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Chapter 1
IntroductionOVC Advocating for
Victims' Rights and Services
OVC's Origins and Mission
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
is an agency located within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that Congress formally established in 1988 through an amendment to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984. VOCA, the outcome of the 1982 President's Task Force on Victims of Crime, not only established the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) and OVC, but also established full separate program initiatives to address the rights and needs of crime victims. VOCA authorizes OVC to fund States to operate crime victim compensation programs and to administer crime victim assistance services for Federal crime victims, national scope training and technical assistance, and demonstration initiatives. An amendment to VOCA also allows OVC to fund improved investigation and prosecution of child abuse under the Children's Justice Act (CJA). Crime victims receive support from OVC through formula and discretionary grants for programs and projects designed to enhance victims' rights and services. OVC also serves an advocacy and leadership role in developing policy and raising awareness for crime victims' rights and provides an array of training and other targeted resources for the many professionals who work with victims.
Just as the 1982 President's Task Force on Victims of Crime was the impetus for government actions on behalf of crime victims, OVC's work with scores of advocates in the victims' rights field led to the first comprehensive assessment of the victims' movement since 1982 with the creation of New Directions from the Field: Victims Rights' and Services for the 21st Century, completed in 1998. In the course of compiling the hundreds of recommendations from the field and listening to the voices of victims, their advocates, and allied professionals who work with crime victims throughout the Nation, certain key recommendations emerged from this comprehensive report. The following five global challenges for responding to victims of crime in the 21st century form the core of the hundreds of ideas and recommendations presented in this report:
To enact and enforce consistent, fundamental rights for crime victims in Federal, State, juvenile, military, and Tribal justice systems, and administrative proceedings.
To provide crime victims with access to comprehensive, quality services, regardless of the nature of their victimization, age, race, religion, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, capability, or geographic location.
To integrate crime victims' issues into all levels of the Nation's educational system to ensure that justice and allied professionals and other service providers receive comprehensive training on victims' issues as part of their academic education and continuing training in the field.
To support, improve, and replicate promising practices in victims' rights and services built upon sound research, advanced technology, and multidisciplinary partnerships.
To ensure that the voices of crime victims play a central role in the Nation's response to violence and those victimized by crime.
OVC's Mission
The mission of OVC is to enhance the Nation's capacity to assist crime victims and to provide leadership in changing attitudes, developing policies and practices that promote justice and healing for all victims of crimes. OVC accomplishes its mission by
Administering the Crime Victims Fund.
Funding direct services to crime victims.
Providing training programs that reach diverse professionals nationally and internationally.
Sponsoring demonstration projects and programs that have national impact.
Publishing and disseminating materials that
highlight promising practices for the effective treatment of crime victims that can be
Offering technical assistance to governments,
private sector programs, and others.
Developing policy and establishing public
awareness initiatives.
OVC embraces these challenges and has incorporated them into its mission and goals for the
next millennium. Hence, these five global challenges represent the driving force behind the projects that OVC now funds and the policies
it supports as OVC continues to advocate for
victims everywhere.
The Crime Victims Fund: How Criminals Pay for Victim Services
A primary OVC responsibility is to administer the Crime Victims Fund (CVF). The CVF contains money derived not from tax dollars, but from fines and penalties that Federal criminal offenders must pay as part of their sentences. The largest source of deposits in the CVF comes from criminal fines. In FY 1997, the CVF held $529 million in depositsmost of which was distributed for direct victim assistance services in communities. This amount surpassed the preceding record-breaking year by approximately $166 million. A major contributor to the Fund was Daiwa Bank, which was ordered to pay a record single fine of $340 million, in settlement of its illegal trading fraud case.
Deposits Into the Fund
In FYs 1996 and 1997, approximately $892 million ($529 million from 1996 and $363 million from 1997) was collected from Federal criminal offenders to serve crime victims, surpassing the recent biennial high by about $129 million. In FY 1998, $324 million was deposited for distribution in FY 1999 (see Figure 1). These impressive collections reflect heightened efforts by U.S. Attorneys and the Antitrust Division within DOJ, at the behest of the U.S. Attorney General, to aggressively pursue fines from convicted offenders.
National Fine Center Returns $21 Million to the Crime Victims Fund
In the first session of the 105th Congress, the House of Representatives repealed funding authority contained in VOCA that required the transfer of CVF dollars to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to fund operation of the National Fine Center (NFC). This resulted in $21 million in unexpended NFC moneys being returned to the CVF and made available to OVC to improve services to crime victims in the Federal criminal justice system. Congress authorized these dollars for hiring victim/witness coordinators in U.S. Attorney's offices; establishing an automated victim information and notification system for Federal cases; and collecting, enforcing, and processing restitution orders.
Managing the Fund and
Creating a Reserve Fund
To guard against any future dramatic decreases in CVF deposits, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (the Crime Act) gave OVC authority to set aside deposits in years of increased depositsup to $20 millioninto a Reserve Fund which OVC did in early FY 1995. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act authorized OVC to increase the amount in "reserve" up to $50 million. A portion of the Reserve Fund supplemented funding to States
and provided funding to U.S. prosecutor response to victims of terrorism and mass violence. OVC accessed the Reserve Fund in FYs 19971998 to support services for Oklahoma City bombing
victims and for victims of the U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa.
Each year, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno hosts an annual Crime Victims Fund Award Ceremony to honor DOJ employees for outstanding contributions to the enforcement and collection of Federal criminal debts, the proceeds of which fund thousands of victim services programs throughout the country. (See Appendix 1 for a description of some of the innovative efforts undertaken by Federal employees to hold offenders accountable and secure funds for crime victim services.)
Programs Authorized by the
Victims of Crime Act
OVC's Nongrant-Related Functions
In addition to the many efforts funded through
its formula and discretionary grant programs (see chapter 2), OVC also undertakes numerous nongrant activities to advance crime victims' rights. OVC raises public awareness of victims' issues through its Resource Center, Web site, Training and Technical Assistance Center, and National Crime Victims' Rights Week Activities. OVC also hosts focus groups and other meetings with its victim advocacy constituency and develops informational materials to educate and focus public attention on crime victims' rights and needs. It promotes victims' rights and services around the world, for example, by targeting and participating in solutions for terrorism and international victim issues. Finally, collaborative, coordinated efforts in the form of internal DOJ working groups, interagency task forces, and other cooperative efforts are a principal means by which OVC advances victims' issues and works to improve victims' rights, recognition, and services. Financial fraud including health care fraud, family violence, mental health, and domestic preparedness are subjects of several DOJ working groups in which OVC participates, along with an interagency task force on child abuse. This chapter summarizes how OVC provides leadership, conducts monitoring and compliance, develops policy, and comments on victim-related legislation to ensure
victims' rights and services, also nongrant-related functions.
OVC's Leadership Initiatives in Behalf of Victims' Rights and Services
As mentioned previously, a major OVC-led initiative in FYs 19971998 was the creation and distribution of New Directions from the Field: Victims' Rights and Services for the 21st Century, a comprehensive report and set of recommendations on victims' rights and services from and concerning virtually every community involved with crime victims across the Nation. It also describes "promising practices" used around the country to implement victims' rights and services. Reflecting the views of more than 1,000
victim service and allied professionals, New Directions proposes 250 recommendations to improve crime victim treatment, and they serve as a guide to providing comprehensive victim services well into the next century. OVC has made progress and will continue working toward meeting the five global challenges which emerged from the New Directions recommendations. These global challenges amplify OVC's mission
to promote justice and healing for all victims of crime.
Monitoring and Compliance
OVC plays a key role in monitoring and facilitating Federal and State agency compliance with statutory mandates affecting victims. OVC's monitoring of State programs and Federal efforts is one way to ensure proper use of VOCA funding and compliance with Federal regulations governing victims' rights and services. Monitoring and compliance reviews represent an important function of the office's mission and goals established on behalf of the Nation's nearly 32 million crime
victims. Examples of these efforts are described below.
Best Efforts and Other Federal
Statutory Requirements
Congress assigned OVC responsibility for monitoring DOJ compliance with Federal victims' rights laws, which it does through the annual Best Efforts Report, submitted each fiscal year to the U.S. Attorney General. OVC receives input from each Justice component with crime victim responsibilities, then compiles and analyzes all responses and sends a finalized report containing recommendations to the U.S. Attorney General
for improving compliance with Federal victim statutes and the AG Guidelines. This report also identifies emerging issues and unmet needs of victims in the Federal justice system. Over the last biennium, OVC notes a steady improvement by DOJ in the provision of rights and services to
Joint Performance Report
Responding to calls from the field for reduced duplicative reporting requirements, an effort was made to consolidate grant performance report requirements. OVC initiated an interdepartmental effort to design a joint performance report form covering four Federal grants. The goal was two-fold: (1) to help service providers spend less time completing forms that track overlapping services, and (2) to gather more accurate information about the number of victims and services funded by Federal grants. OVC continues to work toward this goal, together with the Violence Against Women Office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Administration on Children and Families.
Onsite and Desk Monitoring of
VOCA Grants
OVC conducts periodic site visits and ongoing monitoring of State implementation of VOCA
victim assistance and compensation funding to ensure the spirit and intent of these programs established by Congress are met and to foster partnerships with State officials committed to crime victims' rights.
Guideline Development
An important function of OVC is the development of rules and guidelines on the expenditure of VOCA funding. This effort allows OVC to ensure that the intent of Congress is carried out by funding recipients, to guide and direct the development of programs and services for crime victims, and to ensure that feedback from the field is incorporated into policy development. In FY 1997, OVC prepared and published revised final program guidelines for VOCA Victim Assistance and Compensation programs. The program guidelines provide information on administering and implementing VOCA grant programs as well as supporting victims' rights and services. Changes for the two programs are described below.
Modifications to the VOCA
Victim Assistance Program
As a result of comments from the field, amendments to VOCA, and modifications of applicable Federal regulations, the Victim Assistance Program Guidelines were expanded to allow coverage of additional victims and crimes in VOCA-funded programs. Key changes to the Guidelines described below reflect input from crime victims, victim advocates, and other interested professionals:
Expanded the definition of crime victim to include financial harm and allowed for counseling, criminal justice advocacy, and other
services to victims of financial exploitation, fraud, and other economic crimes.
Expanded the administrative cost provision to include training of adult protective services providers that promote the development of services in response to elder abuse and abuse of adults with physical, mental, and developmental disabilities.
Allowed training funds to be used for non-VOCA funded personnel when VOCA-funded personnel are also being trained. This change acknowledges that victim services programs are funded from multiple sources and that access to training for all staff benefits crime victims.
Expanded the definition of underserved victims to include victims of varying demographic characteristics, such as victims who do not speak English, have disabilities, or are members of racial or ethnic minorities.
Expanded guidelines to allow for the purchase of items that assist victims with disabilities in accessing and using services.
Allowed States that had passed new constitutional amendments and statutes creating rights for crime victims to use VOCA funds to implement these mandates.
Expanded guidelines to include coverage of emergency legal assistance for victims of domestic/family violence.
Clarified the definition of elder abuse, adding
as an allowable expense funding for short-term nursing home shelter when no other safe, short-term care is available for an abused elder.
Expanded guidelines to allow for restitution advocacy for crime victims.
Modifications to the VOCA Crime Victim Compensation Program
As with the victim assistance guidelines, OVC revised the Victim Compensation Program Guidelines in response to amendments to VOCA and modifications of applicable Federal regulations. The two key changes that were made reflect input from crime victims, victim advocates, the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards (NACVCB), and other
interested parties:
Permitted States to use administrative funds to cover indirect costs and coordination with other organizations working with crime victims. Costs could result from victim outreach, training, materials, and administration, as well as development of protocols, policies, and procedures to promote coordination between victim assistance and victim compensation programs.
Provided States with the option to accept a report made to an appropriate governmental agency, such as a child or adult protective services agency, as evidence of cooperation with law enforcement, which is required for each compensation claimant.
Overview of the Report to Congress
OVC supports victims' rights and needs in many ways. The following chapters contain discussions of OVC's grant structure which forms the underpinnings for funding victim services programs (chapter 2). Besides funding programs, OVC also supports victims rights and needs by advocating legislation and educating the public about the underserved or unserved needs of victims (chapter 3). OVC believes in forming partnerships governmentwide starting with the U.S. Department of Justice and Office of Justice Programs and expanding to include community-based and public organizations such as the Administration on Developmental Disabilities and Mothers Against Drunk Driving and allied professionals such as the medical community, clergy, dentists, and educators. Through such partnerships even more will be accomplished in behalf of victims (chapter 4). OVC also values the voices of the victims themselves and the victim advocates in the field and so supports various conferences, focus groups, and symposia to facilitate the dialogue that initiates the development of services to crime victims (chapter 5). This report details model victim
services programs that have resulted from discretionary grants and can be replicated across the country (chapter 6). As countries and citizens become more linked through travel, the Internet, and international trade, OVC recognizes a growing need to address the victim needs that are emerging from this international activity (chapter 7). This Report to Congress also provides a description of OVC's direct services for crime
victims that result from OVC's funding of State compensation and assistance programs (chapter 8). Perhaps of equal importance is OVC's vision for victims' rights and services and how OVC can assist our Nation in making the vision a reality (chapter 9). OVC is committed to the delivery
of crime victims' rights and services and looks
to the Nation to join in this important task.


