can happen). MMORPGs are all pretty much like that, even when they are designed with game objectives (caveat: I'm pretty ignorant about MMORPGs, because I haven't played them, so this is hear-say I'm afraid). I think CBPP naturally tends in that direction.
Some of my favorite proprietary software games had well-constrained dramatic aspects to them, and thus, the unity of vision was important to their design (as it is for a movie).
Wikipedia is a great work, but it is non-fiction, and exceedingly dry (in fact removing personality -- or "NPOVing" -- is an explicit editorial goal). It's doubtful that a work created in such a way could ever have the personality of single-authored works.
As a contrasting example, H2G2 (a predecessor of Wikipedia which differed in being proprietary-licensed to the BBC, and which attempted to create a "real" Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) always suffered from the burden of Douglas Adams' brilliant prose. Many people felt unable to live up to the satirical tone of the original novels (and radio show), and their attempts often fell flat. Today, H2G2 generally doesn't make this kind of tone an important goal.
Mind you, I'm not saying that a single-vision work is impossible in a free-licensed work. An interesting counter-example is the movie Elephants Dream, which was produced by a small, close-knit group of artists working together in an intense creative environment. In other words, it was created in much the same was as most proprietary movies are, although a "workshop" environment might be a closer match. I think this was consciously chosen to support a more expressive work.
It's also worth pointing out that shared resources can make the materials for creating a game more widely available, so that when it comes to creating a strong-vision work, it can be done with a smaller project (e.g. the Orange Project that produces Elephants Dream created a lot of models and extensions to Blender that will go on being useful to artists for years).
Okay, alright. CBPPs aren't
Okay, alright. CBPPs aren't good at creating stuff which is built upon a single vision. And a single vision is very important for the feeling of the game in some genres. I agree with that. :-)
But wheter you create that 'one vision' as a proprietary game or as a free-licensed one, the result will be very much the same. Expect that free stuff can be reused to create new work which is very important too, especially for small developers. Wouldn't it be great if there was a library of free licensed 3D models, availlable for free download in an open file format like the one of Blender? Kind of a Wikimedia Commons 3D.
But there are possibilities with free-licensed games proprietary counterparts only can dream of. In MMORPG the people play together. In Second Live people live together. In free software projects people work together. Why not combine those things so people could work together at their game and play it afterwards together? Imagine you could easily modify the game on the fly and share the results with others. Maybe you wouldn't call the result one single game, but it sure would be fun to play it. ;-)
New Site... dedicated to promoting Linux gaming understanding
Sirs, we created a new site to address the misunderstanding of the Linux game environments. We are promoting existing Linux-specific ("native") commercial games (yes, there are more than you realize... we already have a dozen reviews of games made this last year with at least a dozen more in the queue) and promoting the independent developers supporting Linux entertainment titles. Everyone commenting here seems very interested in the subject matter, and I hope you'll pay us a visit and share your thoughts. It is a very new site, and we could use the contribution of your messages. The site is http://LinuxGamingWorld.com
Thank you for bringing up this important topic, and best regards.
I think Game Consoles will be the Linux-equilizers
Computers used to be the uber-gaming machines in the past. And, with Windows the dominant OS, companies made games for Windows. But, computers had differing hardware configs, setups, software conflicts, etc. Some gamers are tech-savvy, and can get around these hurdles to get their latest gem to run, but others just want to plug-n-play. That's where the Game Consoles are making a killing. Standardized platforms make it a breeze for game dev's to churn out games, and users just pop in a cart / cd and play. They don't have to mess with incompatibilities, bugs, etc with their computer.
I think with the way Game Consoles have taken off, they will keep taking the major share of gaming, and separate it mostly from computers. Then, a computer will be left to do the other things it does (or should) do well...email, internet, word processing, etc.
This is where Linux will start to shine. With games removed from the computer equation due to consoles, folks with Windows computers will (hopefully) start to get fed-up at the mediocrity of a lot of other windows software. Not to mention the price to maintain it all ($ to upgrade OS, bugs, anti-virus software, reg-cleaning software, etc, etc to baby-sit your windows machine).
More and more folks are already dumping MS apps (IE, MS Office, etc) in favor of free, better, open-source apps, and it's a logical next step to simply switch OS' after a while. Dual booting machines is still way harder then it should be for Windows users (because Windows doesn't want to inherently recognize anything but Windows). However, Live CD's make it easy for users to test out Linux. When they realize that Linux Ubuntu, Knoppix, etc are not that different from Windows, and that non-techies no longer have to get ran off by working command-line-only anymore, they'll decide to make the plunge.
