text:
Hot Trailer: 'Premium Rush'
28 Comments
I think the SPE folks are very smart premiering these on their own site with their own embedded player.
I just wish it worked.
Marketing FAIL.
Sony has apparently never heard of Youtube.
It is on YouTube as well. But it shouldn't have to be. Sony is ahead of the curve here. Using their own servers and their own embedded player that can be posted on sites like this but links back to their website instead of YouTube is the right strategy – even if the execution is a bit of a failure here. A trailer is an ad itself. Why would you want it ruined with banner and popup ads for other crap? Some sites even make you watch a 30 second commercial before watching the trailer! How can so many online marketing people be cool with something like that? And why would they want it degraded by random websites re-encoding it with horrible quality standards. Sony's strategy is right. Premiering a movie trailer is a big deal and it shouldn't be thrown around the web like some swag websites use to sell other advertising. It cheapens the product. In fact I'd almost go as far to say that trailers should be premiered only theatrically at first. I used to look forward to seeing trailers when I go to the theater. Now I know I've already seen them all online. You're not going to blow anyone away and get them as excited to see the movie if they're sitting at their desk at work watching it in a little window on a small screen with the volume turned down low. I have no connection to SPE and am not doing anything with or for them at this time. This is just something I've thought studios should be doing for a long time now for their own long term benefit. It's nice to see someone else agrees with me.
This is a trailer for a fake movie, right? I knew I was being punked! Very funny. Will Ferrell comes out in the third act as Dr. Evil's wilder and crazier brother.
Well done Gav.
Good decision to film in NYC.
Thanks Sam. Wasn't my decision but I'll take credit for it.
damn… been waiting forever for this trailer and was expecting something great. but alas… i'm so let down. i think DK can write his ass off… just can't direct. this looks like a B movie. and i'm a huge JGL fan… rooting for him to become a star, but this just looks like it will appeal to a very niche market. barely.
This looks terrible.
Agreed, talent gone to waste.
Like all the talent involved, but this looks awful. Why are they remaking QUICKSILVER, the Kevin Bacon bike movie from the 80's? Both Gordon-Levitt and Shannon are so much better than this material.
Didn't some poor guy write this years ago and then these people ripped him off? What's happening about that?
Yes the script was called "C.O.D.," it was pretty terrible. I forget who wrote the original draft, Carl Ellsworth re-wrote it as RED EYE with bike messengers. "Deliver this bomb with the bike or we kill your fiance!" (he pedals furiously around town).
It literally was RED EYE beat for beat except it was a dude on a bike and not a chick on a plane.
Anyway the script was dumb, this was the far better of the two.
Hot trailer? More like hot mess. This may be the first Gordon-Levitt movie I do not want to see.
is this supposed to be a re-make of 'quicksilver'?
Possibly the worst trailer of the year, but marketing can't be blamed for that, as it most certainly appears as though they didn't have much to work with. This film looks horrible.
And Joseph Gordon Levitt, for all his attributes, is not a lead man, let alone an action hero.
I'd like to see him and Justin Timberlake headline an action film. As two women. They'd be more believable.
this looks like shit they would make in the 80's.
Looks horrible.
Damn, you people are always so harsh.
For its intended audience (boys 14-30 or whatever) I think this looks good. It certainly looks better than In Time or Abduction IMO.
Agreed. Curmudgeons be damned. Looks fun.
It's like Hackers and Gleaming the Cube all in one… Someone just needs to say "Totally Rad Dude"
wow siiick bike tricks and one liners!
only highlight of the trailer is watching bikers get clipped by a car as they couldn't be more annoying (or law ignorant) in the city.
Tevins – NY Times just published an article (8/20/11) about the original writer, Joe Quirk and his project, I believe was called "Ultimate Rush" …Dan H, you said the project wasn't "great" but I think that's beside the point don't you? Unfortunately, copyright laws are really not set up to protect writers anymore. Maybe they never have. The reality is that writers are not protected by folks lifting your material and I'm not talking about an idea here (since we know "ideas can't be copyrighted")- I'm talking about actual story, character, premise lifting. It's a mess and unfortunately the way we all look at these cases is "oh, well, sucks for the first writer." I sure wish we could change that.
Agree. The film looks fun.
So many haters here. The film was made for young folks. Let it play and see how it comes out.
Agree, it looks fun. I love that JG Levitt looks exactly like a bike messenger.
I don't get the anger. Cubicle rot makes people cranky, I think.
Is this shot in "real time?"
Have you seen the amount of latino kids on fixies? All the hipsters? Plus all of us normal bicycle aficionados, armchair Lance Armstrongs etc? The world is ripe for a bicycle film. In fact, when I saw those NY docu's about messenger bikes, I thought, why hasn't anyone turned this into a movie? I guess it's the US, where anyone with a bike is seen as someone who just can't afford a car… So far, us bicyclists have had to rerun Quicksilver, Breaking Away and American Flyers for the last 30 years. This will be a new welcome addition. The trailer could have been better and less divulging, but I will spend money on this just because it's about bikes. So will every director/producer/DP/industry person in the Fireflies ride probably as well. So will the latino kids. Smart move, not boxoffice hit stuff, but will have a good afterlife.
Agreed. As a NYC cyclist, I was quite thrilled to see this preview, if at least for the subject matter. I didn't find it nearly as awful as others here did. The entire story wasn't divulged, thankfully. I'm glad they actually shot this in NYC instead of in Toronto and then trying to convince the 8 million of us who live in NYC that we're watching a movie taking place in our city when we know damn well that it's not. It's also nice to see—FINALLY!—a Hollywood movie set in NYC that depicts the ethnic reality instead of these completely phony, all-white fantasy depictions.
I may not pay $12 to see it in the theater (unless the reviews are excellent) but I'll enthusiastically look for it on Netflix.
This movie looks fake. Check out a real fixed gear film… "To Live & Ride in L.A." Yes, it's on Youtube too.


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Des Moines, Iowa State Representative Bob Kressig of Cedar Falls today reminded Iowans to make sure their children and grandchildren are properly restrained in cars. According to a new study by the University of Iowa, children under one were properly restrained over 98% of the time. However, 23% of children age 2-5 were not restrained with booster or child safety seats, which is a violation of Iowa law.
Most Iowans are keeping their kids safe and Im proud weve got great compliance with children under one, said Kressig However, as our kids get older it is important to remember that kids under age six still need to use a booster seat or car safety seat to keep them safe. Children from age 6 to 11 must also be buckled up.
The study also found that 25 percent of kids 6-10 were completely unrestrained in the vehicle. The statewide study was conducted by the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC). To conduct the child passenger safety survey, trained surveyors observed over 3,000 children between October and December 2005 in 36 Iowa communities ranging in size from 1,300 to 200,000. The survey was funded by the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
This is really about saving lives, added Kressig We know that children restrained with safety or booster seats are far less likely to be killed in car crashes than those children just restrained with a seat belt.
In 2004, the Iowa Legislature revised the child passenger safety law to require that children must ride in an appropriate rear-facing child safety seat until one year of age and at least 20 pounds. Children between the ages of 1 and 5 must ride in a child safety seat or a booster seat, and in a booster seat and/or seat belt until age 11.
For more information on proper seating and car safety inspections, go to www.jointheclick.org or call Safe Kids Iowa at 1-800-258-6419.