text:
Religious Differences
Meaning of Marriage
Spiritual Bond
Religious Affiliation
One :
Each of you should complete the following
inventory to assess the quality of your communication with one
another. Please complete your inventory without consulting with
your partner.
Please indicate whether you
strongly agree, agree, disagree,
or strongly disagree with
each of the following statements:
Step Two:
Compare your answers to those of
your partner. Are there any items where you and your partner answered
much differently? Share with one another why you answered the way
that you did, particularly on items where you and your partner
answered differently.
Step Three:
Agreement with statements 1, 2, 5,
6, 7, and 8 reflects good communication skills, while disagreement
reflects a possible area in which to develop better communication
skills. Disagreement with statements 3, 4, 9, and 10 also reflects
good communication skills, while agreement with these items reflects
potential areas of concern. Use the inventory as a guide to identify
areas of strength and areas that need improvement in terms of your
communication skills.

subset: commoncrawl


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Mary Branch, Center Director
Ages: 6 Weeks to 12 Year-Olds
Special Instructions:
in the Grove Shopping Center off Shady Grove Rd
In the Grove Shopping center, at intersection of Shady Grove Way & Crabbs Branch Way. One block west of the 370 interchange & Shady Grove Metro entrance.
Elementary Schools Bussed To:
Candlewood, College Garden, Falls Meade, Flower Hill, Gaithersburg, Goshen, Maryvale, Mill Creek, Resnick, Richie Park, Rosemont, St. Mary's, St. Martins,Stedwick, Strawberry Knoll, Whetstone, Washington Grove, St. Martins.
- Every Day · Every Child · Excellence · Accreditated · Knowledge Universe


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Julia Hansen of Amarillo and Matthew Nelson of Minot, N.D., were married Thursday, Feb. 14, at Lighthouse Beach in Sanibel Island, Fla. Russ Winstead officiated.
The bride is the daughter of Colleen and Steve Brown of Amarillo. Parents of the groom are Linda and Larry Nelson of Minot.
Maid of honor was Danielle Hansen.
Best man was Larry Nelson.
The wedding reception was held at Players Sports Emporium. Reception attendants were friends and family from Texas, Colorado, Minneapolis, North Dakota and Maryland.
The bride is an office manager at Excel Cleaning Supplies.
The groom is an assistant director of rehab and is an occupational therapy assistant at Manor Care.
The couple planned a honeymoon to Denver. The couple reside in Fort Myers, Fla.
Amarillo Globe-News, March 3, 2002
© 2016. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


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From: Adam Baird, vice president of food & beverage, Mimi's Café, Tustin, CA Yield: 12 servings. 5 pounds Idaho® red-skinned potatoes 2 cups raw corn kernels 2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese 1 cup chipotle sauce 1 cup sour cream ¼ cup sliced green onions 2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning 2 Tbsp. minced cilantro 1 Tbsp. minced garlic in oil 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice 1 tsp. ground pepper ½ tsp. ground cumin 4 cups ...
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We've grown considerably these past few years under our new inspirational conductor, Peter Gambie. Singers of all parts are very welcome in particular Tenors and Basses.
The Choir meets on Mondays, 7.15–9.30pm at St James Road Methodist Church Hall, Southampton SO15 5HE.
If you're interested in joining, contact us »
The Society contributes to the musical life of the city by performing a wide range of music and being involved in civic events. Our repertoire ranges from the great works of Bach, Haydn and Mozart to modern classics by Rutter and Lauridsen, along with music from stage and screen.
The choir employs professional orchestras and soloists and is embarking on bringing international stars to the city: for instance Dame Emma Kirkby has previously sung with the Society for a programme of Mozart and Haydn in 2011.
The Society has established close links with the City Music Service, sponsoring a young musician each year and working with the Youth Orchestra and Choir.


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Recent Arctic climate change and its remote forcing of Northwest Atlantic shelf ecosystems
Greene, Charles H.
Monger, Bruce C.
McGarry, Louise P.
Connelly, Matthew D.
Schnepf, Neesha R.
Pershing, Andrew J.
Belkin, Igor M.
Fratantoni, Paula S.
Mountain, David G.
Pickart, Robert S.
Ji, Rubao
Bisagni, James J.
Chen, Changsheng
Hakkinen, Sirpa M. A.
Haidvogel, Dale B.
Wang, Jia
Head, Erica
Smith, Peter
Conversi, Alessandra
MetadataShow full item record
Citable URIhttp://hdl.handle.net/1912/5517
As publishedhttps://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.64
During recent decades, historically unprecedented changes have been observed in the Arctic as climate warming has increased precipitation, river discharge, and glacial as well as sea-ice melting. Additionally, shifts in the Arctic's atmospheric pressure field have altered surface winds, ocean circulation, and freshwater storage in the Beaufort Gyre. These processes have resulted in variable patterns of freshwater export from the Arctic Ocean, including the emergence of great salinity anomalies propagating throughout the North Atlantic. Here, we link these variable patterns of freshwater export from the Arctic Ocean to the regime shifts observed in Northwest Atlantic shelf ecosystems. Specifically, we hypothesize that the corresponding salinity anomalies, both negative and positive, alter the timing and extent of water-column stratification, thereby impacting the production and seasonal cycles of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and higher-trophic-level consumers. Should this hypothesis hold up to critical evaluation, it has the potential to fundamentally alter our current understanding of the processes forcing the dynamics of Northwest Atlantic shelf ecosystems.
Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 25, no. 3 (2012): 208-213, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.64.


