text:
Please confirm that you want to add After Effects: Create an Intro Video / Bumper for your Brand to your Wishlist.
You're here because you want to design your own motion graphics that grow your brand, right?
It's great to have you here! I love using After Effects to design motion graphics.
Watch any professional commercial, YouTube channel, or television series, and one thing they all have in common is that they have a video intro!
These video intros (or video bumpers as many people call them in the video industry) are eye-catching, brand-strengthening, and audience-growing.
What makes me qualified to teach you?
My name is Phil and I'm a professional motion graphics artist and video creator. Plus, I'm the creator of some of the world's most popular After Effects courses - with over 150,000 students and thousands of 5-star reviews like these ones from this course:
With Clear Camera work, excellent audio and a well paced instruction. This course really does teach you some useful and inspiring effects using AE. - Robin Slee
Love the content and the teaching style! - Victoria Cupet
I appreciated the range of examples included and the course has inspired me to try out a number of techniques and to be creative with my video bumper projects! - Ashley Szafraniec
My Promise to You
I'll be here for you every step of the way. If you have any questions about the course content or anything related to this topic, you can always post a question in the course or send me a direct message.
I want to make this the best course on how use Adobe After Effects. So if there is any way I can improve this course, just tell me and I'll make it happen.
What's this course all about?
I believe everyone with a brand, a YouTube channel, or any other sort of video production NEEDS to have a video intro. And I believe anyone is capable of creating their own! You don't have to pay someone else to do it for you. This course will teach you everything you need to know to create an elegant and professional video intro for your brand.
The course is taught in Adobe After Effects CC. If you have another version of After Effects, that is totally fine. If you don't, you can get a free 30-day trial of After Effects from Adobe.
Topics Covered:
All course materials are downloadable for viewing on any device. After completion of the course, you will receive a verifiable certificate of completion.
With our 30-day 100% money back guarantee, there is nothing holding you back from jumping in right now and trying the course out.
Go ahead and click the enroll button, and I'll see you in lesson 1!
In this lesson, learn all about what this course has to offer.
In this lesson, I'll give you an overview of who I am and why I am teaching this course.
In this lesson, learn all about what programs we will be using to create our video intros.
In this lesson, learn all about video intros.
Here's a quick message from Phil about leaving a review for this course.
In this lesson, we'll talk about video intro theory and conceptualizing your bumper.
In this lesson, follow along as I recreate the Video School Online bumper.
In this lesson, follow me as I recreate a video intro for Ghirardelli Chocolate.
In this lesson, follow me as I recreate the PredPol intro.
In this lesson, follow me as I recreate the DOC360 intro.
In this lesson, we'll learn to create a new type of bumper.
In this lesson, we'll learn to create a new type of bumper.
In this lesson, we'll create a new video intro for Jennifer Bailey.
In this lesson, we'll create a new intro for the Dublin Academy.
In this lesson, we'll create a new video intro for the Bloom and Grow brand.
In this lesson, we'll introduce a fun new video bumper style.
This is part 2 of creative video intro example.
This is part 3 of creative video intro example.
This is part 4 of creative video intro example.
This is part 5 of our creative video intro example.
This is part 6 of our creative video intro example.
In this lesson, we wrap up our creative video intro.
In this lesson, we'll learn how to properly export from After Effects.
Thank you so much for taking this course. Check out my other courses here: https://www.udemy.com/u/philipebiner2/
This lecture contains some amazing discounts to other courses that you might be interested in to further your knowledge.
My passion is inspiring people through online courses. I love learning new skills, and since 2012 have been teaching people like you everything I know. Through my online learning business, Video School Online, I create courses that teach you how to become the better version of yourself with all kinds of skills.
What would you like to learn?
Would you like to make money teaching online courses?
Would you like to build your own 6-figure business?
Would you like to learn motion graphics in After Effects?
Would you like to learn how to shoot & edit videos like a pro?
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Would you like to design better presentations, create a great resume, colorize black & white photographs, brew beer, adopt a cat, edit photos in Lightroom, launch a freelance career?
If you want to do any of these things, just enroll in the course. You have a 30-day money back guarantee if you don't like it. And I'm always improving my courses so that they stay up to date and the best that they can be. Check them out, and enroll today!
I've always tried to live life presently and to the fullest. Some of the things I love to do in my spare time include mountain biking, nerding out on personal finance, traveling to new places, watching sports (huge baseball fan here!), and sharing meals with friends and family. Most days you can find me spending quality time with my lovely wife and our cat.
In 2011, I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television Production at Loyola Marymount University - one of the top 10 film schools in the country. While there, I was fortunate to make documentaries in Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, and India. After graduating, I worked at Participant Media shooting and editing short-form documentaries for their website TakePart. I followed that stint with a contract at Stanbridge College where I discovered online learning. I helped pioneer their online school there. Most recently, I spent 2 years working at University of California Berkeley with the media team. Throughout this time I built my Video School Online brand to teach others the skills that I have. In May of 2015, I left the 9-5 world to make my own path. Since then, I've made more money, worked fewer hours, and only have done the things I love each day.
I want to show you how to be a better creator, make money from your creations, and live the life you dreamed of.
Learn creative skills, from absolute beginner to advanced mastery.
Video School Online exists to help you succeed in life. Each course has been hand-tailored to teach a specific skill. I hope you agree!
Whether you're trying to learn a new skill from scratch, or want to refresh your memory on something you've learned in the past, you've come to the right place.
Education makes the world a better place. Make your world better with new skills!
Our courses can be watched 24/7 wherever you are. Most are fully downloadable so you can take them with you. You can also view them on mobile devices with the Udemy mobile app.
All courses have a 30-day money-back guarantee so that you can check it out, make sure it's the right course for you, and get a refund if it's not!