subset: commoncrawl


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My team is new to sharepoint development. We are currently usingSPS2003 and Visual Studio 2005. One of my questions is where do you getthe web part templates to install into VS2005? Also, how do you goabout opening a portal page using VS?I know these are very elementary questions, and I appologize for that.Is there a document somewhere that walks through these steps?
SPS2003 is based on v1.1 of the .Net Framework. Visual Studio 2005 compiles tov2.0 of the framework. The web part templates for SPS2003/WSSv2 are designed forVisual Studio 2003.Editing portal pages is a very complex topic. You *can* edit them in FrontPage2003, but there are issues you should be aware of before doing so. Search forghost/unghost to learn more.
do you know of any documentation that could get us startedin the development of some of our portal pages?
Well, you didn't specify what you are looking for, so it is hard to say for sure.A good starting point may be http://www.intranetjournal.com/sharepoint. Thereare articles that that cover a wide variety of topics.
SPS2003 development was done using Visual Studio .NET. Microsoft nevercreated a set of templates for VS 2005 to be used to create SPS 2003webparts. VS 2005 extensions were created for MOSS 2007. You can createSharepoint 2003 webparts using VS 2005, but it requires a lot of manualeffort. Easier to find an old copy of VS.NET and use that. The templatesfor that are located here:<www.microsoft.com/.../details.aspx-AAD7-B8C41A4991BE&displaylang=en>www.microsoft.com/.../details.aspx-AAD7-B8C41A4991BE&displaylang=en


text:
House of Representatives yesterday summoned the governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello, over the deployment of armed military men to the state assembly.
The lawmakers also summoned the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, to appear before the Committee on Judiciary to explain the involvement of his men in the Kogi Assembly crisis.
The summons followed a motion under matters of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Chukwuemeka Ujam (Enugu-PDP).
In his lead debate, Ujam said that on May 31, masked armed men invaded the Kogi House of Assembly residential quarters, shot into the air and caused pandemonium in an attempt to intimidate members from carrying out their legislative functions.
He alleged that the armed military men that invaded the Kogi State House of Assembly were in company of the security details and escort of the governor.
The lawmaker expressed worry that the governor in defiance of the resolution of the National Assembly continued to patronise a group of five assembly members by forwarding the list of commissioners, special advisers and the budget to them for approval.
Ujam expressed concern that if the impunity was allowed to continue, the crisis rocking the state assembly might result into anarchy and breach of security and threat to lives and property.
In his contribution, the leader of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos-APC) urged the House to seek judicial interpretation to the situation.
He said the development was a clear violation of the resolution of the House.
"It is time for the House to seek judicial interpretation of the constitution as regards the matter.
"The governor has no right to deploy the military to the state assembly. So the question arises as to who deployed the military?
"If we allow any governor to get away with this then the House can never evoke the section of the constitution which empowers it to summon people when the need arises.
"We should investigate who gave him the power to deploy military to the Kogi State Assembly," he added.
He pointed out that it was the responsibility of the police to ensure law and order in the society.
Similarly, the minority leader of the House, Hon. Leo Ogor (Delta-PDP) said the development was confrontational to the powers of the National Assembly and stressed that if allowed, the situation might lead to anarchy in the state.
According to him, ''I lay blame on the Attorney General of the Federation for directing that the Kogi State Assembly be opened even when the National Assembly took over the state assembly activities because of the crisis.
"It is a clear violation of Section 121 of the constitution where only five people out of 21 members will sit down and claim to impeach the speaker.
"This is confrontation on the powers of the National Assembly. The Committee on Judiciary should summon the governor to appear before it for proper explanations," Ogor stated.
House of Representatives yesterday summoned the governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello, over the deployment of armed military men to the state assembly.


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The Echo system was a form of stealth technology developed in the Solarian League.
The system tied in a spacecraft's passive sensors with its own active sensors and communications array so that when a wave packet struck the hull and started back, the ship's own active sensors sent out a perfectly matched packet that was shifted a hundred eighty degrees out of phase, thus cloaking the vessel.
Charles tried to sell it to the People's Republic of Haven in the early 1910s PD. (HHA5.2: AAoW)


text:
Do you want to make Ohio.com your homepage?
By Gina Mace
Special to the Beacon Journal
More than 200 people crowded City Council Chambers within the Natatorium this week to discuss a prayer said before council meetings. (Charles Mader/Ohio.com file photo)
Click here to read or leave a comment(s) on this story.
It is hard to be "chill" at Chill Artisan Ice Cream Co.


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What do I need to know about Affinbank Home Assist Plus?
Home Assist Plus is flexi mortgage created for buying properties valued at less than RM200000. Subject to application and approval Affinbank offer to finance up to 90% of the value of your house for up to 35 years (or until you reach 65 years of age, whichever is sooner). An additional 5% can be borrowed for setting up zero moving cost if you need to finance MRTA, legal fees, evaluation fees, and stamp duty.
Affinbank's low cost mortgage provides a great deal of flexibility in your monthly payments, allowing for over-payment when you can afford it. Excess cash paid into your home loan account reduces the amount of interest you are charged, and the extra balance can then be withdrawn as and when you need extra funds. You can also link the excess payments to an overdraft account for easy access to that extra cash in an emergency.
What are my obligations?
As with most home loan products sold in Malaysia it's important to remember that the money you borrow with Home Assist Plus is secured on your house - if you don't make your repayments you run the risk of losing your home. That's an obligation you don't want to miss.
If at any time you think you're going to have trouble making your mortgage payment, talk to the bank. They'll be glad to hear from you and in most cases, happy to work with you to sort things out.
What does the mortgage insurance cover?
Group Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance ( MRTA) is optional, but highly recommended. MRTA protects you against the risk of losing your family's property due to accident, injury, illness and the like.
What are the risks?
The interest rate on this loan may change as it is fixed to the BR. An increase in Base Rate will mean you pay more interest on your mortgage. Loans that are already approved and extended prior to January 2, 2015 will still follow the old BLR until the end of the loan tenure.
Why should I choose the Affinbank Home Solution Plus?
There are some really good benefits with this home loan.
- Long Tenure: Length of loan is the maximum allowable in Malaysia - 35 years.
- Flexibility: You can pay extra when you can afford to, reducing your interest charges.
- Excess Cash: If you pay extra you can withdraw excess cash as and when you need it.
- Daily Compounded Interest: If you make excess repayments throughout the month, your daily interest rate charge decreases
What documents do I need when I make this home loan application?
Salaried applicant:
NRIC photocopy
Latest 3 months salary slip
Latest 3 months bank account statement
Latest 6 months commission statements (for commission earners)
Latest pension fund statement (for pensioners)
Latest EPF statement
EA form or Borang B supported by tax payment receipt
Letter of Employment
Sales & Purchase Agreement/ Booking receipt from developer
Valuation report
Copy of the Title Deed
Self-employed applicant:
NRIC photocopy
Latest 6 months bank statement
Latest Borang B supported by tax payment receipt or E-Filing
From 24 & 49
Latest Profit & Loss Account or Management Account
Sales & Purchase Agreement/ Booking receipt from developer
Valuation report
Copy of the Title Deed


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Germany Plans Toll For Foreign Drivers
The German government has agreed to establish a toll for driving on the country's highways. The catch is that it will apply to everyone but, of course, Germans.
For people living in surrounding countries, that means paying a toll to drive on the high-speed autobahn among other roads. Germany is searching for ways to fund repairs to its aging infrastructure, but the plan has neighboring countries up in arms. Austria's transport minister is threatening to sue Germany in the European Court of Justice. The tolls would raise an estimated 260 million Euros
Other European countries charge tolls and Germany is arguing that its citizens pay to drive in other countries. Meanwhile, Germany is left paying to maintain roads used by non-residents that aren't contributing to their upkeep.
It isn't clear how Germany would go about enforcing the new structure, but compulsory windshield stickers could serve as permits. Citizens could be issued the stickers while foreigners would be charged a fee.
[Source: Bloomberg]


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Lots of fights on the discussion pages about whether we should call the different world a "flash sideways" or "alternate timeline." It's a mistake to have that argument, as the solution is simple and is already on the Lost web site. The 'flash sideways' events are the transitions that take you to the 'alternate timeline'. Flash sideways is a verb, while alternate timeline is a noun. To even argue about which to use is to be confused about the language.
The Lost web page [[1]] backs up this analysis. They refer to transitions between timelines as 'flash sideways'. When you hear that wooshing sound to the other timeline, you are experiencing the 'flash sideways'. That's a verb, it's something that is happening. This event takes you to the alternate timeline, alternate to the one you were just watching. The word alternate timeline is a noun.
Some have protested that calling one an alternate timeline is a mistake, as we can't give one priority over the other. That is a mistake. Nobody is saying one is an alternate, one is the main. They are both alternatives that we switch between via flash sideways events.
Why are people make this so complicated? Yes, the phrase 'flash sideways' is totally lame, but we are stuck with it. But the web site also makes clear that these events flip you between alternate timelines.
Enough. Link here in the discussions if you agree. :)
Note one implication of this fact: we can't call the no-crash timeline the "alternate" timeline. Even calling it the "parallel" timeline is a mistake, they are both parallel to one another, alternates to one another like yin/yang. So we need to have names. On the original page I suggested the 'crashless' versus 'crash' timelines, admittedly ugly. But we need a language to talk about this so if anyone has better names for the two timelines that would be cool.