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|Primetime Ratings: Thursday 1/3/08; 'Celeb Apprentice' & 'Deal' share #1
|Tweet Topic Started: Jan 4 2008, 03:44 PM (473 Views)
|Jan 4 2008, 03:44 PM Post #1
Deal or No Deal 13.3 million
CSI R 13.5 million
Orange Bowl 11.3 million
Celebrity Apprentice 11.1 million
Without a Trace R 10.7 million
ER 9.6 million
Without a Trace (8:00R) 8.5 million
Grey's Anatomy R 6.1 million
Desperate Housewives R 5.2 million
Ugly Betty R 5.1 million
Smallville R 2.5 million
Supernatural R 2.0 million
Adults 18-49
Celebrity Apprentice 4.5/12
Orange Bowl 4.0/10
Deal or No Deal 3.7/10
Without a Trace (10:00R) 2.6/7
Grey's Anatomy R 2.0/5
Desperate Housewives R 1.9/5
Without a Trace (8:00R) 1.8/5
Ugly Betty R 1.5/4
Smallville R 0.9/2
Supernatural R 0.8/2
|Jan 4 2008, 03:46 PM Post #2
|It is sad when a new episode of ER with Gloria Ruben can't even beat repeats of CSI and WAT :shame:
|Jan 4 2008, 04:18 PM Post #3
True, Rick but the promotion for it sucked.
Other then during Days, I saw no promotion of it whatsoever outside of a few promos here and there. Back in the day, they promoted the hell out of ER and now it's so inconsistent in terms of promotion it's sad.
Plus, they keep putting the show on long hiatuses. I remember last year it was doing great in the ratings until the long hiatus and it still hasn't recovered.
It also didn't help matters that Maura Tierney (Abby) was not in the episode. I know Abby was still at rehab but she is the most popular character on there since Luka is on and off and the longest tenured main character and she brings in alot of fans.
That number is actually pretty decent considering what they normally get though.
|Jan 4 2008, 04:19 PM Post #4
|It is kind of sad when you remember how many viewers ER was getting 10 years ago or 5 years ago for that matter...But the episode was a great one, i just love Gloria Ruben..Whats really sad is that NBC is getting great numbers from their reality shows so far...I don't think they will be in a hurry to rush the strike..
|Jan 4 2008, 04:27 PM Post #5
|I don't watch ER, but I can't believe it's STILL on.
|Jan 4 2008, 04:29 PM Post #6
It may not always do well in the ratings anymore but they still have great episodes. The quality has returned overall the past 3 seasons and Maura Tierney is being overlooked big time. That woman deserves recognition for her work this year and for last year as well. She is marvel IMO.
I loved seeing Gloria last night and wish she would return. She was fantastic and so was the episode. We even got Doug and Carol mentions and a hint of Carter's return (they said Spring but it will probably be Fall now with the strike).
I don't see the strike being rushed either, which is sad because I don't want to see all this reality stuff. I like some of it but I want things to start getting back to normal or for both sides to at least begin talking again.
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text: RSS Events Feeds MiniTrends 2013 10/2/2013 7:30 AM - 11:30 AM Wednesday, October 2, 20138:30 am – 5:30 pm,Reception 5:30 – 7:15 pmDiscover, Do Good, Profit!Discover what's on the leading-edge of business through the eyes of 19 all-star entrepreneurial visionaries and thought leaders who share what they see as MiniTrends.MiniTrends are emerging market tendencies that can change everything – but that are not yet widely recognized.Leverage your business efforts by identifying and optimizing MiniTrends ahead of the curve for profit, positioning, productizing and making a positive difference in the world.Get the advantage by having a MiniTrend Mindset cultivated by attending this unique conference in Austin.If You Depend On the Leading Edge For Professional Advantage, This Conference Is A Must!• Entrepreneur, Visionary or Futurist• Professional Decision-Maker, Executive, Director, Manager or Professional In Business• Investor, Funder, VC Capitalist• Job Seeker, Rising Corporate StarYou Will Leave With:• The creative mindset and advantage you need to find and optimize emerging opportunities.• The leading-edge preview of developing MiniTrends directly from industry thought leaders.• Insights from innovative leaders on how to use emerging trends to start new ventures or grow established organizations for profit with attention to all stakeholders.• Tactics to identify untapped business opportunities from newly converging trends.• A new community based on interaction with speakers and fellow participants to learn, grow and share ideas.• Strategy and insights to create, launch or grow your initiatives from the leading-edge.Eventbrite - MINITRENDS 2013: The Integration of Profit & Social Responsibility________________Post Conference: MiniTrends Masters Workshop: How to Find, Analyze, and Profit From Emerging Trends (Optional)Day 2: Thursday, October 3, 2013 8:30 am – 12:00 pmGo the next step to starting your own MiniTrends Adventure by attending this excellent applications workshop. In this session, basic MiniTrend principles will be discussed and participants will have hands-on opportunities to find, analyse, and profit from emerging trends that also offer a socially responsible aspect. Participants will leave with a solid basis for developing their own "Minitrends Mindset." Attendees learn and practice:How and where to search for Minitrends.How to evaluate the business attractiveness of a Minitrend.How to develop an effective Minitrend Exploitation Scheme.How to turn the scheme into a profitable business opportunity. Learn More: MiniTrends 2013