text:
Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first AL.com user to add photos or videos of Great American Insurance Co.
Great American Insurance Co is located at 402 1St Ave, Clanton, AL. This business specializes in Insurance.
Great American Insurance Company can be found at 1st Ave 402. The following is offered: Insurance. The entry is present with us since Sep 10, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Clanton there are 16 other Insurance. An overview can be found here.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Apple iPad is no longer dominating the tablet market
0. phoneArena posted on 05 Aug 2013, 14:51
Apple's days of domination of the tablet market have come to an end based on the latest data; during its fiscal third quarter, Apple shipped a fewer than expected 14.6 million tablets which was down from the prior year's figure of 17 million. Meanwhile, shipments of Android flavored slates rose from 10.7 million in 2012 to 28.2 million during the second calendar quarter (equivalent to Apple's Q3)...
This is a discussion for a news. To read the whole news, click here
4. jdoee100 (Posts: 334; Member since: 04 Jun 2013)
Where is Sony, HP and Dell??
5. Commentator (Posts: 3722; Member since: 16 Aug 2011)
0% < {Sony} < 3.1%
0% < {Dell} < 3.1%
(Presumably, at least.)
9. ocilfa (Posts: 334; Member since: 03 Aug 2012)
Well...Sony's prior tablet ventures were pretty lackluster. HP discontinued its touchpad which only sold under a fire sale. And anything Dell and android related has bombed. So, I would be surprised to see them.
6. theoak (Posts: 324; Member since: 16 Nov 2011)
We are all waiting for the 2013 iPad.
51. DaHarder (Posts: 177; Member since: 10 Oct 2009)
Post For Yourself... Because after using iOS 7 on both my iPad Mini and iPad 4 for the past few weeks, I've concluded that it's little more than a heavy make-up job on the same old, tired, static grid of icons Apple's been passing off as a real UI for some 6+ years now, only with a few more ideas ripped off from Android (Live-ish Wallpaper - Really?) thrown in to make it seem modern (which it's certainly is not).
So You Can Keep Your 2013 Edition Supersized iPod Touch and its dumbed-down excuse for and OS... Those of us who truly appreciate forward thinking technology will be looking elsewhere.
Additionally: All this talk of 'more tablet optimized apps' is longer relevant given that the the only reason iOS 'tablet apps' have to be 'optimized' is because iPads use that archaic circa 1999 4x3 aspect ratio so apps coded for their other devices (2x3/3.5 inch screens or 16x10/4 inch screens) don't fit correctly without 'optimization'... Android apps don't suffer from such issues.
Yes... There was a time when Apple actually provided a 'better user experience' but those days have long passed as both Android and Microsoft now offer exponentially more function and value, in numerous forms, than anything Apple makes.
77. ganeshs1996 (Posts: 2; Member since: 01 Aug 2013)
Love it when an ex-Apple fan kicks down an Apple fanboy!
7. quakan (Posts: 1398; Member since: 02 Mar 2011)
Apple's in 1st with 32.4% and Samsung is in 2nd place with 18%....looks like Apple is still dominating to me.
10. marbovo (Posts: 658; Member since: 16 May 2013)
For me too, PA should change Apple for iOS though
14. quakan (Posts: 1398; Member since: 02 Mar 2011)
The iOS v. Android market share doesn't accurately represent the market anyways. They should always do it by manufacturer since Android phone makers don't share the same sales, revenue, or profits. Anyone can make an Android device only Apple can make iOS devices.
15. WHoyton1 (Posts: 1635; Member since: 21 Feb 2013)
diversity is always good....
29. Kreft (Posts: 84; Member since: 27 Dec 2012)
Not always. But in this case, yes.
36. Napalm_3nema (Posts: 2236; Member since: 14 Jun 2013)
Not only that, but Amazon gets lumped in with Android, even though Amazon doesn't see it as such. It's skinned Android, but it has its own marketplace, and features none of Google's services. Same for all the "white box" cheap OEM tablets that use nothing of Google's.
43. joey_sfb (Posts: 6613; Member since: 29 Mar 2012)
The bottomline is they still run the same base line codes and their developer are now open source trained,
They could develop apps for all android markets helping the market share while meeting their own needs.
Slowly Android will be the only unifying tools for the people computing needs 10 years from now. Greater potential than MS Visual Studio due to the trust in open source.
83. Googler (Posts: 813; Member since: 10 Jun 2013)
When I can go to the Amazon app store on my stock Android devices and download apps that work perfectly fine, why shouldn't it get counted?
70. willard12 (unregistered)
In 6 months, after Samsung passes apple, you will say they should do it by individual tablet model. In a year, you'll say they should do by profit per tablet. Same arguments made after the iPhone got lapped. Either way, whatever metric you want to use, its just a matter of time before the iPad drops to 14% the iPhone.
54. iushnt (Posts: 2263; Member since: 06 Feb 2013)
growth figure are as follow:
apple -14%
samsung 277%
there's a difference in growth
63. quakan (Posts: 1398; Member since: 02 Mar 2011)
Refer to the market share again.
8. Jeradiah3 (Posts: 1121; Member since: 11 Feb 2010)
Just like the iPhone, we knew this was coming. Although the iPad revolutionalized the tablet market, you have to adapt to the market's demands to remain relevant and having a retina display isnt enough. Ideas like reasonable pricing, a stylus, multi-windows displays and more personalization are important to consumers. Apple can get back into the game, but its up to them to do so
11. vaibhavaggarwal (Posts: 44; Member since: 05 Jul 2013)
ipad 5 and ipad mini retina could change everything......just saying......
16. WHoyton1 (Posts: 1635; Member since: 21 Feb 2013)
how same old design, same old specs, same old experience...
64. quakan (Posts: 1398; Member since: 02 Mar 2011)
Same high sales, same high revenue, same high profit...
68. kanagadeepan (Posts: 981; Member since: 24 Jan 2012)
same big hole in customer's wallet...
74. quakan (Posts: 1398; Member since: 02 Mar 2011)
Burning the same hole as other flagships so that argument is irrelevant.
69. vaibhavaggarwal (Posts: 44; Member since: 05 Jul 2013)
same old exclusive & optimized apps, same old premium & sturdy build quality, same old top-of-the-line GPU, same old 10 hour battery life, same old magnificent display, same old instant software updates.....
12. good2great (Posts: 1042; Member since: 22 Feb 2012)
My guess,
If you already have an iPad 2...
iPad 3/4 were not worth getting and the iPad mini doesn't have retina.
a lot of people are waiting for a better improved iPad this year.
Congrats to android though! i knew this day would come...
28. omarr (banned) (Posts: 149; Member since: 15 Sep 2012)
iPad 3 isnt worth it ?????????????????????????????????
73. good2great (Posts: 1042; Member since: 22 Feb 2012)
no it wasn't worth it... they released it in the spring/summer and then released the ipad 4/mini in the fall...
made me feel like the product was rushed... there's no significant difference from the 3/4 except for the charger port. and the mini is just a small ipad 2.
82. omarr (banned) (Posts: 149; Member since: 15 Sep 2012)
you mad bro ?
Retina Display
Quad Core GPU
Dual Band Wi-Fi
you mad bro ?
13. T00muchF00D (Posts: 98; Member since: 27 Nov 2011)
I love my Surface tablet. best tablet ever!
17. WHoyton1 (Posts: 1635; Member since: 21 Feb 2013)
aslong as its the pro not the rt.....


text:
How do I make hot pink chocolate clay?
I already melted down one bag of red candy melts and two bags of pink all together, but the resulting color is a bizarre red. Help! How do I make hot pink?!
3 replies
I just use white candy melts and a bit of Americolor Deep Pink.
I only have access to Wilton Colors (have no idea where i can buy Americolor around here). Any suggestions using Wilton?
Maybe try the Rose Pink a VERY small amount at a time and see if that gives you the color you are looking for


text:
The school expects all students to maintain a high degree of discipline. Students are expected to communicate in English only during school hours. They should be dedicated to academics and participate in the co-curricular activities of the school. They should be well-mannered, courteous and considerate to the needs of others.
Every student of the school is expected to be loyal to the school. He/she must follow all the rules and regulations meticulously as prescribed by the school. Any failure on the part of the students to abide by the rules of the school will attract appropriate punitive measures.
Members of the Student Council / Prefects / Monitors together with the staff are responsible for the discipline of the school.
Parents are requested to go through the rules and the regulations and the Code of Conduct prescribed by the school and ensure that their wards follow them strictly.