text:
On this Easter, like others, I think about resurrection—but this day, strangely, how it should apply to the news media. Three years ago, I wrote largely-overlooked ebook Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers. The concept germinated from my June 2009 essay "Iran and the Internet Democracy", following protests in the…Read More
The News I Choose
Strange isn't it, the quotes that cling to you. In August 2009, the New York Times rightly asked: "What's a Big City Without a Newspaper?"—when many reputable reporting organizations contemplated erecting paywalls after too long bleeding advertising revenues to the Google Free Economy. Journalist Michael Sokolove interviewed Brian Tierney, who then led a group trying to…Read More
Where News Reporting Bias Replaces Fact-Gathering
The inauguration of Donald Trump as 45th President of the United States continues the fine tradition [sarcasm] that became commonplace news reporting following his election victory: Advocacy over accuracy. In my book Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers—and on this website—I explain there is a legitimate role for advocacy…Read More
You've Been Misled About Fake News
I am ashamed and embarrassed to be a journalist. This past week's coordinated attacks on so-called fake news sites—largely orchestrated by the mainstream media and supported by Internet gatekeepers like Google and social media consorts such as Facebook or Twitter—is nothing less than an assault on free speech by organizations that should protect it. They blame…Read More
Facebook, Mainstream Media, Confirmation Bias, and the Trump Trauma
Lots of Americans, like those out here in liberal-leaning, Hillary Clinton-supporting California, are suffering what I call the "Trump Trauma". They were sure she would win, easily, and are shocked at the unexpected outcome. It's all disbelief, like someone suddenly died without warning. They were unprepared and now mourn the death of the Clinton candidacy. How…Read More
CNET Expunged My Byline–and I Don't Feel Fine
I made a rather startling discovery yesterday while looking for one of my old CNET News stories: My byline has been removed and changed to Staff. Not on just the one, but all. That ends any historical record reporting for the early tech website—from 1999-2003. While others sites I wrote for during 2003-2009 have vanished,…Read More
The Day Journalism Changed
In the annuals of American journalism, few moments are more seminal and status-quo shattering than Diamond Reynold's live report of a police shooting on July 6. She deserves the Pulitzer Prize.Read More
Why We Need Gawker
I love tabloids like the NY Daily News or New York Post. The editorial style is aggressive; reporting is accurate but snarky-authentic; and headlines typically are punchy and bold. These pubs also push boundaries that more traditional, staid—and, honestly, hoity-toity—papers like the New York Times often won't. Gawker Media blogs adopt similar scoop style appropriate…Read More
Litigation Censorship, Gawker, and the End of the Free Press
I am super grumpy today. Angry. No—thoroughly pissed off at billionaire bully Peter Thiel's vendetta litigation financing that resulted in today's bankruptcy filing by new media journo Gawker Media. Thiel plunked down, admittedly, at least $10 million to back Hulk Hogan's breach-of-privacy lawsuit, which resulted in a $140 million jury judgement against the blog network…Read More
Defending Gawker
What do you say about milk-curdling success? Dilbert-creator Scott Adams liked one of the tweets (posted by another team member) on our Frak That Twitter today. I am less enthused and disagree with Scott's blog post spotlighting similar topic: Billionaire backing third-party lawsuit against a news organization; Peter Thiel's previously secret assault on Gawker Media. "Gawker's business model…Read More
Be Careful What You Wish For, Mr. Thiel
A report available today from Pew Research Center finds that 62 percent of American adults "get news on social media, and 18 percent do so often". Those statistics should frighten new and old media, but more so critics like billionaire Peter Thiel, who bankrolled wrestler Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker; the blog and news site lost.…Read More
BBC's 'Bathroom Bill' Story is the Worst Kind of Journalism
This analysis is not a commentary about North Carolina's controversial bathroom law, but the irresponsible and unethical news reporting about it. I am appalled by the headline and dek of a BBC story posted earlier today. Quoting the latter: "North Carolina is suing the U.S. Department of Justice over its attempts to bar the state…Read More


text:
As the end of the year is approaching rapidly, we
would like to take this opportunity to present a short re-cap of 2013 and thank
the ETIS Members for all the dedication, hard work and contributions that made
2013 such a great success. This year, ETIS has held close to 20 Working Group
meetings and that is without taking into account our annual ETIS Community
Gathering. We are very fortunate to have members who are willing to go to great
lengths to be able to attend ETIS meetings even in times of many travel
restrictions. This has positively reflected on our attendance levels,
demonstrating that what we do brings value and is worth the effort and time you
all put into ETIS.
We have also welcomed a new working group into our
fold and the CERT-SOC Telco Network has quickly become a very active, engaged
and important group. The members of the group are in frequent contact and have
really adopted the available tools to share knowledge and experience online
through the Members Corner, during dedicated conference calls (24 altogether!)
and two physical meetings. Throughout the year we have also maintained our
usual benchmarking activities and increased our ability and tools to conduct
studies and surveys of various depth and focus, as well as compile relevant
best practices.
On the member front, we are very pleased to announce
that Telefonica Czech Republic is now part of the ETIS community as a full
member and hosted an Enterprise Architecture meeting during the Spring. We also
have three new associate members in Calvi, Openet and Redknee who have joined
at various times during the year. Within a short period of time, all three are
already perceived as a great resource of experience and ideas available to our
members across multiple working groups and we are looking forward to their
contributions in 2014.
During the summer of 2013, ETIS also witnessed a
passing of the leadership torch with Tora Tenden stepping down as the long-time
Chairman and the election of Wim de Meyer from Belgacom as the new ETIS
Chairman. We would all like to express our gratitude to Tora Tenden for the
many years of service to our organisation and at the same time welcome Wim De
Meyer into his new position.
As every year, in October, ETIS also brought together
most of our Working Groups at the Community Gathering 2013, which took place in
Riga, Latvia and was kindly supported by Lattelecom and Gold Sponsor Ericsson.
The event brought together more than 140 people from 57 companies and offered
an inspirational look into the future of opportunities, challenges and
implications of the next wave of disruptive innovation in the IT world. We
already have the date and location of the ETIS Community Gathering 2014 which
will take place in Budapest on 16-17 October.
Last but not least, ETIS is pleased to announce it has
launched its new ETIS Website & Members Corner with the goal of creating a
more social, dynamic and collaborative online community that encourages a culture
of 'empowerment' and 'sharing'. This effort will also be supported by a new
iPhone and iPad app that will be launched in early 2014 to provide quick and
easy access to many of the great knowledge sharing & social networking
features of the new Members Corner while our busy members are 'on-the-go'. We
hope that you will take advantage of the possibilities offered by this new
Website to connect and share even more knowledge in between the WG meetings.
On behalf of the ETIS Central Office, we wish you all
a very happy and peaceful holiday season. We are looking forward to meeting all
of you soon in 2014 that will surely bring a lot of interesting meetings and
plenty of knowledge sharing among our members. Sharing knowledge is our
11/07/2017Futurist Rudy de Waele will be the keynote speaker at the Community Gathering in Tallinn
30/06/2017ETIS Ambassador: a new role within our ETIS community!
05/10/2017ETIS Community Gathering 2017
Sharing knowledge is our strength ...