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Gears of War News
Displaying 31–45 of 58 articles
'Gears of War' Not on Ten-Year Plan
During New York Comic Con, Joshua Ortega, writer for Gears of War, claimed that the series was on a ten-year plan: "You will not be disappointed in the next ten years. It's a ten-year plan. Gears is long-term. The lancer is the new lightsaber." First of all, wow. The lancer, while awesome, is no lightsaber. Second of all, ten...
PC 'Gears of War' Glitch Corrected
PC gamers who are still playing Gears of War were understandably upset a couple weeks ago when a glitch in the game's DRM completely locked some players out of it. Today, there's a patch. "This update fixes an expired digital signatures issue that prevents all earlier versions of the game from launching," reads the game's official...
Gears' 'Dom' To Play Michael Corleone
Voicing one of America's most beloved film characters can't be easy, so it's good that EA has decided to go with a veteran of game acting to portray Michael Corleone in the upcoming The Godfather II game. That man? Carlos Ferro, whose voice you will recognize as Dom from Gears of War and Gears of War II. Looks like it was just as easy as a...
Is The PC Version of 'Gears of War' Locking People Out?
You know why people hate Digital Rights Management? Here's why: Users on the Gears of War official forums are reporting that as of January 28, the digital certificates for the PC version of the game have expired. They can't play the game even though they bought it, unless they reset their system clock for an earlier date. Here's the irony from...
'Gears of War 2' Flashback Maps For Sale
If you like both chainsaws and nostalgia, purchase the just-released Gears of War 2 flashback map pack. Previously, the only way to get the collection of original Gears maps was by redeeming a code that came with Gears of War 2. Cool, but if you bought the game used or your friend gave it to you, you were out of luck. Now you can purchase the...
Capcom's Mike Webster Speaks On 'Resident Evil 5', Cliffy B, Dead Jill Valentine, And More
I've known Capcom's director of brand marketing, Mike Webster, for several years. Some of my fondest memories in the gaming business involve Mike, Epic's Cliff Blezinski, a swimming pool in Cabo , and a lot of tequila. Wait, that sounded all wrong. There were lots of other people there too...and girls (really!). Anyway, I recently caught up with...
'Gears of War' Crimson Omen Appears Over Saturn!
Scientists are stumped about a mysterious aura appearing over Saturn, but obviously none of the people working on identifying it are playing any Gears of War 2. This could be the greatest viral marketing campaign ever or an indication that COG soldiers on Saturn (Sera?!) are under attack by the Locust and need our help. Maybe we should offer...
DiMaggio, Voice of Marcus Fenix, Interviewed
Mad ups to The Fukerton site for snagging an exclusive interview with John DiMaggio, the man who voices Marcus Fenix in Gears of War and Bender from Futurama. Of course, this interview, broken into two 10-minute YouTube videos, is mostly about Gears and what goes into working with Cliff Bleszinski and the voice-over process in general. Enjoy...
'Gears of War' Top 5 Weapons Countdown Video
In the video below, Epic Games' Gears of War Flashback series finally reaches the real fun with the Top 5 weapons voted on by the fans. What's your favorite GoW weapon? Take your time but remember the tactical third-person shooter Gears of War 2 is coming around the corner for the Xbox 360 November 7th. Top 5 Gears of War Weapons ...
Cliff Notes - Cliff Bleszinski Discusses Michael Bay's Transformers
Gears of War 2 Lead Designer Cliff Bleszinski stopped by X-Play to give us some random gems of pop-culture wisdom. First up, Michael Bay's Transformers, which longtime fans of the franchise believe was the wrong direction to take the series. Does Cliff agree? Find out in the first edition of X-Play's Cliff Notes. Watch Larger Version of...
'Gears of War' Top 5 Toughest Achievements
In the latest flashback series from Epic Games', fans vote on the toughest achievements in the original Gears of War. Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section below and keep an eye on your calendar for November 7th when Gears of War 2 bores into your Xbox 360. Gears of War Top 5 Toughest Achievements Video Watch Larger...
Fresh Ink Online: Gears of War, Crossed and Invincible Iron Man
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Interview: Shima'a Helmy and the future of revolution
If the iconic image of protest in the 60's is a hippie slipping a flower into a gun barrel, the image for this generation's protest may be a Muslim woman wearing a Hijab and holding up a cell phone.
Shima'a Helmy is one of the young Egyptians who led that country's uprising in January of 2011. Using social media, street canvassing and her own steely determination to change her country for the better, 21-year old Helmy forewent her studies to help galvanize a revolution. The rest is quite literally history.
Now a full-time human rights activist, Helmy joined filmmakers and friends Micah Garen and Marie-Helene Carleton onstage at PopTech to talk about their collaboration on an upcoming documentary film If. The film will explore what it's like being a young revolutionary through the eyes of four different Egyptian women (including Helmy), although as Garen states, their story is far from over.
Helmy joined us for a talk in which she proves herself to be every bit as passionate as a clip from the upcoming film shows.
PopTech: Can you speak to the dichotomy between being a devout Muslim and being an agent for change? How do these things influence each other, guide each other?
Shima'a Helmy: I think if you look deep inside the real essence of Islam, you'll see that it revolves around the fact that the Muslim is supposed to be a positive person in his or her society. They should help others, they should be cooperative, and they should try to be as positive as they can.
The situation in Egypt was against the real essence of Islam. You had corruption, you had social injustice, you had torture, you had everything against what a Muslim is supposed to be like and what the ideal of Islam is supposed to be. When I was growing up, I was trying to be a good Muslim at the same time as being a good citizen. You could say that being an active person is an essential part of being a Muslim. It's the combination, and that following the guidelines of Islamic teachings is at the core of what people in the modern world are trying to do. All these concepts of democracy and human rights are actually found in Islam. It's just that people don't know.
What did it feel like, that moment of decision for you, when you decided that you were going to get involved in the uprising?
I didn't imagine something like this happening in Egypt. I didn't believe in my country. I felt like I was just here for a particular period of time and then I was leaving forever. I was focusing on my studies, trying to study something very complex like biotechnology, only to distract myself from how terrible the situation in Egypt was. And then, when this whole thing started, I wasn't sure if I was going to participate. But I went with my sister, and then when we saw people around, and we saw it's not really that hard, as soon as you cross the line of fear it just happens.
I love what you said yesterday on the PopTech panel too – you make your choice and it's decided.
And then everything starts to be very easy. You feel this feeling of collectivity and that you are all together, one, hand in hand.
Have your feelings about Egypt changed since this has happened? How has if affected where you will choose to live and have your career?
When we felt like the whole world was celebrating our great victory, it was kind of overwhelming. Everyone was looking at Egypt and focusing on what we, the youth, had done. But afterwards when people started to be distracted with other countries, other revolutions, they were not paying attention to how terrible the situation was again becoming. The regime was actually being rebuilt, because Mubarak left his loyalist men in power. I started to feel different, like I'm the only one who's talking about the negative side. I was still critical, especially when I got detained on the 4th of February, before Mubarak resigned. There was something missing and I was trying so hard to figure out – what is it?
It turned out that what happened in Egypt wasn't really a revolution, it was an uprising. People have started to feel depressed, like they used to be. They no longer care. With censorship and media control by the army, it's hard to get information to people what is really going on now.
How are you using social media to help get the word out?
We were using social media to establish a virtual place, a virtual world, where we could all come together and discuss ideas and do the stuff that we're not able to do in public. This is how the whole thing started. It helps a lot in reaching people outside of Egypt, and maybe in other cities around Egypt, not just in Cairo and Alexandria.
The thing is, we're still stuck in social media. We have no platform to reach out to the majority of the country, they have no electricity to have Internet in their houses. So you don't have these kind of people in your audiences, you're just talking to yourselves, and we just keep going in circles and circles. My idea has always been that you should work also in the streets. You shouldn't just keep yourself on a computer with your Facebook or Twitter account and just get adulated. The outcome will be very disappointing. And this was clear when we tried to come back to the streets and we didn't have anyone on our side. I guess the solution would be with maybe awareness campaigns, going out to the people in their places, because they're not gonna come to us.
If you could tell the rest of the world something about Egypt, what would you say?
A friend of mine told me once: our fighting in the whole world is fighting against censorship and for knowledge. If people are unaware, if people are ignorant, they're not going to do anything. Think about the fact that the U.S. gives Egypt two billion U.S. dollars annually, and that we are the second largest recipient of foreign aid after Israel. You should be aware of where your money goes. 1.3 billion dollars of this money goes to train military in Egypt. These weapons are used against peaceful protesters, the military is censoring information and controlling everything. Be aware of where your money goes.
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The selection of Blake Bortles by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft was met with a fair amount of skepticism; however, the former UCF standout quickly put all doubts to rest during a very strong preseason.
Through three games, Bortles has continued to look every bit the part of a franchise quarterback, making the right throws, reads and decisions in each contest. He's quickly shown why he's the most talented quarterback—by far—on Jacksonville's roster.
So, how was the rookie rewarded for his efforts? Head coach Gus Bradley announced on Friday night that Chad Henne would be the team's starting quarterback for its Week 1 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles, via NFL on ESPN:
Jaguars coach Gus Bradley reiterates that Chad Henne will start Week 1 over Blake Bortles. pic.twitter.com/6PtbmnipZd— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 23, 2014
The news irked plenty of NFL analysts. Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon was one of the many:
I'm so confused by Gus Bradley naming Chad Henne the starter over Blake Bortles.— Ian Kenyon (@IanKenyonNFL) August 23, 2014
That's a rather befuddling decision, especially when taking into consideration each quarterback's performance Friday against the Detroit Lions.
Henne started the game and completed nine of his 14 passing attempts for 70 yards and a passer rating of 76.5. That's not terrible, but it's not exactly strong.
Bortles entered the game with just 1:43 left in the first half, which gave him just enough time to run the two-minute drill—a daunting task for most rookie quarterbacks. Here's how that turned out:
Blake Bortles played just the last 1:43 of the first half, but he has more passing yards than Chad Henne (89 vs. 70).— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 23, 2014
Bortles completed passes to multiple targets during a drive that resulted in a short field goal as time expired. Keep one thing in mind: This was against Detroit's first-team defense.
Bradley commented on his rookie quarterback's performance against Detroit during a press conference with The Associated Press, via USA Today:
Blake, he made a couple of mental errors in checks. But there was one where he checked us into something that we weren't anticipating and he made a big play off of it. I like that he takes risks. I like that he's aggressive. He'll attack the situation when he's in it and it's not too big for him. So all those things are really good signs.
Here's a look at the rookie signal-caller's preseason stats through three games:
While Henne has shined at times—he earned a 112.4 passer rating against Chicago in Week 2—he's been wildly inconsistent throughout his NFL career and doesn't really bring anything to the table in Jacksonville.
Some could argue the fact that Bortles is better suited as Henne's backup so he can sit and learn before seeing in-game action, but the rookie has shown he's not the project many analysts once thought he was.
When should Bortles start for Jacksonville?
These days, it's become a common practice to play rookie quarterbacks early and allow them to grow from experience on the field. This method has worked with many of the league's top signal-callers. Based on what we've already seen from Bortles, there's no reason to think his progression would be any different.
While the Jaguars aren't in win-now mode—this is a young team still in the midst of building around a solid core—the team could clearly benefit from getting its quarterback of the future some regular-season reps to propel the learning process and gain rapport with his teammates.
The quicker we see Bortles under center, the quicker Jacksonville will begin to see better numbers in the win column.


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NBA players often try to mesh with new teammates and coaches to give their respective teams the best chance at winning. Sometimes, that can lead to championships that lead to dynasties. But more often than not, it doesn't work out perfectly and general managers have to trade players to supplement their rosters.
As NBA fans, we also hate seeing star-caliber players suffering on bad teams. There are players out there that need to be traded to make the league better as a whole. These players are just one move away from shining in a new location.
NBA Analyst JR Jackson and Assistant NBA Editor Joel C. Cordes debate which superstars just need to be moved. Once they get off their old team, who knows what can happen?
Let us know in the comments who you think needs to be traded to better the league!
Note: All NBA statistics are current as of January 9, 2012 (date of filming).
For more JR Jackson, watch him on YouTube and follow him on Twitter@JRSportBrief.


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Access the most comprehensive pro-AV resource in the industry to explore audiovisual equipment catalogs, compare prices, locate service providers and review case studies.
Go to AV-iQ
Eric Cronwall, CTS-D
Eric Cronwall, CTS-D, is a Senior Consultant with Thorburn Associates, a full-service acoustical and audiovisual system-design firm. His master's degree in Performing Arts and Sound Design from the University of Arizona and his background in audiovisual system design and digital audio editing enable him to develop designs and manage technology-driven projects. He has more than seven years of consulting experience. Prior to joining Thorburn Associates, he taught at the University of Cincinnati. Projects include Federated Department Stores throughout the United States; Evergreen Valley College, San Jose, CA; and HP Hanger, Cupertino, CA. He is an Adjunct Faculty member of the InfoComm University.