text:
Product #: 001-92319-086-001
Sticky Bellies Hello, Baby Girl Monthly Stickers
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Additional Information
Modern pastels paired with hand-drawn designs, this set is a soft and pretty option with lavender, pink, yellow and grey. Hand-painted watercolor stickers provide a clean and feminine look with easy to read text. A different color for each month makes for a beautiful collection of pictures at the end of baby's first year.
- set includes stickers from newborn to 12 months (13 stickers total)
- opaque, heavy-duty monthly shirt stickers can be removed and reapplied for several photo shoots
- a great shower gift! adorable packaging fits perfectly into a greeting card envelope for easy mailing
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We are not able to ship products to International addresses from Motherhood.com
Please visit MotherhoodCanada.ca to order and ship to Canadian addresses.
If for any reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, you can return it by mail or take it to any Motherhood store.


text:
Hotels in Albany, GA are close to all the best local attractions. Whether you want to tour MillerCoors Brewery or spend the day enjoying the great outdoors at local Chehaw Parks, we provide the ideal starting location. Many guests are in the region for business with Proctor & Gamble or the Marine Corps Logistics Base. Whether you're staying at our Albany, GA hotel for business or pleasure, our location is unbeatable. We're just minutes from the mall, numerous eateries and great shopping. At the BEST WESTERN Albany Mall Inn & Suites, we combine a great price with comfortable and spacious accommodations. The Albany Marathon is a popular event that draws guests to our Albany, GA hotel from around the region. Albany State University (ASU) homecoming is another favorite local event and we're happy to host alumni from around the world during this exciting time. Religious conferences are also common and the region hosts the Jehovah's Witnesses Convention annually. The M&M Mars Factory brings in many business travelers. Hotels in Albany, GA regularly host employees of the Proctor & Gamble Factory and local service men and women. We understand that business travelers need a hot, delicious breakfast in order to make the most of their trip. That's why we offer a free full hot breakfast bar every morning featuring eggs, sausage, grits, biscuits & gravy and more. Our friendly staff members provide a welcome atmosphere at our Albany, GA hotel. Enjoy spacious rooms, a quiet getaway and great bedding to make your stay as comfortable as possible. We always put our guests first, which is why we're the hotel of choice in Albany. Reserve a quiet, well-appointed room at our Albany, GA hotel, the BEST WESTERN Albany Mall Inn & Suites and enjoy a fantastic location! Enjoy your stay.
Room facilities (standard room)
Health and beauty
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- S Loffe, R Childiaeva, V Chernick
- Pediatrics
- 1984
Newborn infants of mothers who drink heavily (greater than 2 oz alcohol per day) during pregnancy have been shown to have hypersynchrony of the EEG. The possibility that hypersynchrony is related to acute alcohol withdrawal was tested. Eleven preterm infants of mothers who drank heavily ("alcoholic") were studied at a postnatal age of 4 to 6 weeks using… (More)
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text:
Free Stuff, Samples, Coupons, and Sweepstakes | Woman Freebies
September 9, 2015 | Videos
Michael Buble is hands down my favorite artists. His voice is so soothing and always helps me relax when I'm stressed. Plus, he's easy on the eyes. Watching him sing The Way You Look Tonight has my heart in a puddle.
You work too hard for your money to throw it all away on full price when you don't have to!
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text: the Company came to life in the late 80's from the combination of bright and fresh ideas. It then rapidly specialized in laminated fabrics and mouldings, through these processes we mainly created products designed for underwear and swimwear collections. Up to today Eurospal Group Srl has reached a great experience in this field that allows us to offer our clients a unique quality, a product that is 100% Made In Italy and a highly specialized staff..


text:
Planning a vacation to Santa Rosa De Viterbo in Brazil? This vacation planner will provide you with all the essential information you need. Most online packages to this city are of 1-2 days.
Yes,it is that simple really! Enjoy your trip! Keep travelling!
Explore the best travel planner for your visit to Santa Rosa De Viterbo and create a flawless plan in few simple steps!