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The Fighting Pit(2006)
(The second book in the Bear Kingdom series)
A novel by Michael Coleman
Following on from The Howling-Tower, this is the second story in this fantastic trilogy that really breaks boundaries with its original content and strong voice. After escaping the Howling-Tower with Mops, Benjamin is determined to find out where his parents are, after hearing stories about them. But the two friends are unable to avoid capture again, and after witnessing the cruelty of the gallow-boat, where he finds his father as one of the saps used to power it, they are taken to be pet-saps by King Antonius and Queen Dearie. When Benjamin rebels violently against the Queen's cruel attempts at obedience training, Benjamin finds himself facing a worse horror than he ever could have imagined! What will be the future for him and Mops?
Used availability for Michael Coleman's The Fighting Pit
See all available used copies of this book at Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Paperback Editions
October 2006 : UK Paperback
|Title: The Bear Kingdom: The Fighting Pit
Author(s): Michael Coleman
ISBN: 1-84616-214-9 / 978-1-84616-214-5 (UK edition)
Publisher: Orchard Books
Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA
Kindle Editions
February 2011 : USA, Canada, UK Kindle edition
|Title: The Fighting Pit (The Bear Kingdom)
Author(s): Michael Coleman
Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA
Genre Pages


text:
Download the Game Design and Indie Game Marketing Freebook 07/19/17GameDev.net and CRC Press have teamed up to bring a free ebook of content curated from top titles published by CRC Press. The freebook, Practices of Game Design & Indie Game Marketing, includes chapters from The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, A Practical Guide to Indie Game Marketing, and An Architectural Approach to Level Design. The GameDev.net FreeBook is relevant to game designers, developers, and those interested in learning more about the challenges in game development. We know game development can be a tough discipline and business, so we picked several chapters from CRC Press titles that we thought would be of interest to you, the GameDev.net audience, in your journey to design, develop, and market your next game. The free ebook is available through CRC Press by clicking here. The Curated Books The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, Second Edition, by Jesse Schell Presents 100+ sets of questions, or different lenses, for viewing a game's design, encompassing diverse fields such as psychology, architecture, music, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, anthropology, and more. Written by one of the world's top game designers, this book describes the deepest and most fundamental principles of game design, demonstrating how tactics used in board, card, and athletic games also work in video games. It provides practical instruction on creating world-class games that will be played again and again. View it here. A Practical Guide to Indie Game Marketing, by Joel Dreskin Marketing is an essential but too frequently overlooked or minimized component of the release plan for indie games. A Practical Guide to Indie Game Marketing provides you with the tools needed to build visibility and sell your indie games. With special focus on those developers with small budgets and limited staff and resources, this book is packed with tangible recommendations and techniques that you can put to use immediately. As a seasoned professional of the indie game arena, author Joel Dreskin gives you insight into practical, real-world experiences of marketing numerous successful games and also provides stories of the failures. View it here. An Architectural Approach to Level Design This is one of the first books to integrate architectural and spatial design theory with the field of level design. The book presents architectural techniques and theories for level designers to use in their own work. It connects architecture and level design in different ways that address the practical elements of how designers construct space and the experiential elements of how and why humans interact with this space. Throughout the text, readers learn skills for spatial layout, evoking emotion through gamespaces, and creating better levels through architectural theory. View it here. Learn more and download the ebook by clicking here. Did you know? GameDev.net and CRC Press also recently teamed up to bring GDNet+ Members up to a 20% discount on all CRC Press books. Learn more about this and other benefits here.
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About Xeeynamo
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in General and Gameplay ProgrammingThat code doesn't work because I'm using C++03. Meanwhile I tried to find a solution and seems that finally I found it! http://pastebin.com/Ngntpevu I copied the pointer of A::Create and B::Create in the array and I call them when necessary. But the problems doesn't ends here, this works with MinGW compiler, but not with MVCPP one. The error is C2440: 'IObject *(__thiscall A::* )(void)' to 'IObject *(__thiscall *)(void)'
Xeeynamo posted a topic in General and Gameplay ProgrammingI know that maybe it's not the proper title, but I have some difficulties to understand how to explain the problem in a short line. Basically I'm creating a framework with an high level of abstraction. I'm searching a decent way to create an initialization part where I describe how every object should works and a way to get that description to create the object from the index specified. I need to create some complex objects with the same structure but with different attributes. I have found a way but it seems not efficient: #include <stdio.h> class IObject { public: virtual IObject* Create() = 0; virtual void Main() = 0; }; class A : public IObject { public: IObject* Create() { return new A; } void Main() { printf("A"); } }; class B : public IObject { public: IObject* Create() { return new B; } void Main() { printf("B"); } }; size_t objCount = 0; IObject* objList[0x10]; void AddObject(IObject* o) { objList[objCount++] = o; } void RemoveAllObjects() { while(objCount) delete objList[--objCount]; } IObject* CreateObject(int index) { return objList[index]->Create(); } void Main() { IObject* a = CreateObject(0); IObject* b = CreateObject(1); a->Main(); b->Main(); delete a; delete b; } int main() { AddObject(new A); AddObject(new B); Main(); RemoveAllObjects(); } AddObject add the object description and associate it with an index, CreateObject should create it. It works, but the problem is that with AddObject I'm creating two objects that they will be never used. I'd like to to something like AddObject(A), AddObject(B) without to create them, next create for the first time for example the object B calling CreateObject(1), without to have a startup object where to take informations about how to use the memory. I want it totally dynamic, I won't use a switch(index) { case 0: return new A; etc. So, it's possible to create something like a Class list instead of an object list?
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingI read carefully all the replies, thanks for the tips. I learned OpenGL 1.1 and 2.1 some time ago, but I don't now many things of Direct3D9 (for example the possibility to specify the vertex declaration without using FVF), the global shader uniforms (thanks mhagain for this information) and others. Fortunately the framework will be pretty tiny, it will support a single vertex and fragment shader (directly compiled and used during the initialization until the end of the application), specify the view matrix only during window resizing, no world matrix (I'm translating all the vertices from CPU side for specific reasons); the only thing that the framework should do, is to initialize the rendering device, set the view, create and/or load the texture and accept indexed vertices. I think that the "preferred API" can be a choice in application / games that requires a lot of performance with heavy 3D models and effects. So until now, I've a virtual class with these members: GetDeviceName(), Initialize, SetClearColor(float, float, float), RenderBegin (handles glBegin or pd3d9->BeginScene if it's fixed pipelne), RenderEnd (glEnd or pd3d9->EndScene() with the swap of the backbuffer), SendVertices(data, count, primitiveType), CreateTexture(id&, width, height, format), UseTexture(id) and SetView(width, height). All the works from the render device (like shader creation, uniform assignments, stores various textures in a single big texture, vertices caching, texture filtering, render to texture (glcopyteximage2d should works with GL 2.1<) etc) will be transparent, like a black box. The framework works fine with rotated sprites, cubes etc, the only weird thing that I noticed is that Direct3D9 handles the colors as ABGR and OpenGL as ARGB, but I can imagine that shaders will cover this issue. So with big projects, a preferred API is chosen and during portings these APIs are wrapped, right? This remember me that Final Fantasy 1 for Windows Phone is a porting of Android version that it's also a porting of the iOS, that finally it's a porting of PSP version, in fact the game is... horrible. In cases of powerful engines that promises high performances like Unity, UDK etc, they program it directly with the low-levels things and during the porting they change most of the code without to wrap the original API?
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingYes, I found the vertex declaration more flexible than FVF. How D3D supports individual attributes? And how I can say if the GPU prefeer packed or individual vertices attributes? Seems that OpenGL manages better in a way, Direct3D9 in another way. I found the D3D9 compatibility mode here. This can be a solution obviously, but can be overweight as works in cases of a lot of vertices. Currently I'm creating a lot of vertices at runtime that handles sprites with XYZ coords, UV coords, colors and a value that points to the palette index (the value is processed by the fragment shader).