With games removed from computers, the need for better, faster hardware will subside, so the pain of finding linux drivers for your new hardware may lessen. And if more folks use linux, more dev's will take it seriously and provide out-of-box drivers for it. Still need some good hardware for a lot of music and graphics work, but those folks sometimes go Mac, but some go Windows (Acid, Sound Forge, etc). That'll be a tough call for them if Linux can't run that. But if the Windows emulators get better for Linux, it'll be an easy choice to go with Linux. But, most folks just use a computer for simple things, like web, email, word processing. You don't need a fancy rig to do all that on linux with good open-source software. In fact, not only is linux and the open-source software cheap to get / run, but the lowered system requirements make linux users excellent 2nd hand hardware buyers. Those Windows folks have to keep upgrading their systems each new version of Windows that comes out, and with each new game. That's when we linux folks swoop in and buy up their 2nd hand hardware at a fraction of the cost, and have a system that's only 1 or 2 years behind the curve, and way over-powered for what we're usually doing with it. Again, if games distance themselves from computers, though, folks will start to wonder why they're upgrading their hardware just to run a power-hog like windows when they play their games on a console. They'll wise up and stop upgrading their windows, and perhaps switch to linux when MS stops supporting their version of windows.
A lot of companies only need office software for their computers. Linux is easily the out-performer there, due to zero or minimal cost for OS and Open Office. No licensing hassles, etc. Once more companies make the shift, more users will become exposed to the ease of some Linux builds due to force of using it at work. Then they'll realize how good it is, and want it at home, which will get more folks either learning Linux, or more Linux guru's employed installing it onto machines.
Microsoft's strong-arm tactics of licensing and forced registration are not making friends. I think, even though some folks feel locked in, they'll get upset enough to enact change. Once they see the grass is somewhat greener, they'll wonder why they didn't switch sooner. They'll have a game console for gaming, and a computer for everything else. So, I think game consoles are making it tough for Microsoft, which is why they wanted to compete with the Xbox.
One hitch that Microsoft could throw out there, though, would be an "office" console. Something like a game console, except for office / business users. It would have the plug-n-play ease of a game console, a standardized platform for quick development, etc, etc. If MS did something like this, and marketed it with MS Office, IE, etc pre-loaded at a fraction of the cost of a computer (EG: for $300 per "office" console rather than $1500-2000 for a whole computer), then companies would probably stick with Microsoft. I honsetly don't know why MS hasn't done something like this yet...oh, yeah, it's because companies are still locked in thinking they have to fork over tons fo money for OS and MS Office licenses IN ADDITION to buying / upgradng computers (and paying all the IT staff to maintain the crap). IF things got desparate, this would probably be their ace in the hold.
But, linux is starting to get its share of games. Tremulous comes to mind, based on the Quake 3 engine. There's a windows and linux build. As linux becomes easier to use, more programmers will migrate, and more software will develop, with games being a natural part of that progression.
I think the real killer is not games, but more that Microsoft is charging folks for their OS. An OS is kinda like a speaking language, like English, or Spanish. The language should be free. You shouldn't be charged to speak English. However, folks that teach English, or that write novels, training manuals, etc with it can charge money. I think Micrsoft should switch tactics, and give away their OS for free, along with their IDE's (of which they already give aways Express editions of VB, C++, etc, but you have to force-register them...Big Brother and all that crap) and perhaps hook folks up with a subscription service, perhaps $10/mo for each computer its on (kinda like an MMORPG). For the subscription, you get free tech support (will never happen), free patches, bug-fixes, upgrades, etc. But, that will never happen, because they're too greedy / money-motivated.
Bottom line, I think games used to be a big deal-breaker for Linux, but not anymore. And as more time goes by, I think game consoles will shore up the match between Windows and Linux (and other OS'). Game consoles already killed the mall arcades...they still have it in them to make a great impact on the computing world.
Forget Windows for Games Buy a Playstation3 and use GNU/Linux
That's what I'm going to do. I'm 30y/old i´ve been using Microsoft O/S since DOS.
One Day, i just happen to stumble into Richard Matthew Stallman GNU Manifesto, it was like,
WoW that´s what I believed for a long time but never had the Knowledge nor the guts to fulfill, and there it was, a real person living in my time, and already did the impossible. And it works.
So many Windows users are blind like i was. GOD FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING...
i know its going to be hard to adapt to a new O/S and a new way of working with PC but I respect the concept and i´m going to support it. Wish me luck.
For my gaming addiction, hopefully the playstation3 will support mouse and Keyboard so that should be OK.
For vista new directx10 games, think $$$$, with price of a top computer you could by a PlayStation for 6 years (+-600euros)(The lifetime of an O/S version, correct if im wrong) and the rest buy lots of games that will always play right. As for the PC, well i prefer spending my PC time learning from and contribute for the Linux open source code "Library" until Linux catches up.