text:
1994 Rolls-Royce Touring Limousine Base Tires
Shop low prices 1994 Rolls-Royce Touring Limousine Base tires
Visit your local Tires Plus location for our best low prices on 1994 Rolls-Royce Touring Limousine Base tires. Explore our full catalog of Touring Limousine Base tires and browse tires by type, size, features, and more. Whether you're looking for tires built to enhance fuel-efficiency, outperform bad weather, or provide a comfortable ride, you can count on our tire professionals to help you get the right tires, and to install each for maximum performance and control. At Tires Plus Total Car Care, we make it easier for you to schedule a tire repair or replacement. Let's get started! Save time by pre-booking your appointment online and stop by when it is most convenient for you and your family. We're even open on the weekends and on some holidays!
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text:
Taurus Millenium Pro
1 Attachment(s)
What do you people think about thoes guns? I was thinking about buying one in .45 auto.
My dislike of Taurus is no secret. Honestly, if someone GAVE me a new Taurus, I would not keep it . One only need look at many guns on the store shelves. The quality on many of them is horrendous. One only also need look on the various forums. A high percentage of them have problems straight out of the box, or on the first range trip.
I realize that human nature is to complain instead of praise... But, the % of complaints (on all the various gun forums) about Taurus against other brands of guns doesn't even compare. And the stories of dealing with their customer service are maddening. Sometimes they send guns back MULTIPLE times without doing ANYTHING. I've seen some threads go for 18 months, where a person goes thru the Taurus "experience" in getting their gun fixed. It's just ridiculous...
I didn't start saving Taurus threads until a few months ago - so, unfortunately, I don't have some of the more depressing stories I have read. But here are a few:
Taurus Customer Service (TCP 738))
New Clarity on Taurus TCP problem.
Taurus Buyer Be Warned - Glock Talk
Taurus Disappointment - TheFiringLine Forums
Taurus 709 slim fail. help me find a new 9mm carry pistol. - AR15.COM
Another 709 slim fails.. - AR15.COM
Taurus semi-auto Quality Control going to crap? - Glock Talk
Taurus 709- Problems - THR
Bought a Taurus M44, took it home, broken right out of the box! - XDTalk Forums - Your XD/XD(m) Information Source!
Taurus Buyer Be Warned - THR
Taurus Quality: Objective Opinions...? - TheFiringLine Forums
Just bought a Taurus 85 and Im having a problem - TheFiringLine Forums
Taurus Run-Around - TheFiringLine Forums
taurus repair turnaround time?? anyone.. - TheFiringLine Forums
Taurus 709 Slim....FTEs galore!...help!! - XDTalk Forums - Your XD/XD(m) Information Source!
Taurus Frustration and Venting
Not a good showing for the Taurus 709 Slim. - TheFiringLine Forums
My Taurus 709 slim review... - TheFiringLine Forums
Taurus Warranty Work? - XDTalk Forums - Your XD/XD(m) Information Source!
Are realy Taurus gun not reliable? - TheFiringLine Forums
Here We Go Again Taurus - TheFiringLine Forums
Taurus Question - TheFiringLine Forums
Taurus 738 - TheFiringLine Forums
Taurus 24/7 Full Size Pistol Reviews Forum and Reference Guide
My3cents.com - Taurus Gun Repair Complaint - Warranty Repair -p Taurus 444 Pistol
Taurus changed my mind
Taurus changed my mind - Page 3 - TheFiringLine Forums (see post #51)
I personally didn't care for the one I had, but I know a guy who likes his a lot.
I have 3 Taurus's 1 revolver a pt1911 and a milenium pro in 40 s&w no problems with any of them. I think there are to many gun snobs in the world. Anyone who likes a glock and hates someone elses plastic gun makes no sense to me. It's all plastic and bad triggers. All the same. I know people with high dollar 1911's that don't function as well as my pt1911 and they sure aren't anymore accurate.
I've seen all manufacturers with problems. Hell I even saw a ruger blackhawk blow up and no it wasn't a hot load. I still like the rugers I own.
Have your own opinion - nothing wrong with that. But, I've seen too many gun newbies get sucked in by taurus and regret it.
I think your life may be worth spending the extra $100 now, instead of rolling the dice and HOPING that you get one of the Taurus guns with no problems.
Shipwreck pretty much covered it. Had one, hated its functioning (or lack thereof) and traded it. I read the complaints before I purchased the gun and figured I might be lucky enough to get a good one; fail.
The reason I was looking at Taurus is because years ago I have one model 66 .357 mag. it was ok I had no problems with it.The price caught my eye 419.99 I also looked at the Springfield xd4 .45 with that one I would get 2 spare mags.&holster for about 100 more and a better rep.This gun is just going to be a back up when I go into the woods you never know what you run into!. Thanks for the feed back guys
The XD is TEN times better, spend the extra $$$. You won't regret it!
Well I can honestly say my two Tauruses have had absolutely no problems but I know others have. My M85 38 Special bought second hand in the early 1990s still gets a fair amount of use and always goes bang.
So does the 9mm PT111 Millennium Pro I bought in 2006. I will say I was worried about Taurus quality when I bought it because of all the negative reviews online. But in the gun shop I field stripped it and couldn't see any obvious problems. The price was right so I went with my gut feeling. To this day that little gun impresses me, it worked from day one with all ammo except some crappy reloads that gave me trouble in other guns. I never use +P+ so can't say if the gun can handle the real hot stuff but does all right with light to pretty warm loads.
My Millennium Pro is basically a poor man's Glock but with a true DAO trigger. I can't say how it would handle 45ACP, that might be a little too much for this little gun, I just don't know. Doesn't sound like you'll be beating it to death though. At $420 you might want to look also at a baby Glock 30 or 36 for a few bucks more. Good luck Lonewolf and let us know how it goes no matter what you get.
I look at Taurus like this:
If you buy a Taurus, there's a pretty good chance that you're going to end up with a good gun at a competitive price.
Unfortunately, there's also an unacceptably high chance that you're going to end up with a lemon. How high is "unacceptably high"? I have no idea on the specifics. Maybe it's 5% and maybe it's 25%. Parlay that with the volume sitting on shelves across the country, and recovering a fair amount of your money can also be difficult should you choose to resell a Taurus.
There are plenty of good Taurii out there, and many Taurus shooters that have good reason to be happy with their guns and the price paid for them. And it's true, there are plenty of "gun snobs" to be found. But Taurus has earned their reputation on their own, and it seems most prevalent among their polymer autoloaders. I know a lot of people have been quite happy with the 1911s and Beretta 92 clones.
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Austin Wilde from Guys In Sweatpants loves breaking in the straight guys, and today is his chance. Eli is straight but apparently quite open minded, and after Austin sucks his dick for a while, he convinces Eli to give up that tight virgin ass!
See more at Guys In Sweatpants


text:
Overview Edit
VIVO is a semantic web platform enabling research discovery. When installed and populated with researcher interests, activities, and accomplishments, it enables the discovery of research and scholarship across disciplines at that institution and beyond. VIVO supports browsing and a search function which returns faceted results for rapid retrieval of desired information.


text:
Marked Signal Corps Binoculars, Bausch & Lomb
- Sold for: Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
- Item Category: Sports
- Source: eBay
- Sold Date: May 04, 2008
- Channel: Auction House
Bausch & Lomb binoculars, marked Signal Corps US Army, 6 power, 30mm apert. Serial #EE 262588. Optics very good, but the exterior is rough. The paint is worn off the edges of the metal and brass. Strap is snapped. If you have any questions or need more pictures, please feel free to e-mail me. You can bid with confidence! Feel free to look at my feedback ratings. My guarantee is simple: If you find the item to be not as advertised, you may return it within 2 weeks of the close of the auction for a full refund (less costs). Shipping is $6.00, Priority Mail in a flat-rate mailer. Items can be paid for with a money order, personal check or Paypal. Checks will be held the usual ten days to clear. Payments must ABSOLUTELY be received within 10 days of the close of the auction, or your item will be sold to the next highest bidder and negative feedback left for you. Thanks for looking at my item, and good luck bidding!


text:
Lawrence F. Reece, PGA
Main Address:
Chatsworth, GA 30705
At four different facilities during career as a golf professional, all of which he was the General Manager. Specialty is to take a course not doing so well and turn it around and get it going in a positive direction.
Services Offered:
- Play Golf of America Participant
Free Fitting Month
Welcome to Golf Month
National Awards
- 2008 PGA President's Council on Growing the Game
- 2006 PGA President's Council on Growing the Game
Home » Golf Courses » Georgia » Chatsworth » Lawrence F. Reece, PGA
PGA of America Championships
Quail Hollow Club
Charlotte, North Carolina
Le Golf National
Guyancourt, France
Olympia Fields Country Club
Olympia Fields, Illinois
Trump National Golf Club
Washington, D.C.