Xeeynamo posted a topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingHi, I'm currently working on an abstraction layer between Direct3D9 and OpenGL 2.1. Basically there is a virtual class (the rendering interface) that can be implemented with D3D9 or GL21 class. The problem that I have is that I don't know how to store and send the vertices. D3D9 provides FVF where every vertices contains position, texture uv and color in a DWORD value. OpenGL handles the single vertices' elements in different locations of memory (an array for position, an array for texture uv and an array for color in vec4 float format). Basically I want an independent way to create vertices, the application should store them in a portion of memory, then send them all at once to the render interface, but how? I know that OpenGL can handle the vertices in D3D compatibility mode (with glVertexAttribPointer, managing stride and pointer value) that seems to be slower than the native way, but how to manage for example the colors? D3D9 accepts a single 32-bit value in integer format, OpenGL manages it in a more dynamic (but heavy) way, storing each color's channel in a 32-bit floating point value. In this case I can handle the 32-bit integer value inside the vertex shader and then convert it in a vec4 right? But all these operations seems to be too heavy. In the future I want that this abstraction layer is good enough to implement other rendering engines like Direct3D11, OpenGL ES 2.0 and others. So my main question is: there is a nice way to abstract these two rendering API without to change the rest of the code that uses the rendering interface?
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingOkay, in these days I rewrote the entire sprite system. I'm using a pre-calculated unsigned short array for vertex indices and I'm copying the four vertices for each sprite in an array that is used as a cache. Now the framework reaches 997 fps with 20000 triangles. I'm currently using glVertexPointer and glDrawElements due to OpenGL 2.1 compatibility. I'm binding only one texture per frame. I discovered that the rendering isn't really CPU-limited, in fact I overclocked my video-card (it was in under clock to save power) and the framework reaches 1800fps. For VBO I don't understand exactly how to initialize and use it properly, it isn't the same thing to cache all the vertices in main memory then send all together before to call SwapBuffers? I forgot also to mention that more or less the 90% of the vertices changes every frame, so caching them inside the video-card has't a great effect... Also I don't understand how to buffer the uniforms and how to use them. It's possible also to avoid the glBindTexture? I know that I can upload the textures in a single big texture, but I'm asking if there is another way to switch with a batch/buffer the texture binding.
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingIf you gave us more details about the way you have measured the time, maybe we could find the cause. SwapBuffers is not a time-consuming instruction. The reason it take time is waiting for drawing to finish. That implies your measured time is incorrect. How did you measured it? I'm measuring it with gDEBugger, setting SwapBuffer as end-of-frame. With the profiling of Visual Studio, I can see clearly that SwapBuffers takes the 50% of the CPU in a single frame.
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingI did some tests: 1) Call glVertexAttribPointer and glDrawArrays with GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP for every sprite (the original mode before to create this post), reaches 498fps. The stride here is 0, this mean that vertex position, texture position and color are in separate structures. 2) Cache the vertices in an array of 1024 structures. I'm copying the vertices that I'm passing to the cache with a memcpy. When the array is full, the content is drawn with glVertexAttribPointer and glDrawElements with GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP. I'm indexing the vertices here. The stride is 0. 589fps!!! 3) Same as above, but vertex position, texture position and color are on the same structure, this mean that I need to call memcpy to copy the sprite model, only once. I was expecting an improvment. 399fps. 4) Same as 4, but this time I'm unpacking the vertices from GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP to GL_TRIANGLES. I'm passing the 4 vertices and a function unpack them to 6 vertices. With this I don't need of indexed vertices. This takes much memory but the fps reached are 562! 5) Same as 3, but this time I'm using VBO: only 270fps. 6) Same as 4 but with VBO: 278fps. Supposing that I'm not doing nothing's wrong, the best mode is the second. It doesn't take much memory and the indexing mode is easy to do. With this I can hardcode some basic models and indexing them. The vertex unpacking from STRIP to LIST can takes a lot of resources and it doesn't improve so much. I should avoid the structures all-in-one (I read from OpenGL documentation that it's implemented for D3D compatibility) and stores every attrib in a separate structure. For some reason, VBO decrease the performances and with this, SwapBuffer takes a lot of CPU. However all this methods are CPU-limited, because the GPU isn't totally used. Much of the CPU is drawined by memcpy and SwapBuffer. EDIT: I tried the same tests with the same software without edits on another computer that handle a Intel HD3000 (the first tests run on a Radeon 4870HD): 62, 178, 124, 163, 97, 207fps. VBO with triangle list is much faster this time. I'm starting to be confused...
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingOkay, I reduced the uses of shaders to one only and I've implemented the uses of VBO. I'm unpacking the triangle strip to a triangle list into a structure with 512 * sizeof(Vertex) size. I'm building and drawing the VBO when the structure is filled with this: glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, m_vertexcacheIndex * sizeof(SuperVertex), m_vertexcache, GL_DYNAMIC_DRAW); glVertexAttribPointer(vert_position, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, sizeof(SuperVertex), BUFFER_OFFSET(0 * sizeof(float))); glVertexAttribPointer(vert_texture, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, sizeof(SuperVertex), BUFFER_OFFSET(3 * sizeof(float))); glVertexAttribPointer(vert_color, 4, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, sizeof(SuperVertex), BUFFER_OFFSET(6 * sizeof(float))); glDrawArrays(GL_TRIANGLES, 0, m_vertexcacheIndex); m_vertexcacheIndex = 0; where m_vertexcacheIndex is the vertices count inside th structure, m_vertexcache is the structure itself and supervertex is the structure definition. I debugged the software with gDEBugger, before VBO I was doing 12k gl calls per frame, now only 120 calls but I have bad performances. Before 720fps, now 350...
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingSo if I have 100 sprites I should send 100 view model matrix with glUniformMatrix4fv and select them with gl_VertexID/4? I'm not sure what you mean by this, but maybe what you want is instancing. Uniform buffers make sharing easy. Yes, I mean instancing (I saw what instancing is it only now). Do you recommend me to send matrices in an uniform array or in a texture?
Yes, my laptop with a Intel Atom Z supports only OpenGL 2.1. My real goal is to have a multi-platform framework, with OpenGL 2.1/3.0+/ES1.0/ES2.0 and probably also DirectX 11 for W8 and WP8. OpenGL 3.0 offers great improvements and cool stuff (one of these things that I wanted is "rendering to texture") but I'm not excluding the old platforms :)
Xeeynamo posted a topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingHi, I'm interested on a bit of theory about the best methods of optimization for OpenGL 3.0 (where a lot of function became deprecated). On my current 2D framework, every sprite has own program with own values inside the uniform. Every sprite is draw separately and, now that I switched from 2.1 to 3.0, every sprite has own matrix Projection and View. Now my goal is to batch most vertexes possible and these are some ideas: 1) Use only one program for everything. The projection matrix is one, i can group the vertexes and send via glVertexAttribArray the values for shader and draw everything with one call. The problem is the model view matrix, that should be one for every vertex and this isn't the thing that I want because every sprite has own matrix. 2) Continue to use various shader. The projection matrix is shared between programs (how can I do it?), every sprite has own shader with own model view matrix and uniform values. The problem here is that I need to switch the program between sprite draws. None of these ideas work as I expected so now I'm here to ask you what is it the most efficient way to batch drawings in OpenGL 3.0.
Haha that's it? It works fine :D thank you!
Xeeynamo posted a topic in Graphics and GPU ProgrammingHi, I'm converting my application from using OpenGL 2.0 to OpenGL 3.0. I was using glVertexPointer, glTexCoordPointer and glColorPointer to send the vertices to the GPU and when I doesn't need of Color, I simply disabled it with glDisableClientState(GL_TEXTURE_COORD_ARRAY), so the GPU set gl_Color from vertex shader is white by default. Now I'm using glDisableVertexAttribArray to disable the vertices and glVertexAttribPointer to send stuff and now comes the problem. glDisableVertexAttribArray(COLOR) set black the color by default in vertex shader! Now I won't fill all the vertices of 1.0f and force to enable the color, so I'm asking you if there is a way to not send the color where it doesn't required without to use particular tricks (like to create a fragment shader for color stuff and another fragment shader to the texture-only stuff). My shaders looks like this: #version 330 core varying vec3 texcoord; varying vec4 vertex_color; in vec4 in_Position; in vec4 in_Color; in vec4 in_Texture; void main() { gl_Position = in_Position; texcoord = in_Texture; vertex_color = in_Color; } #version 330 core uniform sampler3D texture varying vec3 texcoord; varying vec4 vertex_color; void main() { vec4 precolor = texture3D(texture, texcoord); precolor *= vertex_color; gl_FragColor = precolor; }
Xeeynamo replied to Xeeynamo's topic in Graphics and GPU Programming(layer+.5f) / textureDepth resolved the problem! It's a good idea to take the Z in the middle of the texture! However I'm using a GeForce 620M. There are no possibilities that textureDepth is 0 due to some checks (textureDepth is a private member in my class)