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Marrone cautious in assessing rookie ManuelBuffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone is keeping his expectations in check when it comes to assessing rookie quarterback EJ Manuel. Marrone wasn't in a position to award Manuel the starting job when the Bills drafted him in the first round out of Florida State… (more)Source: ESPN.com
E.J. Manuel studying Bills' playbook "like crazy"Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel made a good first impression on coach Doug Marrone at the opening of rookie minicamp on Friday, which may be attributable to the work Manuel put in during the two weeks between the draft and the first day of practice. Manue…Source: profootballtalk.com


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- Haiku monthly activity report - November 2016
- A little report on Capitole du Libre
- Haiku monthly activity report - October 2016
- Haiku monthly activity report - September 2016
- Haiku monthly activity report - August 2016
- Tales of a Video Editor #2
- Site issues / Forum upgrade
- Haiku monthly activity report - July 2016
- Tales of a Video Editor
- Streaming Support And MediaKit Development - Report #7
Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear... Or how much did we regress ?
Last week I received a mail telling me MSI wanted to hear from me what I wanted on their next products on their forum. Frankly, I didn't even remember having an account on that forum, where I registered to help someone on a BeOS SMP question. So I jumped in and started telling what I, as an Haiku developer, really expected from a hardware manufacturer, trying to explain, with humour but determination, why open hardware is so important to me.
Then after some other's post I replied a second time, first to someone mentioning the need for HDMI support on why I didn't agree because of DRM, then a maybe-rantful-but-oh-so-true digression about the availability of specifications. Sadly, neither post are available for your reading pleasure, a moderator found them to be "rubbish" and removed them altogether, who obviously doesn't use alternative Operating Systems, never wrote a driver with only uncommented Linux code as reference, doesn't live in France, and never saw a TV set manual from before 1980.
Since my views weren't welcome there, I'll try to at least make them clear here, and either MSI (and other vendors) read them or not, but I'm used to the latter anyway. Please note that was the act of a moderator, which might or might not be part of MSI, nor reflect their own policy (I wish).
On open drivers
Oddly it seems I'm not the only one asking for opensource on that forum... But it seems to be more "politically correct" when it's for GNU/Linux... which usually means the result would be GPL, so unsuitable licence-wise for porting to Haiku, and unportable anyway because no stable driver API in Linux means no way to understand it easily. It's the very reason I directly ported OpenSound System 4 instead of trying at ALSA, as I knew I had no single chance, because it's so tied to Linux.
Those who tried to write a driver using only the uncommented obscure contradictory source code for 5 different linux drivers for the same hardware will know what I mean. Oh yeah, I actually also found a "datasheet"... well, it's quite incomplete and even wrong according to drivers I've seen and tests I made... plus that doesn't cover the CMOS sensor chip connected to it. I recall asking for a datasheet for this one, and actually getting one, though it wasn't of much help either, really.
Of course, people will just say "Why do you ask for specs or opensource drivers ? It's all fully supported by Linux!"
Sure... But:
- Not everyone uses GNU/Linux. Yes, you've had to learn the hard way that there wasn't only Windows, but also GNU/Linux. Now it might be time to learn there is not only Linux in the FOSS world. There are actually many, many "Operating System" (you'll understand that term one day...): AmigaOS, AROS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Minix, Syllable, GNU/Hurd, V2OS, MiNT, ReactOS, FreeDOS, Haiku..., each with their own pros and cons, but each with their own reason of existing in the software ecosystem. Thinking a single OS for everyone is enough is foolish. It's because there are so many different projects with different goals that innovation can really happen, because people exchange ideas and code. That's called technodiversity, and was the conclusion of my talk(fr) at the last RMLL in july...
- Not everyone uses Linux on x86. Yeah you know there are other architectures out there... And since half of the "supported by Linux" hardware is actually supported by the means of a binary blob with an "open" kernel glue, this scam only works on Linux on x86. No problem for x86 motherboards, sure, but well video cards, NICs, wifi cards and others... Just try to use them even in Linux on ppc.
- Sometimes the claimed "support" for Linux just doesn't exist, or is just the bare minimum, and often isn't the fact of the vendor itself but actually the act of developers writing drivers against the very will of the same vendor.
Of course FreeSoftware developers are smart, and devise many strategies to work around this.
- virtualization. Yes of course, you can run Linux on anything that can run vmware, but well if that's not cheating, I don't know what cheating is.
- Linux emulation: FreeBSD has a Linux emulation layer allowing it to run Linux binaries, but that doesn't work for kernel drivers. At least they can run flash player (but that sux anyway).
- Windows emulation (ndiswrapper, mplayer's DLL loader, wine)... but of course, that means it restricts using the driver or application to Linux on x86, and you've just learnt that there is not only x86 around. Also, it is often criticized by FreeSoftware proponents as giving vendors one more excuse for avoiding real open drivers, as "hey you see, it works in Linux now!", which is wrong, depending on the platform you run it.
- Other OS emulation. Haiku for example, has a FreeBSD compatibility layer that allows it to port BSD network drivers quite easily (BSD drivers are often regarded as cleaner, simpler to understand, using a stable driver API unlike Linux, and have a much more permissive licence than Linux' GPL), even though there are fewer than Linux ones.
- Reverse Engineering: That's the most widely used method of providing drivers to Linux and other alternative OSes (not only FOSS ones!). While it sounds great because developers don't rely on vendors, it's really a problem because:
- It once again gives an excuse to the vendor to say "Oh it already works in Linux, you don't need open drivers", even sometimes claiming their "support" for Linux. And usually they just forget about other OSes along the way.
- It wastes precious developer time and resource and money (they must buy many different models to make sure they work), instead of having them work on other useful stuff that could actually bring advantages over competition ("kill apps", or just fixing bugs).
- While it "seems" to work, this time not only on x86, it usually only supporting the minimum features of the hardware, those which the developer really needed, and only that, because it just takes time and money even if (because!) they do that in their spare time.
- Also, because they come from source that cannot be ascertained (reverse engineering is about as much as russian roulette), and even though FOSS devs know their field, there is no single way one can make a guarantee about the correctness of the driver. It might be missing safety checks, making the hardware do weird things, or even destroy it. It stems from this that most vendors "certifying" their hardware on Linux are just certifying the fact they tried to boot it and it works (sometimes not even this), but not the fact that it acts according to the specifications, because those same specifications were not made available. Therefore, many (not all hopefully) hardware vendors certifying Linux are actually making false claims, and might (and should) even be potentially considered responsible for misbehaviour from such drivers.
On schematics of 30 years old TV sets
I suppose some people won't trust me when I say I actually have the full schematics of my parent's TV set, but it's true. It came along with the blue covered user manual, glued to the last page. At that time it wasn't a problem because hardware was meant to be repared, not thrown away on the first issue. It was actually much more ecological, and was even of interest to hobbyists to try to understand how it worked. At that time, there were many publications about RF and TV design, with explained schematics, an actually quite long tradition as even the vacuum tube radio era also had all those schematics published, most of which are still available on the Web. Of course, now TV sets are much simpler, all is crammed into a few ASICs and CPUs... But then again, the datasheets for the 30 years old chips used in the designs were also available, why can't it be true of current dies, whatever size they are ? We can't have regressed that much, can we ? I just hope we won't end up "buying" something with just the usufruct right of using it, not owning the real hardware to be able to adapt it to our real need.
All this is actually also true about computers. Yes, I do have the full schematics for my ORIC Atmos, which were even published in an issue of the french importer's magazine, "Micr'ORIC". And those magazines weren't afraid either of showing source code, often assembler at the time.
On fake trade secrets
If you actually develop drivers you probably know the common reason invoked when asking a company for specifications.
We are sorry, but this is secret trade secret and cannot be disclosed to maintain our competitive advantages.
The most obvious examples are graphics card makers, because they cost more and more, and use more silicium surface each year.
This simply doesn't hold, because:
- That's what patents are for. They provide you a monopoly on the exploitation of an invention for a (quite long by comparison with current technology lifespans) time in exchange for public disclosure of the inner workings of the invention. (Though I should write about that plague that is called software patents one day, but that'd deserve a whole article.)
- Just as with security, the "by obscurity" way didn't, doesn't, and will never work.
- Each competitor in the market (certainly the GPU one) have largely the resources to employ an army of people to reverse engineer each others chip, and certainly does, making this "advantage" moot. Of course FOSS developers don't have this manpower available, so once again, they are the only ones hurt by these unfair practices.
- Besides, mostly those NDA-covered specs are actually an excuse to hide hardware bugs they are just ashamed of anyway, so-called erratas...
A "special" case are WiFi chips. Makers hide behind an FCC ruling, that forbids chip makers from allowing users to use the chip beyond the allowed power for each frequency band. But of course chips now are based on generic circuits that are controlled by the driver which sets the frequency and requested power as it sees fit. Of course, opening the driver or the specs would mean the vendor "deliberately" gives the customer the possibility to break the FCC requirements.
But well, we all know this just doesn't work because in the end someone will rightfully reverse engineer the driver and write an opensource one which will allow it.
Btw, RE is absolutely legal in France, when done for interoperability reasons, which is exactly the case for drivers, and probably in other countries also... And of course the FCC has no jurisdiction in France (but probably there are similar legislation, I didn't check and it's 4am now).