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This beautiful species, appearing as a white waterfall of cascading icicles, is found on broad leaf trees and logs. The subject of recent studies, Lion's Mane is renowned for providing support to the brain and nervous system.*
Host Defense® Lion's Mane uses activated, freeze-dried, Certified Organic mycelium, with a full spectrum of constituents: polysaccharides (beta glucans, arabinoxylane, glucose, xylose, galactose and mannose), glycoproteins, ergosterols, triterpenoids and other myco-nutrients, which are essential for Supporting Natural Immunity.*
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freeze-dried myceliated brown rice‡, pullulan (an extra-cellular polysaccaride)


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ROOTSTOWN -- Portage County's Republican Party gathered Feb. 6 for its annual Lincoln Day dinner and recognized the party's dominance of county and state governments.
Ohio Secretary of State John Husted was the guest speaker at the formal dinner held at the NEW Center on the campus of the Northeast Ohio Medical University.
"Republican majorities in the both Ohio houses, together with a collaborative governor, mean you can really enact meaningful Republican policies for Ohioans like lower taxes, more business-friendly policies, and smaller government," said Aurora Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin during her introduction to Husted's speech.
Husted recalled his first campaign season, walking door-to-door with Womer Benjamin. He also acknowledged the various other county and state officials in attendance, including State Senators John Eklund and Frank LaRose, State Rep. Christina Hagan and Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof.
"This is a Republican county now. We saw the results," Husted said with the room cheering. "Just think, there's been 51 Super Bowls played with a Democratic recorder still in office here in Portage County," acknowledging Lori Calcei, the first Republican to hold the county officer in 75 years.
Husted spoke of the November election and what it meant for President Donald Trump to win Ohio. Trump's win was the largest margin of victory in Ohio since 1988, a win of 8 percentage points.
To put the election into perspective, Husted pointed out that Barack Obama won Ohio in 2008 by just 3 percentage points, "a pretty good victory in a swing state."
"But yet 4 years later, Donald Trump wins by 8 points. That's an 11-point swing. So essentially what happened is that 11 percent of Ohioans voted for both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Think about that. It seems about impossible considering the two don't have a lot in common."
Husted pointed to a growing distrust and dissatisfaction in the government for Trump's win in Ohio.
"This time around, they were willing to give an outsider a shot. In a lot of cases, a guy they didn't even like. Because he would go in and shake it up. They wanted something new. And I will tell you, it's a lesson we should heed.
"Because if 11 percent of the voters were willing to flip that easily, they're willing to flip that easily again if we don't fulfill their hopes and aspirations," he said.
Husted, along with other party officials, voiced their support of limited government while still maintaining an active role in helping families succeed.
"I'm worried about a growing number of people in this country who don't believe that things are going to be better, or that they can get ahead," he said. "A growing number of people are falling behind.We cannot let people feel like they're losing hope in the American dream or their future."
Husted said he might consider running for governor of Ohio in the future because of all the thing he sees that need to be fixed, including the growing opioid epidemic and income inequality.
"Why do we look around and expect someone else to do it? Why not you? Why not the person staring back in the mirror? People are made to do something...I was made to fight for what is right. When I look to the future, I want it to be a place where people still fight for what is right."
Email: email@example.com
Phone: 330-541-9400 ext. 4156


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okay i am 5'8 and i have always felt short. i am big for my height though i am around 200 pounds and have a 5% body fat. i do MMA and i have a black belt in muay thai and brazilian jiu jitsiu. i played rugby and ice hockey in high school and i have always been the shortest kid on the team. i have always been very self concious about my height and always wished i was taller. the thing that annoys me the most is that there are a lot of girls that are my height and that makes me feel bad about it. i have always had to overcompensate for being short so i got really into weightlifting and MMA. for MMA i am pretty good i do a lot of tournaments and i do a lot of competing and i practice it everyday. i am actually considering making a career out of it. i have been known to beat guys that are much taller than me i have beat a guy that was 6'4 before and all the guys i have fought have been over 5'10. so i know i can't change my height so i just work with what i got. i only wish i was taller so i could be more confident with girls
Most Helpful Girl
No , I think that's pretty much average height.
No one notices a inch difference would 5'9 being the average male height.00|00|0
Most Helpful Guy
5'8 isn't short, but I may be
biased as I'm the same height.
Height doesn't really add much positive
except for reach, and certain girls sexual preference.
When it comes to everyday life, having a good size
stature and such, is much better than being tall.
And especially if you're practicing martial arts
you should know, that being shorter than the adversary
actually has more positives, than negatives.
I can understand how you feel, if you really long for
a girls companionship but tall girls make you nervous.
The best thing one can do in life, is not too seek out a partner
but rather, to focus on what you really want to do, then the partner
you wanted in the first place, "may" just come to you, instead.
+1 for for practicing martial arts though
I have nothing but respect, for fellow martial artists. ^.^00|00|0


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All the latest news and reviews from the Fringe Festival
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Press Gallery #193: The All By Himself editionAfter a week of controversies, the former United Conservative Party member for Strathmore-Brooks, Derek Fildebrandt, resigned from caucus Tuesday night, leaving him all by himself as an independent MLA.
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Trying to keep this briefly I've been talking on and off with this guy and lately we've become really close we talk everyday we've gone on 2 dates but i just feel that he may be just using me for sex. Lately all he talks about is sex and I've told him from the start that I don't believe in sex before marriage and he said he respects that. We had like a mini argument or a jokey argument on snapchat I don't even know to be honest. He said things like "go away frigid, your moving long, you're just wasting my time". Like i guess i can understand the part he said ur moving long like we haven't even kissed yet he mentioned it a couple times the next time he sees me his gna kiss me. I did want to kiss him on our last date but it ended all in a rush as my bus came last minute and i had to run to catch it as it was the last bus home and it was getting ready to leave. He was just standing there smiling i was waiting for him to do the first move but he didn't so i just went in for the hug since i was in a rush and went to catch the bus. What do you guys think of this do you think I'm overreacting or he just wants sex. Also another thing he posted a pic of himself on the phone on instagram with a caption "when we first met i had no idea you would be so important to me fact." I thought it was about me but I'm not too sure like there's this one girl that I've come across and he likes most of her pics and comments on them for e. g he said pretty with the kiss emoji and that girl even liked that pic of him with the caption and she's also his second best friend on snapchat I'm his first best friend. I duno maybe I'm overreacting but it did make me kinda upset like he doesn't even comment on my pics and I'm like kinda seeing him i guess what do you guys think of this situation?
Most Helpful Guy
I admire your decision to avoid fornication. As for him, it is difficult to know if he is just trying to use you or not. It is possible this other girl is just a friend to him. I wouldn't give up on him just yet, but if he starts spending excessive amounts of time with her that is of course a different story.11|00|0


text: Sadly it's not the month of May. I mean yeah, obviously for temperature reasons, but also because I finally have something I could wear for MeMadeMay. I hope until May, I will have a few more self stitched pieces. So this is it, my very first self-drafted skirt pattern. You see, my body doesn't play well with commercial sewing patterns. How do I put it, pattern designers tend to have a different shape in mind of how a woman's proportions are supposed to be distributed. I used to get angry about this a lot. I got angry at my body, at the industry, at the designers. Finally I realized that that certainly was not going to help me. So I started to make my own patterns. Which was fun, but a lot of work. And I seemed to always have to start from nothing, which was not a lot of fun in the long run. So I decided I had to really learn how to do this from somebody who knows what they're doing. (I wrote about what an amazing experience that was here.) And then for the first time in my sewing history, I just sewed up a pattern as is, without adding 4 inch seam allowances and playing contortionist in front of the mirror. So much fun!