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"Fail fast, fail cheap."
The words were spoken at Bank Innovation 2016 by Marley Gray, director of strategy for cloud and enterprise blockchain at Microsoft, but he was echoing a theme that reverberated throughout the entire conference.
In other words, when JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon said "Silicon Valley is coming," he might have been talking about software development strategies rather than business threats.
Green Dot CEO Steve Streit led the charge, saying, "You have two methodologies in banking, agile and water-fail." The waterfall methodology refers to sequential processes all moving in the same direction toward a goal. Agile, by contrast, favors rapid iterations, leading to failures, perhaps, and changes of direction, certainly.
Streit described Green Dot's core tech stack, built for its GoBank checking account product, but which now underlies all its offerings and allows for rapid product development. 2015 saw Green Dot launch a host of new products — its GoBusiness account for small businesses, a new Walmart Moneycard (described by Streit as GoBank with a different skin), its Everyday Visa debit card, and a cashback debit card. 2016 will see a new MoneyPak product, a secured credit card, and Green Dot Money, a marketplace for personal loans.
Agile indeed.
Banks should not shy away from innovative product development out of fear of the regulators. "There's nothing in bank regulation that says your product has to be boring," Streit said.
Failing fast was also advocated by Dan Kimerling, head of R&D with Silicon Valley Bank, who said a week might be enough time to see if a product has a future with his team. Miranda Hill, vice president and manger of product management with Wells Fargo Labs, also said her team wanted fast failures, meaning weeks rather than months or years.
Celent's Dan Latimore thought "testing" was preferable to saying "failing." He tweeted,
We should reframe #bank#innovation away from "failure" and re-orient toward "hypothesis testing." #BISeattle16
— Dan Latimore (@DanLatimore) March 1, 2016
That could be a change that would make many bankers more apt to "go agile."1 - Reader Likes This Post


text: I'm going to skip the Pro-Bowl talk... unless you seriously want to know why those are silly questions. A better question would be, why was Tyron an All-Pro this year and Williams wasn't (this year or ever)? And your pressure numbers are way off. 6 Pressures a game would be about 20 more than the worst tackle in the league. Even 3.6 a game would be among the 10 worst in the league. Tyron: 31 total pressures surrendered, 1.9 per game Williams: 35 total pressures surrendered, 2.1 per game It's worth mentioning that Williams gave up 8 sacks last season to Tyron's 1. That's right. 1 single sack over the course of the season, which is best in the league for tackles that played at least half of their teams stats.


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|dressed for the flower festival in San Pellegrino
Pauline Stiles was a rare American visitor to Viterbo a century ago who penned an uncomplimentary description of the San Pellegrino medieval quarter of Viterbo in her book "New Footsteps in Old Places" (1917).
She described the quarter as a dark, mysterious and smelly place with ."....an odor that disgusts one's olfactory sense so completely that the others hardly survive!"*
|crowds at the Duomo and Papal Palace
Times have changed over the century and the droves of visitors to the San Pellegrino flower festival (May 1-4) were thrilled with the colors and perfumes that wafted through the narrow medieval streets and piazzas decked with flowers.
|a beautiful piazza and B&B
Surely there were many American and other foreign visitors in Viterbo from May 1st to 4th who enjoyed the highlights and novelties of this year's San Pellegrino's festival.
Were you one of them? What piazza or corner did you like best?
|medieval shards at the tiny St. Rosa Venerini museum
I noticed a definite improvement on the past editions of the festival, with dozens of new stands and activities that the thousands of visitors much appreciated.
|new bookshop near Duomo
|orchids decorate Piazza della Morte
|with Irene, head of Viterbo's Pro Loco, Davide and Franco
|a gurgling fountain
|sleepy cat ignores tourists
|medieval arches and colorful flowers
|with sculptor Morucci
|sculptor Ivano learns the drums
|corks with cacti
Viterbo has come a long way since the days when early American writers, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, ignored the filthy alleys of San Pellegrino and wrote negative reviews for the city. **
|dining amid the flowers
|colorful palette
Please share with friends, leave a comment and mark your calendar for next year.
*p 54 Etruria Travel,History and Itineraries in Central Italy
** p 46 ETRURIA TRAVEL,HISTORY AND ITINERARIES IN CENTRAL ITALY


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Released: November 19, 2014
Melissa's back for the hat trick! Monday we used her mouth as if it were a her yummy cunt, and Tuesday she milked Stunt Cock for all he was worth. Today, Mr. POV takes a turn. You gotta love these barely-legal sluts from Small Town USA. They're so eager to please. Melissa's no exception. Today it's a no-holes-barred suck-and-fuck session, cumulating with an explosive facial. This girl's big booty and cute face wanna make me take this girl home to mom. Well…almost.


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Mutawintji National Park
Tranquil valleys and rugged gorges cut through the craggy, burnt-red Byngnano Range, the dominant landform in Mutawintji National Park in the state's outback. On the fringe of the Central Arid Zone, this is a landscape of red dirt and woodlands, where mineral-laced rocky outcrops catch the brilliant light and creeks and waterholes contain precious water. Some of the finest Aboriginal rock-art galleries in the country are found here.
Fact file
From Broken Hill via Silver City Hwy then gravel roads; check conditions beforehand as roads can be closed in the wet; RTA (08) 8087 0660
Best season
April to October
1290 km west of Sydney, via Broken Hill; 130 km north-east of Broken Hill
Park information
- NPWS Broken Hill (08) 8080 3200
Permits required in advance for overnight walks and off-track walks; contact NPWS Broken Hill
68 912 ha
Visitor information
Broken Hill (08) 8080 3560
Featured Activities in the National Park
See ancient rock-art galleries on an Aboriginal-led cultural tour
Explore the nooks and crannies of the colourful gorges
Walk the Western Ridge Trail for a spectacular sunset over the Byngnano Range
Take a leisurely drive along the Old Coach Road
See Also
- Back to nature, Mutawintji National Park, Back to nature
- Mutawintji National Park, Recreational Indigenous, Recreational Indigenous
- Mutawintji National Park, Recreational Wildlife-watching, Recreational Wildlife-watching
Explore Australia's National Parks (2nd edition)
Aboriginal culture
Mutawintji occupies part of the tribal lands of the Malyankapa and Pandjikali people. The landscape of the Byngnano Range, with its protected gorges, creeks and rock pools, was traditionally a source of shelter, food and water and a home to Aboriginal people for hundreds of generations. Aboriginal rock-art galleries are a physical reminder of the long occupation of these lands by Indigenous people, but the landforms themselves are also of spiritual significance, tracing the tracks of ancestor spirits. The park was returned to its traditional owners in 1998 and is administered in association with them. Access to Aboriginal sites within the historic area is by tour only; some other sites can be seen within the main park.
Natural features
Cutting through the park, the Byngnano Range is rich red in colour, its fragmenting sandstone sculpted by gorges and river valleys, with spidery creek beds and cool, hidden rock pools. Elsewhere are low tablelands, the gentle rippling stony downs around Mount Wright Creek, and arid plains of saltbush and mulga extending to the horizon.
Native plants
Much of the soil is infertile and vegetation fairly sparse, consisting largely of woodlands. Majestic river red gums sprawl along the creek lines, mulga trees stud the dry and rocky ranges and there are scruffy cypress pines. After heavy rains delicate wildflowers will suddenly appear.
Red kangaroos and emus are well adapted to the climate and can be seen grazing in the tough outback territory. Unfortunately feral goats can also survive here and, with other feral animals, are a serious problem. If you are lucky you might glimpse a rare yellow-footed rock-wallaby, easily identifiable by its long striped tail. These endangered creatures shelter in the rocky ranges. Wedge-tailed eagles can be seen wheeling overhead, or feeding on roadkill. Near waterholes, especially early in the morning and at dusk, you will hear the incessant chatter of corellas, tiny zebra finches or bright budgerigars. Flocks or pairs of inland, yellow-rumped and chestnut-rumped thornbills forage on the ground and flit amid the saltbush and woodlands, often in the company of southern whiteface.
Aboriginal rock art
At the heart of the park lies the Mutawintji Historic Site where paintings, stencils and engravings offer an insight into Indigenous culture over tens of thousands of years. The site can be viewed on guided tours only, which leave the Homestead Creek camping area on Wednesday and Saturday at 11am, from April to November. Bookings are essential and fees apply. There is a cultural centre within the Historic Site. Contact Mutawintji Eco Tours (08) 8088 2389. It is also possible to see rock art elsewhere in the park on various walks.
Thaaklatjika Mingkana Walk (400 metres one way, 1 hour return, easy), from the camping ground, leads into gorges and Thaaklatjika (Wrights Cave), where paintings and stencils adorn the rocky overhang (the walk is accessible to wheelchairs). Rockholes Loop (5.6-km loop, 3 hours, difficult), leaving from the Homestead Creek Trail, is a challenging walk involving some rock-hopping, past Aboriginal art, and sweeping outback views. Western Ridge Walk (6-km loop, 5 hours return, difficult) is also fairly strenuous, involving some steep sections, but it is worth it, especially at sunset for the dazzling sight as the light catches the Byngnano Range. Take a torch for the walk back. Homestead Gorge Trail (8 km, 3 hours return, easy) is an enjoyable walk along Homestead Creek and into the imposing Homestead Gorge, passing Aboriginal engravings along the way.
Scenic touring
Although only 10 kilometres long, the Old Coach Road Drive is an interesting excursion, following part of the original Broken Hill to White Cliffs coach run. You can stop en route to see intriguing rock formations such as Little Half Dome Rock.
CampsitesFind out more
See Also
- Back to nature, Mutawintji National Park, Back to nature
- Mutawintji National Park, Recreational Indigenous, Recreational Indigenous
- Mutawintji National Park, Recreational Wildlife-watching, Recreational Wildlife-watching