Q:Will ever Win4Lin do windows vista?


text:
PLEASANTON -- It wasn't the cobblestone streets of Pamplona, Spain, but being able to run with bulls drew more than 2,500 people to the Alameda County Fairgrounds racetrack Saturday.
"That was magnus! I'm about to go do it again," said Andy Greer, of San Francisco, after the first run. "It's all about the adrenaline rush. Dude, look how close that one came!" he said while watching video shot with a smartphone.
About 40 protesters with Direct Action Everywhere stood near the entrance, chanting and holding signs that read, "It's not entertainment, it's violence."
The protest was organized by Jacinda Virgin, of San Leandro.
"Bulls can be hurt, just like people. People sign waivers, but the bulls don't have a choice. We're here to give them a voice," she said.
The Great Bull Run organizer Rob Dickens said the bulls are not mistreated. Between races, they were sprayed with misters to keep them cool, as temperatures in Pleasanton neared 100 degrees.
"We love our bulls," he said.
At least one person was injured during the second run and taken away by ambulance. It was not known what the nature or extent of their injuries were. Fair officials and organizers were unavailable for comment about the incident on Saturday afternoon.
This was the first Running of the Bulls in California and the ninth since the American version of the event began in 2013. The runs were part of an all-day festival that included a Tomato Royale, where people pelt each other with tomatoes.
Alicia Cicairos was planning on both running with the bulls and taking part in the tomato toss.
"I think it will be a fun food fight," the Union City woman said.
Two animal rights group sued to stop the bull runs, but the case was not resolved in time to stop Saturday's event.
The 28 bulls were released in four groups, running down the quarter-mile track in less than a minute.
"It's like in the blink of an eye, they're on top of you," said Shane McCracken, of Tracy, after the first run.
A runner from San Jose said the event was fun, but there were too many people on the track at the same time.
"I'm a fan of professional bull riding. To have a chance to see them up close and see their brute force is amazing," said Michael Barraza.
Team Toro, with 25 members, was led by Esmeralda Hurtado, who said running with the bulls was on her bucket list. "I got everyone to join me," the Oakley resident said. Like other runners, they wore red bandannas, and several of the women in her group wore red tutus.
About 2,000 people watched the run, many of them there to support a friend or family member taking part.
"My son is running. If he gets gored, somebody's got to peel him up," said Shellie Munoz, of Fairfield.
Contact Rebecca Parr at 510-293-2473 or follow her at Twitter.com/rdparr1.


text:
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white295 is a 35yr-old single man in Norfolk, Virginia


text:
Ирвинг против Липштадт
Holocaust Denial on Trial, Trial Transcripts, Day 7: Electronic Edition
Pages 11 - 15 of 199
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1 MR JUSTICE GRAY: You did that very, if I may say so,
2effectively and briefly.
3 MR IRVING: Your Lordship will have apprehended that I attach
4importance to the Schlegelberger memorandum. I have
5quoted it frequently, I have illustrated it in my books,
6and I wish to make sure that it stayed upright without
7being sunk.
8 MR JUSTICE GRAY: It would not be exaggerating to say that it
9is something of a linchpin for your thesis about the
10extent to which Hitler knew about what was going on.
11 MR IRVING: One of the chain of document to which we
12occasionally refer, my Lord.
13 MR JUSTICE GRAY: That is Schlegelberger.
14 MR JUSTICE GRAY: Mr Rampton, do you want to add anything?
15 MR RAMPTON: I have some questions remaining about
16Schlegelberger, particularly in the light of these
18 MR IRVING: Do you wish me to go into the box?
19 MR JUSTICE GRAY: We have to keep an eye on the time.
20 MR RAMPTON: Your Lordship need not fear; we have enough
21material for today.
22 MR JUSTICE GRAY: I am not worrying about having enough.
23Mr Irving, perhaps you would go back into the box?
24 < MR DAVID IRVING, recalled.
25< Cross-Examined by MR RAMPTON QC, continued.
26 MR RAMPTON: Mr Irving, there is one document which you have
1not included in that little clip, is there not?
2 A. [Mr Irving] Mr Rampton, I spent a large part of the night in looking
3for my Schlegelberger file, but the documents came back
4from solicitors for the Defendants in such disarray that
5it was in vain. I had to reconstruct it from other
7 Q. [Mr Rampton] Curiously enough, I did the same exercise myself last
8night, and the document that I have included in my little
9clip which I will hand in---- (Document not provided) .
10 MR JUSTICE GRAY: Where are we going to put these?
11 MR RAMPTON: For the moment they can go together. Perhaps they
12can both go in whatever the J number is.
14 MR RAMPTON: Some of them may in due course be filed away into
15the core file.