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KYPD: a solver for semidefinite programs derived from the Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov lemma Semidefinite programs derived from the Kalman-Yakubovich-Popov lemma are quite common in control and signal processing applications. The programs are often of high dimension making them hard or impossible to solve with general-purpose solvers. KYPD is a customized solver for KYP-SDPs that utilizes the inherent structure of the optimization problem thus improving efficiency significantly. (Source: http://plato.asu.edu)
Keywords for this software
References in zbMATH (referenced in 5 articles )
Showing results 1 to 5 of 5.
- Falkeborn, Rikard; Hansson, Anders: A decomposition algorithm for KYP-SDPs (2012)
- Johansson, Janne Harju; Hansson, Anders: An inexact interior-point method for system analysis (2010)
- Wallin, Ragnar; Kao, Chung-Yao; Hansson, Anders: A cutting plane method for solving KYP-SDPs (2008)
- Kao, Chung-Yao; Megretski, Alexandre: On the new barrier function and specialized algorithms for a class of semidefinite programs (2007)
- Vandenberghe, Lieven; Balakrishnan, V. Ragu; Wallin, Ragnar; Hansson, Anders; Roh, Tae: Interior-point algorithms for semidefinite programming problems derived from the KYP lemma (2005)


text: SportJets maul Phoenix for new coach's first win Paul Maurice won his first game as Winnipeg's new coach as the Jets beat Phoenix 5-1 in the NHL. 14 Jan 2014 12:12 GMT | Sport, US Sports Paul Maurice, Winnipeg's new coach, was hired on Sunday and led his team to a convincing win [Reuters]Paul Maurice won his first game as Winnipeg's new coach as the Jets beat Phoenix 5-1. Hired on Sunday to replace fired Claude Noel as head coach of the floundering club, Winnipeg bounced back after having lost its previous five games. Defenseman Jack Johnson scored on a power-play point shot with 2:38 remaining, completing the Columbus Blue Jackets' rally for a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The win was the fourth straight for Columbus, a season high. Mikael Backlund and rookie center Sean Monahan scored, and journeyman goalie Karri Ramo recorded his first career shutout as the Calgary Flames defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. Dustin Brown scored the lone goal, and goaltender Jonathan Quick made 28 saves as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Vancouver Canucks 1-0. Los Angeles (28-14-5) finished its five-game homestand with a 3-1-1 record, but it won for only the third time in 10 games.Source: Reuters