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|Shadow Bird
Character Info Edit
Shadow Bird was the disguise of Rosetta Owens, a freshman at the gang's school but she's also Mr. E's daugther. She uses the disguise to steal the Planispheric Disk pieces.
Physical appearanceEdit
Shadow Bird has black feathers, the head of a Black Lory bird with glowing yellow eyes. She had long navy blue hair. Rosetta's body part of the Shadow Bird suit is most black feathers but also wears a gray dress. Her feet are the feet of a Diamond Dove Bird.
Powers and abilitiesEdit
She is able to fly 8.9 miles high (gliders in reality),She kidnapped girls in her school (including both Marcy and Daphne) while flying.
The Shadow Bird disguise was first seen in the beginning of the episode when two senior girls (who were bullies) were calling a bunch of children freaks and were laughing, Shadow Bird flies behind them and stoop them off the ground into the sky, the girls were scared while they in the air, they tried to call for help screaming. After that part, and after the gang started to try to solve the mystery. In the Jones Family kitchen, while Shaggy and Scooby were having pizza, Shadow Bird busted in by breaking the windows, not only attacking Scooby and Shaggy but also stealing all the Planispheric Disk pieces. while Fred was setting up the first trap, Shadow Bird punched him in the back and he faded, She got away kidnapping bot Daphne and Marcy (Hot Dog Water). But apparently she dropped the final clue to her identity (Rosetta's lime green hair ribbon). So Velma said she had a hunch to where Shadow Bird brings the girls she kidnaps. Shadow Bird's hideout was in the woods near the neighborhood, where she tied up Daphne, Marcy, and all the other school girls she kidnapped, she mentions to all her victims that she was going to tied them all up together and was going to throught them into the waterfall. However the rest of the gang found the hideout and throught a net on her but she cut the net open with her feet claws and starts chasing Shaggy and Scooby. Fred and Velma untie all the victims but are too late when Shadow Bird grabbed Shaggy and Scooby who are extremely frightend and flies into the air. The gang starts following her as she crashes into a house chimmey and falls out of the sky with Shaggy and Scooby, landing on the neighborhood sideway. Daphne unmasks Shadow Bird who turns out to be Rosetta Owens, a freshman at their school. Rosetta explains that she is Mr. E's daugther and hasen't seen him since the gang stole the Planispheric Disk pieces. So now that gang didn't need the pieces anymore, she disguised herself as the Shadow Bird to steal the pieces and give them back to him. The gang and victims felt sorry for her, so Velma (Evern thought the rest of the gang got really angry about it) said that Rosetta could give the pieces back as long as she never used the Shadow Bird costume for evil again and if she gave her costume to the Crystal Cove Spook Museum.


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Berlin (Dec. 6)
The insinuation that the Jewish, the Ullstein and the Mosse press support Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher because the latter pays them to do so, is made by the Nazi press today.
The papers declare that "without payment the Jews give only death."
This attack is explained as an effort to let off steam in connection with the recent election losses of the Nazis and Hitler's failure to secure the Chancellorship. In Thuringia, despite Hitler's personal campaign, the Hitlerites lost 20% of their following.
The Jewish hounds have let loose Jewish journalists to praise von Schleicher because they receive assurance that von Schleicher will conduct a policy favoring the Jews, the Nazi papers assert.


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Teach kids how to love others.
Each week has a special duck theme that will help kids learn a new Bible lesson about loving others.
Lesson Overview
Ugly Ducklings: God loves everyone. He loves us because of who we are on the inside, not what we look like. We should love everyone, even if they look different than we do.
Quack Quack: Do we use our mouths to say nice things or mean things. God tells us to build each other up, not hurt each other with unkind words.
Funny Feathers: Ducks have to have the right feathers to protect themselves from the cold water. Are you letting Jesus protect your heart?
Walk Like a Duck: Actions speak louder than words. Jesus told us that people would know we loved Jesus, by the way we love other people.
About This Curriculum:
- Perfect for kids ages 6-12.
- Includes both Large Group and Small Group resources.
Each Lesson Includes
- Make It Stick! Parent Sheet
- Memory Verse
- Skit
- Object Lesson or Kids Sermon
- Large Group Lesson
- Small Group Discussion
- Large Group Game
- More!
Guaranteed to Be Awesome
If you aren't doing cartwheels of joy because you love this curriculum series we will always offer you a 100% money back guarantee and a big hug.


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Pistachio Treat with Assorted Sweets For Bhai Dhooj
Bhai Dooj is a brilliant festival, celebrated to strengthen the bond of brothers and sisters. As a caring sister, send your beloved brother, this exquisite sweet gift hamper comprising of assorted dryfruit sweets like kaju pista roll, kaju pista dollar along with salted pista in plam leaf tray. Bhaidooj tikka to help you perform Bhai Dooj rituals it has a roli chawal kit. Place your order right away. Product contains : Assorted Kaju Sweets like Kaju Pista Roll and Kaju Pista Dollar (Weight : 200 gms) along with Salted Pista (Weight : 200 gms) in Plam leaf Tray and Pack of Roli Chawal.