16 A. [Mr Irving] May I express incidentally my amazement that this bundle
17of documents did not turn up in the bundles that were put
18to the court?
19 MR JUSTICE GRAY: I know. I understand the point. Let us get
21 MR RAMPTON: There is a document, Mr Irving, that you did not
22include -- I am not saying it is deliberate, at least not
23at the moment -- in the little clip and that is the
24actual minute of the meeting on 6th March 1942, is it not?
25 A. [Mr Irving] That is correct. The reason for that being that it did
26not come from that Ministry of Justice file. This comes
1from, as the serial numbers at the foot of it clearly
2show, the Foreign Ministry files.
3 Q. [Mr Rampton] It did not, but it is one of the footnotes to your
4Goebbels book, is it not?
5 A. [Mr Irving] I am sorry, the footnote is referred to in the Goebbels
6book? It is indeed, yes.
7 Q. [Mr Rampton] It is footnote 36 to page 388, and one knows it is the
8same document for two reasons: First because the
9personnel mentioned at as being at the meeting include
10Karssonsen and Schmidtburg?
11 A. [Mr Irving] Yes.
12 Q. [Mr Rampton] And because the film roll number at the bottom right hand
13corner of the page that you have got there is the one
14which you give in your footnote. So we are looking now at
15the right document, are we? It is 371962?
16 A. [Mr Irving] Yes. Can you show me again the page reference in the
18 Q. [Mr Rampton] Yes I have copied it for convenience. It is page 388, and
19it is note 36 in the upper half of the page, the big
20paragraph before the word Eichmann. My Lord, I have copied
21for your Lordship note 36 which is on page 647, where
22Mr Irving said -- perhaps I will read the Goebbels text
23first so that it will become a little clearer what it is
24that I am driving at. I will start if I may on 388. "On
25the following day" -- that is he and one can see from the
26previous page that that is Goebbels and the following day
1is 6th March -- "Goebbels took note of an extensive
2report prepared by Heydrich's office, probably on the
3Wannsee conference. There were still eleven million Jews
4in Europe, he dictated, summarizing the document. 'For the
5time being they are to be concentrated in the east [until]
6Later; possibly an island like Madagascar can be assigned
7to them after the war.' 'Undoubtedly there will be a
8multitude of personal tragedies,' he added airily,'But
9this is unavoidable. The situation now is ripe for a
10final settlement of the Jewish question.' In a covering
11letter Heydrich invited Goebbels to a second conference,
12on March 6. Goebbels sent two of his junior staff."
13 Then one goes to note 36, and one sees that it
14says they, that is the two junior members of staff, were
15Karssonsen and Schmidtburg of its Eastern territory
16subsection. Minutes of conference, March 6th 1942, on
17Final Solution of Jewish problem. Then your Lordship sees
18inside the bracket right at the end is the same film roll
19number, whatever it is, reference number 371962.
20 MR JUSTICE GRAY: Right?
21 A. [Mr Irving] "Eichmann talked crudely at this meeting"-- that is the
22meeting of 6th March attended by Karssonsen and
23Schmidtburg - "of 'forwarding' the Jews to the east, like
24so many head of cattle. The ministry of justice handled
25the report on this new discussion like a hot potato." --
26That is note 38. That is the letter of 12th March, which
1your Lordship has, to Herr Lammers in the Reichkanzlei
2"The Reich Chancellery referred it all to Hitler."
3That is an is interrogation of Hans Ficher, that
4footnote. I ask you to note the words "it all",
5Mr Irving. "Hitler wearily told Hans Lammers that he
6wanted the solution of the Jewish problem postponed until
7after the war was over - a ruling that remarkably few
8historians now seem disposed to quote."
9 That suggests, does it not, to the reader,
10Mr Irving, that the conference on 6th March was about the
11overall solution of the Jewish question?
12 A. [Mr Irving] The final solution of the Jewish question is the title
13given on the minutes.
14 MR JUSTICE GRAY: But that was not the question. The question
15is you are conveying to the readers there that it is the
16final solution which is postponed.
17 MR RAMPTON: That was what that conference discussed, is what
18you are telling the reader.
19 A. [Mr Irving] Yes.
20 Q. [Mr Rampton] Now would you please look at the minute of the conference,
21the one you footnoted?
22 A. [Mr Irving] Yes.
23 Q. [Mr Rampton] Please read it yourself. Tell me when you have finished
24and I will ask you a question.
25 A. [Mr Irving] I think I am familiar enough with the document. My
26Lord, can I mention the fact that we have one of my
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text:
7 Signs He's Not Ready to Commit
If you've already seen his junk and know it's a little big for you, you should talk it out before you get down to business. Why? He needs to understand that he could hurt you and that you'll need to go slow.
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