In the end, it's the rights of the purchaser to actually use what they cashed for vs. a rule that will be broken anyway...
On tied sale
When you go to your local store, and want to buy a PC, usually you don't even get asked what you want with it, nor do most people wonder what they want with it.
You usually just buy a working "solution". And that "solution" happens to be a PC, with Windows installed on the disk. Or a Macintosh, with MacOSX installed as well, even though many other OSes run on the Macintosh as well. Most non-tech-savvy people actually don't even know what Windows is, let alone an Operating System. They just want something that they can use. But sometimes, what they need is not actually what they get. Sometimes they would need Linux, or BSD or something else, because it would suit their usage pattern better. But there is no way they can even know about this, because shops are contractually linked to OEMs and Microsoft, and are forbidden to ship with anything else than Windows. The contracts themselves are just secret, so you don't even know what it tells, and what threats are made to OEMs.
All could be well, if Windows was the only OS around, and if it was only available preloaded on PCs, then it would be just logical. But here is the trick: It is also available in boxed version, separately from the PCs. Therefore, it is obviously a distinct product than the PC. The french law, and many others alike, define the act of selling two separate products as a bundle without proposing the option to only purchase one as Tied Sale and clearly forbids it.
Yet all goes unnoticed, because vendors just don't care about "Linux freaks" who rant instead of just using what they are sold. For years, this fight has been disregarded as such by Windows users who just didn't care about their own freedom. Back then, BeOS also suffered a lot from it, and it was probably the major cause of its doom. And Linux didn't receive all the light it deserved. Until recently, where the Vista release actually changed the game. Indeed, long time windows users are starting to see the fight against vendor lock-in with a different angle, as they are getting forced into buying Vista when they still have their XP licence that they paid for and would like to use instead. Ain't it funny ?
The recent appearance of so-called "netbooks" (this term was actually a PSION trademark long ago btw...) seems to have changed the game a bit, but still, returns seem to be higher on Linux devices than XP ones, because people are still so impregnated by Windows they can't imagine something working just a little differently (eh, they even copied the Luna grey Windows decor on the eeePC Linux distribution, isn't that ridiculous ???). And of course, with drivers coming either from binary blobs or RE-ed sources vendors cannot really certify their stuff works with Linux anyway...
On availability of specifications
Now that I explained why open drivers are important, how it already used to be the way we are just asking it to be, why the vendor excuses simply don't hold, and finally why the computer and the OS are two separate products, it should become obvious that providing specification is not only needed, but also a moral (and maybe legal in some countries) right of the purchaser.
I don't know how to make myself understood... I mean, when you buy a tv, you get a manual telling how to use it. When I, as an OS developper, buy a computer, not an OS, I need a manual telling me how to use it. That manual is called the specification. It's the clearest I can be.
Yes, I know mainboard makers don't always have much choice over getting the specs or not. But they have the choice of buying from a chip maker that provides specs, and one that doesn't.
I recall of a sound and video card maker called Guillemot... which when asked to provide specs so others could write Linux drivers for them, replied "We will not provide Linux drivers for now", either not understanding they didn't have to, or just not getting it at all. I actually learnt later that they didn't even have the source code for the drivers of their own video cards, but instead got them readymade from nvidia... How could they just provide support for that ? That's desperating.
On DRM
Along with SATA, which I had to purchase an add-in card to buy a new harddrive because I couldn't find a 500GB IDE one and I didn't like being imposed that, I complained in my forum post about people asking for HDMI. Not because HDMI might be technically better than DVI (which I'm not even sure it is), but because this standard (I'm not even sure it can be called a "standard", is the specification publically available ?) imposes using DRM over it, which is both technically and ethically defective by design.
I've still yet to see any formal (read: mathematical) proof that DRM is actually possible.
Besides, it locks people into using their data on selected hardware, and, of course, selected Operating System(s), which is always welcome by our friends in Redmond and Cupertino. It denies you the very right of actually playing the data. As a trivia, when the French parliament transposed the EUCD (the european worse-than-original DMCA) into French law, then dubbed DADVSI, which of course started 2 days before christmas and was supposed to be done in one night, but ended up being a little longer, the parliament legalized and protected DRMs, forbidding writing software that broke them, therefore getting around my constitutionnally given freedom of speech (software is speech), and even funnier, they wrote in the law, that for each medium, there could be a limited number of copies allowed, which, in the case of DVDs would actually be 0. Yes, you read it, you have the right to make copies of your DVDs in France, as long as it's 0. Much much funnier than Ford's black or black cars, isn't it ?
I really wonder how much we regressed over the years... sure, the complexity of TV sets grew... but so did their design opacity. Same for other hardware.
As for MSI, well, it's probably not their fault, but I'll use another vendor for the time being.
I've just came up with this thought, and wonder why I didn't get it earlier in that formulation... It's so obvious now.
Hardware vendors who do not provide open drivers and specs are accomplices of the OEM imposing tied sale and Microsoft monopoly.
And here is why:
- Not providing open drivers and/or specs implies not allowing FOSS/alternative OSes to get support on par with Windows
- Other OSes not being able to grow proper hardware support prevents them from effectively competing with Windows
- Not being able to compete on par with Windows due to lack of hardware support forbids OEM to eventually propose a viable alternative
As such, all vendors not providing the base requirement for OS developers are as guilty as the one maintaining its monopoly on 90% of the desktop OS market.
Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight, well the remainder of it, at least I feel relieved from something.
Oh, by the way...
Your brain has been tainted by 1 line of SCO code... You can't write Linux code anymore ;-)
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Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
Very good article. I agree with all of it.
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
I like Your articles, mmu_man. You have right!
Thank You!
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
Sad but true
Merci François
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
Well, I don't want to make any advertisement, but there is this Chinese product
I guess you already have heard about the microprocessor, the Chinese one, the longson.
In this page as you see they claim to be completely "open". I quote:
"he world's first fully open hardware/software. All system source(BIOS, kernel, drivers etc.) are open source, no close firmware needed."
However, you know...they are Chinese...
That laptop will compete with the eepc (though they will discontinue models smaller than 10" ) and the price is supposed to be released soon and lower than the eepc surf 4G (around 200 euros).
If anyone is interested I can try to contact them as I am currently living in China and can speak some Chinese. I have read in the Beijing Linux User Group that they were willing to give away some computers (maybe not this laptop). Nevertheless as François said, they might only know Linux.
Qu'est-ce que tu en penses François? (Me French 2 ;) )
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
mmu_man président !
mmu_man président !
mmu_man président !
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
You're my new hero! Very excellent article. +1
There are people actively working to develop open hardware
I feel your pain. I started the Open Graphics Project in 2004 because I was frustrated with the state of open documentation on graphics hardware. Today, with the help of many people participating in the project and the Open Hardware Foundation, we're making some progress. Our ultimate dream is a sizable market of fully-documented hardware. Not only are we developing hardware that is fully documented, but the hardware itself is "open source", so if you want to learn from it, expand on it, or find something we neglected to document, all of the information you need is there. I think after we have achieved some more milestones with OGD1 (our FPGA-based graphics development platform), I'm going to look into my next pet peeve: WiFi.
Check us out:
Oh, and let me not be self-centered here. Check out the Arduino, an open hardware project more successful than the OGP:
Project like this are taking baby-steps right now, so they need your support.
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
Agree, +1
There is an additional issue. This behaviour cannot be broken by letting people know which hardware to buy from manufactorers that can and will support FOSS development when then build a new machine, because many others will deduct from such a list that their hardware isn't capable of running Haiku, and stick to their well known
A little chicken and egg problem (allthough I logically solved that one).
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
+1 That's a pretty fine idea.
Look's like the logo designers lurking here have another challenge!
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
I totally understand your frustration, this is also why I very selectively buy my hardware these days. As a tip, consider the motherboards that are supported by coreboot, generally there is ample information available (reverse engineered or otherwise) about the chipsets and other components.
Couple that with a well-understood videocard like R200 based ATI, or a motherboard with integrated intel video hardware (although, these days most of the ATI chips are well documented by AMD) and you have pretty much the most open system you can buy these days. It should at least come with specs for pretty much everything.
Good luck!
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to hear
Francois Revol wrote: "Besides, there is no way they will release Windows7 drivers for their old hardware anyway... Releasing specs would allow other people to write drivers for them at no cost that they wouldn't ever have done."
But they do not want us to reuse their old cards with the new operating system WinNext using any newmade driver developed inhouse or freely developed by enthousiasts... they want to sell us their new hardware.
Re: Say what you want from us but not what we don't want to ...
Schematics have been on a slippery downhill slope.
My Amiga actually came with schematics, and this is as recent as early 90s.
10 years later, it was still perfectly normal for the motherboard manual for an x86 to actually tell you what the various POST beep sequences meant.
Today .. would you like a 1yr warranty or a 3yr?