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Barry, Parker lead Spurs past ClippersDec 12, 2006 - 6:15 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Brent Barry and Tony Parker refused to let a change of scenery lead to a reversal of fortune for the San Antonio Spurs.
Barry came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points and Parker added 21 for the Spurs, who won for the fifth time in six games with a 103-81 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers.
After setting a career high with 15 assists in Friday's 111-82 victory over the Clippers, Parker made 9-of-16 shots from the floor to help lead San Antonio to its 31st win in its last 35 meetings in the series.
Parker hit two baskets early in the opening quarter and Manu Ginobili nailed a pair of 3-pointers as the Spurs opened with a 23-7 run in the first 7:42. The Spurs shot 55 percent (11-of-20) to open a 32-17 lead after the period.
"Since I have been with the Spurs, we have never (played) two games in a row bad, so I knew we would show a lot of heart tonight and play very hard," Parker said. "We came out very strong, had a great start and that was basically the whole game."
Barry, who finished shooting 8-of-10, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including three baskets from the arc. His second of two consecutive 3-pointers gave San Antonio a 97-74 advantage with 4:39 remaining.
"I had a couple of open shots," Barry said. "Having (Tim Duncan) down low, it is such a devastating decision you are going to make. Are you going to double-team Tim? If you're not he is pretty successful down low. ... You had to pick your poison. When we are shooting the ball well as a team, it is really hard to play us."
Ginobili scored 18 points and Duncan added 17 for the Spurs, who finished shooting 52 percent (39-of-75) to win for the ninth time in 12 road contests.
"This game was important to us for two reasons," Ginobili said. "One, because of (the) upset last night and two, because we play well in back-to-backs. It was important to us to play well after last night."
San Antonio bounced back after Sunday's 106-99 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, when the Spurs gave up a 24-3 third-quarter run.
"The defense was there from beginning to end," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We didn't have periods of time like last night where we stopped playing defense. When we stopped doing that, we also got sloppy on offense, we had all those turnovers.
"Keeping the defense up sustains our focus and that helps our execution on offense and that was the difference tonight."
Rookie Paul Davis tied a season high with 15 points, Elton Brand added 14 and Shaun Livingston 13 for the Clippers, who slipped to 9-3 at home.
"We can make ... excuses, but the bottom line is we have five players," Livingston said. "We can play. I think we still could have got it done. Ultimately, we have to get better. We just need to use this right now as a learning experience."
Los Angeles guard Sam Cassell left the game in the second quarter with plantar fasciitis and center Chris Kaman sat out with a stomach virus.
"Missing a couple of guys to a team like San Antonio, (it's) really tough to beat a team like that," Brand said. "We still had a full team and got our butts kicked up there, so we have a lot of growing to do as a team."
"It doesn't matter, because you are going to have other guys that are going to step up," Parker said. "They are still a dangerous team with Elton Brand and the other guys. We respect everybody. We basically didn't care who we were going to play."
Dec 12 12:50 AM
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Low Country or Tidewater, which involves the construction on stilts, was formed in the US South because of the unusual geographical conditions. This style became popular in such marshy states like Florida and Georgia, allowing you to build a home is practically "on the water". 302 more words
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18th of June, 2016
As we had an early afternoon flight home to England we didn't have a lot of time today so we decided not to book anything or see anything that would take up too much time or would take a long time to get to and from. 151 more words


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amazing cum shot at the end. funny, the fem looking guy at the beginning of the video turns out to be the top.
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Meet Age Cymru's Senior Management Team
Ian leads the senior management team in the strategic operation of the charity and its subsidiary companies.
Working closely with the board of trustees, Ian has responsibility for developing strategic direction and managing outcomes. Further key roles include developing and maintaining relationships with key external stakeholders, including in government, media and academia.
In the past decade Ian has held senior positions at the Alzheimer's Society and Scope, along with significant work in the academic sector including the Open University where he has been an associate lecturer for nearly 25 years
Claire has lead responsibility for service development and delivery. She manages our older people's services including the Age Cymru Advice line and HandyVan. Claire also manages relationships with our network of local Age Cymru partners across Wales.
Claire previously worked for the Southeast England Development Agency on economic and enterprise development, was Chief Executive of a social enterprise business start up service and formerly co-ordinated community development work for the Herefordshire Local Strategic Partnership and Brecon Beacons National Park.
Victoria is the Director of Influencing and Programmes for Age Cymru. She leads the Charity's activity in influencing on the broad range of issues affecting older people in Wales, and in developing and leading programmes to support this work.
Her role encompasses developing the policy and campaign priorities of Age Cymru, focusing on the needs of older people both now and in the future, increasing the involvement of older people and promoting their voices.
Victoria joined Help the Aged in Wales in 2006, after spending 12 years at Cardiff Chamber of Commerce ultimately as Head of Operations and Policy
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Free Gift Packaging
- Distinguished silver box
- Stylish silver ribbon
- Personal gift message
Le Vian Chocolate Diamonds® 1.17 CT. T.W. Diamond Wrapped Bypass Ring in 14K Honey Gold
Item# 19992277
The Peoples Difference
Why shop Peoples?
Orig. $4,399.00
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Express your deepest love with this exceptional ring from Le Vian®. Expertly crafted in warm 14K Honey Gold, this ring marries bypassing bands lined with rich Chocolate Diamonds® with swirling ribbons adorned with shimmering Vanilla Diamonds to create an eye-catching delight. A unique and decadent design, this ring captivates with 1.17 cts. t.w. of diamonds and a bright polished shine. View product details.
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Diamond carat weights (CT.) represent the approximate total weight (T.W.) of all diamonds in each setting and may vary no more than .07 below the stated weight. Typographic errors are subject to correction. Merchandise enlarged to show detail and may not always be exactly as pictured. Promotions, prices, styles and availability may vary by store and online.


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- Opening hours
- Monday to Thursday: 11:00 - 23:00 Friday & Saturday: 10:00 - 00:00 Sunday: 11:00 - 22:30.
The Partridge Bromley invites diners to enjoy a cosy pub experience with its convivial atmosphere and a lovely garden. The venue is also a great place to catch up matches on the big screen and there is live entertainment on Saturday nights.
A member of the celebrated Fuller's Ale & Pie fleet, The Partridge menu offers homemade British classics, and pies handmade daily by award-winning chefs. Filled with premium seasonal ingredients, signature pie fillings include guinea fowl with chestnut, mushroom and bacon, or chicken & chorizo. As well as freshly cut sandwiches loaded with delectable fillings, a menu of pub favourites showcases classic recipes.
From the bar, a range of smooth and silky ales is headed by the legendary London Pride, with guest brews also offered on draught. Rich coffees and classic dessert recipes offer a taste of indulgence at The Partridge in Greater London.
The Partridge British pub is positioned close to the Churchill and Little Theatres. Bromley North Rail Station is a 5-minute walk away.
Partridge - Kent
194 High Street, Bromley, BR1 1HE
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Rawlplug Tarmac & Masonry Resin
This tarmac and masonry resin from Rawlplug is .
- Next Day Delivery . Order by 7pm (2pm Sunday) for next day delivery. (note that this will be subject to different terms and conditions)
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Fado Settles Irish Roots in Mary Brickell Village
If you're not a subscriber to our weekly Café Bites dining newsletter, here's a taste of what you're missing. Click here to subscribe.
It's not FA-doh or FAH-doh or Fido or Mofo. . . it's spelled Fado but pronounced F'doe, which in Irish means "long ago" and in Miami means a huge, sports-oriented, neo-Irish pub that was designed and built across the pond and then trucked over to Mary Brickell Village and assembled.
The local Fado is the 14th for the nationwide chain, and boasts five separate rooms for five different phases of pub crawling: the Victorian Long Hall, the Shop, the contemporary pub, the Cottage and the Snugs. Oh, and there's also the indoor-outdoor deck, which in English means the indoor-outdoor deck.
Fado's menu features such traditional Irish fare as red pepper hummus, fish tacos, roasted turkey panini and Philly-style cheesesteak, as well as shepherd's pie, fish 'n' chips, corned beef 'n' cabbage, and bangers 'n' mash, the last of which in English means, "I think I'll have the burger."
Oh, and one more thing, just so you know. . . If you hear someone bragging about the quality of Fado's crack, don't reach for the glass pipe. It's spelled "craic," which in Irish means food, booze and generally having a good old time. If you want that other stuff, you're on your own.
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900 S. Miami Ave.
Miami, FL 33130
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