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We recently attended Dierks Bentley's Miles and Music, a motorcycle ride and concert benefiting The Monroe Carrell, Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville on September 28th. What a great day for a motorcycle ride and music all in the name of charity! Continue Reading →
Tag Archives | Harley-Davidson
[Video] Dierks Bentley's Miles And Music
By Patrice on October 26, 2014 in Community, Nicki D. On The Red Towel™, Special Events
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The experience of spatial presence (SP), i.e., the sense of being present in a virtual environment, emerges if an individual perceives himself as 1) if he were actually located (self-location) and 2) able to act in the virtual environment (possible actions). In this study, two main media factors (perspective and agency) were investigated while participants played a commercially available video game.
The differences in SP experience and associated brain activation were compared between the conditions of game play in first person perspective (1PP) and third person perspective (3PP) as well as between agency, i.e., active navigation of the video game character (active), and non-agency, i.e., mere passive observation (passive). SP was assessed using standard questionnaires, and brain activation was measured using electroencephalography (EEG) and sLORETA source localisation (standard low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography).
Higher SP ratings were obtained in the 1PP compared with the 3PP condition and in the active compared with the passive condition. On a neural level, we observed in the 1PP compared with the 3PP condition significantly less alpha band power in the parietal, the occipital and the limbic cortex. In the active compared with the passive condition, we uncovered significantly more theta band power in frontal brain regions.
We propose that manipulating the factors perspective and agency influences SP formation by either directly or indirectly modulating the ego-centric visual processing in a fronto-parietal network. The neuroscientific results are discussed in terms of the theoretical concepts of SP.
When confronted with well-designed virtual reality (VR) scenarios, many people experience a subjective sense of actually being in the VR environment while transiently being unaware of the technology that delivers the stream of virtual input to the senses. This specific feeling has been coined "spatial presence" (SP) [1-3]. This definition of SP emphasises the important role of spatial cues and the subjective strategy involved in recruiting attentional resources for processing sensory input (perception-oriented approach). An alternative view has been proposed by Sanchez-Vivez and Slater [4]. They underline the particular contribution of supported actions in the real or virtual environment (VE) as a constituent feature of the experience of reality. They argue that the sense of "being there" in a VE is strongly grounded on the ability "to do there" (action-oriented approach).
In the context of a more recent theoretical paper, both approaches are combined and extended [5]. In this theoretical account, a psychological construct referred to as "egocentric reference frame" (ERF) is used to explain SP. An ERF is a mental model of the world organised from a first-person perspective and contains information about the spatial properties of the immediate surroundings. A mediated environment (e.g. VR) offers an alternative ERF to the users' real-world ERF. The sense of SP emerges if this alternative ERF is chosen as the primary ERF over the competing ERF of the real physical world. The outcome of this selection process is considered to be based on two critical questions: whether a person perceives himself 1) as if actually located in the mediated environment (self-location) and 2) as being able to act in the mediated environment (possible actions).
Only a few studies to date have examined the neural underpinnings of SP. For example, Baumgartner et al. [6,7] identified a distinct network of fronto-parietal brain regions involved in the generation and regulation of SP during exposure to virtual roller coaster scenarios. Using EEG [6], they found activations in parietal brain regions and deactivations in frontal brain regions in participants experiencing high SP compared with participants experiencing low SP. They concluded from their findings that spatial cues presented in the roller coaster scenario generate a sense of SP by strongly activating parietal brain regions (in the dorsal visual stream particularly) that thus lead to enhanced egocentric processing of the displayed environment. In a subsequent fMRI study [7], they concluded that frontal (de)activations relating to differences in SP are closely associated with modulatory processes in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Specifically, they concluded that activation in the DLPFC modulates the sense of SP by down-regulating egocentric visual processing in the dorsal visual stream, as reflected in those participants who experience low SP. This interpretation has received support by further studies using EEG [8] and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) [9], the latter relating these ideas to neuroscientific concepts of behaviour and impulse control [for review, see [10]], and by an interesting study investigating flow experience during video game playing [11].
Considering the increasing importance of VR in our society (e.g. in TV, video gaming and the internet), this study aimed to extend our understanding of SP by investigating the neural correlates of the theoretically proposed key stages in the formation of SP. It was decided to experimentally influence the choice of the virtual ERF as the primary ERF by manipulating the impression of self-location on the one hand and the perceived possible actions on the other hand. To do so, the two important media factors perspective (first-person perspective vs. third-person perspective) and agency (being the agent of the actions in the VR vs. being the observer of the actions in the VR) were experimentally controlled and manipulated. These two factors have been shown to influence experience of SP in various psychometrical and behavioural studies [12,13]; however, no study has investigated their influence on SP on a neural level. Thus, the present study sought to establish how manipulating the factors perspective and agency would influence the impression of self-location and the perceived possible actions and the formation of SP on a perceptual and a neural level.
To investigate this, electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded and subjective SP experience was assessed while participants played the commercially available video game "The elder scrolls 4: Oblivion". Participants had to play a simple, non-arousing task, in which they were required to navigate the video game's avatar (i.e. the virtual character) to a given location in four different conditions (i.e. in a 2x2 design combining the factors perspective and agency). The two perspective conditions entailed playing in the 1PP or in the 3PP. The two agency conditions allowed participants to either actively control the avatar (active) or to passively observe the avatar while it was in fact controlled by another player (passive). EEG registration was chosen over fMRI measurements to facilitate presentation of a real-life gaming situation and because EEG has been shown to be a valuable tool in the study of video and computer gaming in previous research [14,15]. In order to directly compare our EEG results with the previously obtained functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and tDCS findings of our group [7,9,10], the sLORETA software (standard low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography) was used also in order to calculate the cortical sources [16]. Based on previous studies, it was hypothesized that manipulating the factors perspective and agency influences SP by either directly or indirectly modulating the ego-centric processing in the dorsal stream. The following predictions were thus formulated for our EEG experiment:
H1: Playing the video game under 1PP compared with 3PP will enhance the experience of SP and reveal stronger activation in parietal areas (especially in the dorsal visual stream).
H2: Actively playing the video game compared with passively observing it will enhance the experience of SP and show stronger deactivation in frontal brain areas (e.g. in the DLPFC).
Twenty healthy male volunteers took part in this experiment (age =19-32years; M=23.5years; SD=3.83). One person had to be excluded from statistical analysis due to missing EEG data. All participants were consistently right-handed and native speakers of German. Handedness was assessed using the Annett-Handedness Questionnaire [17]. To measure health status, a questionnaire regarding neurological and psychiatric health, drug use, hearing and visual deficits was used. None of the participants reported any history of neurological or psychiatric disease, sensory impairments or subjective cognitive impairments. To control for any effects of gaming expertise, the sample was stratified according to the gaming experience of the participants into 10 experienced gamers (>5 hours per week, M=11.70 and SD=8.24) and 10 non-gamers (<1 hour per week, M=0.2 and SD=0.42). The participants were recruited from various sources, such as the university, the social network of the investigators and via internet ads. The local ethics committee approved the study and all participants gave written informed consent.
Participants played a specific video game scenario from the commercially available video game "The elder scrolls 4: Oblivion" (Bethesda Softworks LLC, a Zeni Max Media Company). The game was played on the Playstation 3 console (Sony Corporation) using the original Playstation 3 controller, on a TV screen (26 inch) placed at a distance of 1.5m in front of them. "Oblivion" is a single-player role-playing game in which the player has the ability to explore a richly detailed game world using a realistic looking human avatar (see Figure1). Because all participants played this game for the first time, a simple scenario was used in which they were required to navigate their avatar to a given location. The selected game scenario was non-arousing, without enemies or other dangerous situations. A 2x2 factorial design with the factors perspective and agency was used. After a short training session to learn the correct navigation of the avatar, each person performed two simple tasks. In the active condition, participants were instructed to complete a mission in which they had to navigate their avatar to follow a specific path and to find the entry of a castle. In the passive condition, participants were instructed to closely pursue how the avatar completed the same task but controlled by another player. These tasks were performed by all participants from two different perspectives. In the 1PP, participants performed the task by looking through the eyes of the avatar, that is, as if actually located in its body. In the 3PP, participants performed the task from a viewpoint behind and above the avatar (see Figure1). Thus, there were 4 conditions (1PP-active, 1PP-passive, 3PP-active and 3PP-passive) each of which was performed once by each participant. Each trial took 2–3 minutes, depending on the speed of each participant in the active conditions. The 4 trials were systematically randomised. During these trials, continuous EEG was recorded. After each trial, participants answered a short questionnaire about their SP experience (see next paragraph).