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Fred Claus
Release Date: November 9th, 2007
PG|1 hr. 56 min.
Plot Summary
Of the two Claus brothers, Fred (Vince Vaughn) is the troublemaker and polar opposite of his saintly sibling, Nicholas (Paul Giamatti). When Fred's criminal ways finally land him in big trouble, Nicholas bails him out and brings him to the North Pole to work off the debt by making toys. The headaches mount for St. Nick, who not only must deal with his troublemaking brother, but also an efficiency expert who has come to evaluate Santa's operation.
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Spacey, Elizabeth Banks, Kathy Bates
Director: David Dobkin
Genres: Comedy
Distributor: Warner Bros.


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Artists: Steve Jones
What year did you start tattooing: 2008-01-01
Where did you apprentice?: I spent the last 5 years apprenticing myself. With mad props to Enchanted Dragon in Tucson, Az and Geoff Gresham for all their help and support to get me where I am now!
What tattoo artist do you most admire: Joshua Carlton
Before someone gets a tattoo what advice do you give them?: To be sure its what they want and where they want it. And I will not be the first to Tatttoo your face or hands.
How did you get into tattooing: Out of necessity and desire for the art. And thank you so much to my wife for buying my first professional set up.
What inspires you to be an artist: The joy I get from creating what is art in my mind on the canvas' that trust my talent.
What kind of tattoos do you look forward to doing: photo realistic, but still learning that


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Author has written 9 stories for Historical, Life, and Love.
My name is Cheyenne and I am seventeen years old hailing from a small town in Western New York. I have a great joy for history, the written word in general, and the beauty it brings to me. I am no great writer, but I do hope to at least express my views in an intelligent way. Still I am young and not without ambitions, hopes, and even dreams. Most of all I strive to bring my characters to life as best as I can with my limited knowledge and capacity.
I graduate high school on 23 June 2016 and plan on applying to small liberal arts colleges in Virginia in hopes of being accepted. I plan to major in American/Cultural Studies.


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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The intimate held its own against the epic at Sunday's Golden Globes, as the big, thunderous "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" collected a leading four trophies while the small, poignant "Lost in Translation" got three.
"Lost in Translation," a story of two lonely Americans who find friendship in a Tokyo hotel, was named best comedy film. Bill Murray won the first major acting award of his career, winning as best comedy actor, and the screenplay prize went to Sofia Coppola, who wrote, produced and directed the film.
"Return of the King" was recognized as best dramatic film, and Peter Jackson as best director. It also won two musical awards.
"I never realized that seven years on this movie would end up turning me into a Hobbit," Jackson said, referring to the shortish, big-footed magical characters in the J.R.R. Tolkien stories. "To all of the actors, our magical cast, you just gave so much to the movies and equally importantly you made it so much fun to work on."
Among TV nominees, HBO's six-hour adaptation of playwright Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" won five trophies, including best miniseries or TV movie.
Movies garner most attention
But movies gathered most of the attention as Sean Penn collected best movie drama actor for playing an emotionally ravaged father seeking revenge for his daughter's murder in "Mystic River," and Charlize Theron won the drama actress honor for "Monster," the story of a prostitute serial killer.
Theron thanked writer-director Patty Jenkins for believing she could play the role: "There's only so much you can do, but if somebody doesn't give you a chance there is nothing you can do."
He also poked fun at the idea that comedy performers are overshadowed by dramatic stars. "Too often we forget our brothers on the other side of the aisle — the dramatic actors," he said. "I'd just like to say: Where would our war, our miseries and our psychological traumas come from?"
Coppola, collecting the best screenplay trophy, thanked her father — "The Godfather" director and co-writer Francis Ford Coppola, calling him "a great screenwriting teacher."
Diane Keaton as an older woman in love in "Something's Gotta Give" collected a Golden Globe for lead comedy performances. "Getting to play a woman to love at 57 is like reaching for the stars with a step ladder. I know I got lucky," said Keaton.
Preview of Oscars?
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The Hollywood Foreign Press Association event is regarded by many in Hollywood as one of the year's biggest parties, but it's also a way to generate front-runner buzz for the Oscars.
The Globes are distributed by a relatively small group, about 90 journalists who cover entertainment for foreign-based media outlets.
Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger collected supporting movie performer honors.
Robbins' supporting role as a grown child-abuse survivor suspected of murder in "Mystic River" earned him the first trophy of the evening. "Wow! We just sat down. The good thing about this coming early is that I get to drink now," Robbins joked.
Later in his acceptance speech he shouted to director Clint Eastwood: "Clint, you are the man! I have never felt so trusted and in such good hands as when we were on the set for that movie."
Eastwood accepted the drama actor award on behalf of Penn, who did not attend, and described his "Mystic River" star as an actor who has been too often taken for granted.
Besides winning best TV movie or miniseries, "Angels in America" won four performing awards. Co-star Meryl Streep and Al Pacino were picked best TV movie lead performers and supporting TV honors went to Jeffrey Wright and Mary-Louise Parker.
Streep, who was previously onstage to present the award to Robbins, accepted her trophy with a blushing remark: "I just realized you can see completely though my dress."
Angelic award
Among the nominees Wright beat out for supporting TV actor: his "Angels in America" co-stars Ben Shenkman and Patrick Wilson. "I share this with you," he told them from the stage. "But I'll keep it at my house."
Anthony LaPaglia won best drama series actor for the CBS crime show "Without a Trace," while Frances Conroy claimed the drama actress award for the HBO funeral-home show "Six Feet Under."
BBC America's "The Office," which stars co-creator Ricky Gervais as an annoying boss at a British paper merchant, defeated "Arrested Development," "Monk," "Sex and the City" and "Will & Grace" for best comedy show. The critically lauded "The Office" is being developed into an American version.
"I'm not from these parts," said Gervais, who later won best TV comedy actor. "I'm from a little place called England ... We used to run the world before you."
The honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award went to Michael Douglas, whose actor father, Kirk Douglas, received the honor in 1968. "My father couldn't make it here tonight, but if Kirk was here I would acknowledge him for his stamina, for his endurance and for his great sense of material," Douglas said.
Douglas, 59, also thanked another acting veteran, his co-star on the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco," for teaching him about the business. "I will be eternally grateful to Karl Malden for showing me what a work ethic is about," Douglas said, while Malden smiled from the audience.
The Globes event came just two days before Tuesday morning's announcement of the Oscar nominations. The Oscar ceremony is set for Feb. 29, about three weeks earlier than previous years.
© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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By Emily Crowe
Alexis O'Leary is no stranger to working hard to accomplish her goals.
A 2013 graduate of Clovis High School, O'Leary was recently accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and will join the school's freshman class this fall.
After first applying to the academy in 2013, O'Leary was rejected, but received notification that she'd been named a Falcon Scholar. As a Falcon Scholar, she received $5,000 to attend a military preparatory school for one year.
"The Falcon Foundation scholarship guarantees acceptance to USAFA upon completion of a year of prep school," O'Leary said. Being just on the cusp of acceptance, O'Leary opted to attend New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell for one year.
Her acceptance to USAFA still hinged on maintaining As and Bs in all her classes, receiving a second Congressional nomination and completing a condensed application process including retaking ACTs and SATs.
After the intensive second application process, O'Leary finally received her USAFA acceptance letter last month.
"We're just very excited," said Lori O'Leary, Alexis's mother. "She had a huge setback last year when she didn't get in and we were certain she was going to, but I think it's all worked out for the best."
What activities were you involved with here in Clovis and in high school?
I played on the Clovis High School girl's soccer team since my eighth grade year until I graduated in 2013. I played two years on JV and three years on varsity. I also ran varsity track my junior and senior year of high school.
I was very involved at Faith Christian Family Church. I worked in the nursery every Friday night for "date night" and volunteered for any community service project they offered when my schedule allowed.
Why did you decide to pursue an education at USAFA?
I have always had a deep desire to serve in the military and especially the Air Force since both of my grandfathers are retired Air Force, one being an officer.
Like any other university, USAFA offers a great education and athletic program; however, the academy provides military and leadership training as well as providing a great education and athletic programs. The academy teaches time management, provides discipline, instills character and teaches their cadets how to lead.
USAFA is the only place that can prepare me both physically and mentally for serving and becoming an officer in the Air Force.
Tell me about your time at NMMI. Has it prepared you for your education at USAFA?
NMMI has definitely prepared me for life at USAFA. The lifestyle at NMMI is one that is similar to the academy. NMMI has taught me time management. We are overloaded with school work (for both semesters I've taken 19 hours), mandatory formations for breakfast, lunch and dinner, drill (military training), PT (physical training), and weekend training.
We are required to be up by 6 a.m. every morning and be in bed by 10 p.m. every night. The cadet leadership at NMMI is similar to the Academy. After attending NMMI for almost a year now, I feel that I will be well prepared for the physical and academic demands of the Academy.
What else in your life has prepared you for a career in the military?
I have lived a structured and disciplined life since my dad has been in the New Mexico State Police since 2001. I've also been placed in leadership positions on the soccer field and in church youth group.
The honor code, "We will not lie, steal, or cheat. Nor tolerate among us anyone who does," has been my motto my whole life, even though I have not known what USAFA's honor code was until I looked into applying. I have lived by the honor code ever since I can remember and I would like to study the military life and develop a partnership with other future officers who value the motto as much as I do.
What career field do you hope to pursue in the Air Force?
I plan on becoming a pilot in the Air Force, either flying helicopters or C-130s.


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Mapped Atmosphere-Plant-Soil System Study
MAPSS Home > Publications > Abstract: Bachelet et al 1998
Bachelet, D.; Brugnach, M.; Neilson, R. 1998. Sensitivity of a biogeography model to soil properties. Ecological Modelling. 109: 77-98
This paper presents the changes in vegetation distribution and hydrological balance resulting from a change in soils input data to the biogeography model MAPSS (Neilson 1995). The model was run for the conterminous United States using three different sets of soil characteristics: (1) all soils were assumed to be sandy loam; (2) soil characteristics came from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) soils map of the world (FAO 1974-1979) and (3) soil characteristics came from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) National Soil Geographic (NATSGO) dataset. Resulting changes in vegetation distribution appear small on a countrywide basis, but large changes in simulated runoff in savannas, shrublands, and deserts reflect the importance of using the best available soils dataset. In the state of Oregon, a 16-percent relative decrease in forest areal extent is accompanied by an 18-percent relative increase in shrubland when switching from FAO to NATSGO datasets. Conversely, forest cover increases by 24 percent while shrubland extent decreases by 14 percent when all Oregon soils are assumed to be sandy loam. MAPSS vegetation distribution projections were compared to Küchler's potential vegetation map (Küchler 1964). The generalization of all U.S. soils to sandy loam soils decreases the similarity between MAPSS predictions and Küchler's map and is clearly inappropriate.
USDA Forest Service - Pacific Northwest Research Station,
Mapped Atmosphere-Plant-Soil System Study


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Trying to predict the England lineup, particularly for a friendly against Peru, is a thankless task.
Roy Hodgson, who has selected a squad made up of several young and in some cases relatively untested players, will be keen to try out a number of combinations ahead of his side's World Cup campaign starting on June 14.
However, with two more friendly matches—against Ecuador and Honduras—giving him ample opportunity to mix things up, Friday's game may see a starting XI close to that which England will employ against Italy in their first group game of the tournament.
After stuttering through the last few games, Hodgson will be desperate to secure a win in this one.
Here is a predicted lineup for the match using a 4-2-3-1 formation. Feel free to use the comment section underneath to make suggested alterations.


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Winner – Patron's Pick – Vancouver Fringe Festival
Winner – Patron's Pick – Winnipeg Fringe Festival
Winner – Best in Venue (Fringe Hit) – Atlantic Fringe Festival
Winner – Critic's Choice – Atlantic Fringe Festival
Winner - Outstanding Fringe Production - Les Prix Rideau Awards
Winner - Best in Fest - Ottawa Fringe Festival
Winner - Best in Venue - Hamilton Fringe Festival -
Nomination – Best One Person Show – Canadian Comedy Awards
Nomination – Best English Theatre Production – Montreal Fringe Frankie Awards
Nomination – Best Solo Theatre Production – Montreal Fringe Frankie Awards
Nomination - Outstanding New Creation - Les Prix Rideau Awards
Nomination - Emerging Artist (Playwright) - Les Prix Rideau Awards
Nomination - Emerging Artist (Director) - Les Prix Rideau Awards
Since premiering at the Ottawa Fringe Festival in 2011, Roller Derby Saved My Soul continues to charm audiences across the country. The play is an award winning, critically acclaimed, one-woman action-adventure comedy on wheels. It features Amy, a shy comic book geek, and her bossy sister June (both played by Kenny) as they try to navigate through the competitive world of roller derby and learn a little more about themselves along the way.
A twelve-year veteran of the Fringe Festival scene, Nancy Kenny is a fluently bilingual actor, writer, producer with over ten years of social media and arts marketing experience. She is the creator and solo performer of Roller Derby Saved My Soul, which continues to enjoy much success across the country. She also appeared in Edward Allen Baker's Dolores, which she translated into her native French and won the award for Outstanding Drama at the Ottawa Fringe Festival.
Nancy has been producing theatre since 2005, initially as a co-founder of Ottawa's Evolution Theatre, before branching out on her own with Broken Turtle Productions. In her spare time, she can be found on the internet. Most likely blogging or on Twitter.
Learn more about Nancy.
On the Fringe is a feature-length documentary filmed over the course of a four month Canadian Fringe Festival tour. Driving the project is Nancy Kenny who took her hit one-woman show Roller Derby Saved My Soul on the road from May to September 2014.
The film hopes to give audiences a taste of what life is like on the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit; the highs, the lows, the friendships, the drama, the elation of a sold out performance and the fear that no one might come, for all the artists involved. It includes interviews with performers, staff, volunteers, audience members and even a critic or two who help make these festivals happen.
The documentary will be submitted to various film festivals and sold for theatrical and online distribution. Check out our initial trailer on the right.
To learn more about the documentary, the team behind it and how you can help finish this project, visit our website at www.onthefringedoc.com.
Are you a hip and happening company who wants to roll across the country with us? Check out our sponsorship package and see how you can be involved!


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Planning weddings all over the world, from New York City (our home) to Istanbul and everything in between, C&G Weddings has spent the last decade and a half perfecting the art of making planning simple. From the traditional to modern, from sophisticated to relaxed, our eye is on exceptional execution without any stress. We are not just wedding planners, but advocates for our clients at every turn, whether in creating one of our unique Decor Summaries™ or in managing your wedding day from start to finish.
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Bank of America 'Best Positioned' for Trust Preferred Switch
NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- A bitter pill for investors could be a nice earnings boost for for Bank of America.
As required by the Dodd-Frank legislation, the Federal Reserve in June proposed enhanced capital requirements for large banks that exclude most trust preferred shares from regulatory Tier 1 capital. Since this is considered a "capital treatment event," banks have been redeeming their trust preferred shares, even before the call date, often at face value, despite any premium the market previously placed on trust preferred shares paying high dividends.
Regional banks have been quick to redeem the trust preferred shares this year, even though the proposed capital rules phase out the inclusion of most trust preferred equity from Tier 1 capital over a four-year period. Several regionals, including BB&T (BBT) and U.S. Bancorp (USB) , have moved aggressively to redeem their trust preferred shares, while taking advantage of the historically low rate environment to issue lower-paying non-cumulative perpetual preferred shares, which can be included as Tier 1 capital under the new rules.
While it's obvious that the new capital rules are squeezing investors, it's not a complete win for the banks. The banks are indeed getting a wonderful short-term benefit in being able to redeem the trust preferred shares -- even the ones that hadn't reached their call dates -- without paying a market premium, but the increased capital ratios required under the new rules mean that most of the large banks will pay more in dividends on newly issued preferred shares than the interest they are saving on the redeemed trust preferred shares.
This will happen because the new capital ratio requirements are so much higher than the old ones, and the large banks will all look to have preferred shares making up 150 basis points of their Tier 1 capital ratios, since this is the limit under the proposed rules, and the banks prefer to reach this limit, rather than hold additional common equity.
JPMorgan analyst Vivek Juneja on Tuesday said that "on a pro forma fully phased in basis, to account for full TruPS redemption and likely Preferred issuance (including what has been done to date in 2012)," Bank of America (JPM) "America would likely be the only bank with a net EPS benefit in our universe."
Juneja also said that on a fully phased in basis, with all trust preferred shares being redeemed and required perpetual preferred shares being issued to more than make up the difference, Regions Financial (RF) , SunTrust (STI) and Citigroup (C) , "would see higher EPS hit than peers."
Among large regionals, Juneja expects PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) to complete the redemption of all of its trust preferred shares before the end of the year.
Juneja said that "large cap banks have redeemed or announced plans to redeem $38 bil in TruPS in 2012, with interest costs averaging 6.7% - well above deposit and long-term debt rates," and that the redemptions of trust preferred shares have helped net interest margins "hold up better than feared by reducing funding costs to offset some of the decline in asset yields." But trust preferreds that have not yet been called "can no longer be called due to regulatory change - securities will need to reach their call date in order to be eligible to be redeemed," and others "may not be called near term because they are floating rate or hedged and provide attractive low cost long-term debt funding," according to the analyst.


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Trip Start Sep 03, 2007
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Bonjour. An 11 hour Amtrak train ride leaving NY at 0745, including a 1 hr stop at the Canadian border for customs checks. The train route followed the edge (literally) of the Hudson river and the side of the Adirondack Mountains. The many forests were just turning into autumn colours of green, yellow, gold and especially red foliage - a really pretty sight, despite the occasional heavy rain showers. At one track changeover stage we saw a woodpecker sat on a tree branch taking a shower ! There were also herons, cormorants and bald eagles accompanying us at different stages.
Monday, 10th September
Had an easy day walking Old Montreal, especially down by the St Lawrence river in warm autumn sunshine. We visited the neo-gothic Basilique Notre-Dame, a very ornately decorated cathedral with a stunningly colourful and carved wood interior.
Had problems with the ATM's (guichettes ??), some accept English bank cards and some don't - its just like playing the lottery to see whether you eat or not !!! Up to now we eat !!