Since the sense of SP is a subjective feeling, the MEC-SPQ questionnaire was used [18]. The MEC-SPQ is specifically designed to measure SP and consists of 9 scales. Four of these cover process factors (attention allocation, spatial situation model, self-location, possible actions), two scales refer to states and actions (higher cognitive involvement, suspension of disbelief) and three scales address more trait-like personality characteristics (i.e. domain specific interest, visual spatial imagery, and absorption). Two of the process scales are specifically intended to reflect physical (or spatial) presence: namely the self-location and the possible actions scale. The sub-scale self-location measures the impression of the subject to be physically in the middle of the virtual game environment (e.g. "I felt like I was actually there in the environment of the presentation."). The sub-scale possible actions assesses the impression of being able to act in the VE (e.g. "The objects in the presentation gave me the feeling that I could do things with them."). There are three versions of the MEC-SPQ: a full, a medium and a short version of all the scales (with 8, 6 or 4 items per scale). All versions have been validated in large samples in different cities within three countries (Los Angeles, Helsinki, Porto) [18]. In our study, a German translation of the 4-item scale for the sub-scales self-location and possible actions was used. Participants were instructed to answer on an 8- point scale ranking ("0=I do not agree at all" to "7=I agree fully"), instead of the proposed 5-point scale because it was determined in the pilot study that more precise results would be derived from the use of a larger scale. In the statistical analysis, the Friedman test was used as a first step to identify effects of the factors perspective and agency on the sub-scales self-location and possible actions. In a second step, the Wilcoxon test was used to make three pairwise comparisons between the four conditions (1PP-active vs. 3PP-active, 3PP-active vs. 1PP-passive and 1PP-passive vs. 3PP-passive). The results were considered significant in case of p<0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons (Bonferroni).
EEG was recorded from 30 scalp electrodes using a Brain Vision amplifier system (Brain Products, Germany). Silver-silver-chloride electrodes were used in association with the "Easy Cap System"(International 10–10 system, Falk Minow Services, Germany) and were attached according to the international 10–10 system in the following positions Fp1/2, F3/4, F7/8, Fz, FCz, FT7/8, FC3/4, T7/8, C3/4, Cz, TP7/8, TP9/10, CP3/4, CPz, P7/8, P3/4, Pz, O1/2 and Oz. Recording reference was at FCz, with off-line re-referencing to average reference [19,20]. An electro-oculogram (EOG) was recorded from two additional electrodes placed below the outer canthus of each eye to record horizontal eye movements. Brain Vision Recorder and Analyzer (Brain Products, Germany) were used to record and analyze the data. The digital sampling rate was 500Hz; impedance was kept below 10kΩ. Participants were seated in a comfortable chair with their head resting in a head mounting within a sound- and electrically shielded chamber with dim illumination. In the beginning of the experiment, a short 3 minute open eye resting condition EEG was taken as baseline recording. Then, after a short training session (to learn the navigation of the avatar), continuous EEG was recorded during each experimental trial.
After recording EEG, the data were bandpass filtered from 1 to 30Hz using a notch filter at 50Hz. Then, an independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm provided in the EEGlab software was used to correct for artefacts (e.g. eye blinks & eye movements). It has been shown that ICA can effectively detect, separate and remove activity in EEG records from a wide variety of artificial sources [21]. In addition, all recorded data were carefully and individually checked for artefacts (sweating & muscle artefacts) by visual inspection. The artefact-free EEG was recomputed against the average reference [22]. Each of the four conditions was then segmented into epochs of 2-s duration. We used 68 segments per subject and condition for all the analyses (30.88% of all epochs were excluded).
A discrete Fourier transformation algorithm was applied to all 2-s epochs according to the frequency band spectra defined by Kubicki et al. [23]: delta (1.5-6Hz), theta (6.5-8Hz), alpha1 (8.5-10Hz), alpha2 (10.5-12Hz), beta1 (12.5-18Hz), beta2 (18.5-21Hz), beta3 (21.5-30Hz) and omega (1.5-30Hz). Of these frequency band spectra, the alpha and theta band power interested us the most. Alpha band power has repeatedly been shown to be inversely related to haemodynamic brain responses especially in lateral frontal and parietal brain areas [24-26] and based on these results, we take the alpha band power as an indicator of cortical deactivation in these areas. Theta rhythm in frontal areas is referred to as "frontal midline theta" (FM-theta) and has been observed during a large variety of tasks such as mental calculation, working memory and learning, error processing, and meditation [27,28]. Therefore, FM-theta has been interpreted as a correlate of heightened mental effort and sustained attention required during a multitude of operations. Furthermore, FM-theta has been found in previous EEG based video gaming studies [29-31]. Thus, alpha band power (including alpha1 [8.5-10Hz] and alpha2 [10.5-12Hz]) and theta band power (6.5- 8Hz) spectra were calculated for each single epoch and then averaged across epochs.
In accordance with the study of Baumgartner et al. [6], 12 electrodes were collapsed into three frontal and three parietal electrode clusters: frontal left (F3/FC3), frontal midline (Fz/FCz), frontal right (F4/FC4), parietal left (CP3/P3), parietal midline (CPz/Pz), and parietal right (CP4/P4). In a first step, the two frequency band spectra (alpha and theta) were analysed separately with two four-way ANOVAs (analysis of variance) with the following repeated measurements factors: perspective (1PP vs. 3PP), agency (active vs. active), region (frontal vs. parietal) and hemisphere (left, midline and right). Greenhouse-Geisser correction was applied to guard against effects of heteroscedasticity. In a second step, dependent t-tests were used to make four pairwise comparisons between the four conditions separately for alpha and theta (1PP-active vs. 1PP-passive, 3PP-active vs. 3PP-passive, 1PP-active vs. 3PP-active and 1PP-passive vs. 3PP-passive). The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS (version 17). The results were considered significant in case of p<0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons (Bonferroni). In the presentation of the ANOVA results, alpha1 and alpha2 will be reported together as alpha (8.5- 12Hz).
The sLORETA software was used for source reconstruction. The sLORETA method [32,33] calculates the three dimensional distribution of electrically active neuronal generators within the brain as current density values (A/cm2) based on the recorded scalp electric potential differences. sLORETA estimates the inverse problem using the assumption that the smoothest of all possible activities is the most plausible one. This assumption is supported by electrophysiological data demonstrating that neighbouring neuronal populations show highly correlated activity [34]. The sLORETA software implies a three-shell spherical head model registered to the Talairach and Tournoux atlas (Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute). Source solutions space was limited to cortical gray matter and hippocampus according to the probability atlas provided by the Montreal Neurological Institute (number of voxels: 6392, voxel dimension: 5mm2). It has been shown in various studies that sLORETA is able to correctly locate with fairly low errors [35-38], which has been validated from studies combining sLORETA with fMRI [39] and with PET [40]. Statistical significance is assessed by means of a nonparametric randomization test [41] and thresholds were set to p<0.05 (corrected for multiple comparisons).
Comparing SP ratings, significant main effects were found in both sub-scales (Friedman test: self-location: χ²=25.46, df=3, p<0.001; possible actions: χ²=47.50, df=3, p<0.001). Comparing the four conditions pairwise, a significant difference was found between 1PP-active and 3PP-active (Z=2.68, p<0.01) and between 1PP-passive and 3PP-passive (Z=2.60, p<0.01) but not between 3PP-active vs. 1PP-passive (Z=0.50, p>0.05) for self-location. Figure2a illustrates greater SP in 1PP than in 3PP and this more so in the active condition than in the passive. For possible actions, the same pattern of SP ratings was observed, namely more SP in 1PP than in 3PP and more SP in the active than in the passive condition (see Figure2b). But in this condition the comparison between 1PP-active and 3PP-active was not significant (Z=1.57, p>0.05), whereas the comparisons between 3PP-active and 1PP-passive (Z=3.71, p<0.001) and between 1PP-passive vs. 3PP-passive (Z=2.16, p<0.05) were significant. As shown in Figures2a and and2b,2b, agency had a larger absolute influence on both perspective conditions: Higher SP ratings were found for the active conditions (1PP-active and 3PP-active) than for the passive conditions (1PP-passive and 3PP-passive). In all of these analyses, no significant differences were found between gamers and non-gamers.
The alpha- and theta power values were subjected to four-way ANOVAs with perspective (1PP vs. 3PP), agency (active vs. passive), region (frontal vs. parietal), and hemisphere (left, midline and right) as factors. The ANOVA for the alpha power revealed two significant main effects for agency (F=5.306, df=1, 17, p<0.05) and for perspective (F=6.841, df=1, 17, p<0.05) and three significant interaction effects for agency * perspective (F=5.459, df=1, 17, p<0.05), for agency * hemisphere (F=4.806, df=2, 16, p<0.05), and for region * hemisphere (F=5.033, df=2, 16, p<0.05). The effect for agency is qualified by larger alpha band power during the passive condition compared to the active condition. The effect for perspective depends on larger alpha band power during 3PP than during 1PP. The interaction between agency * perspective is qualified by larger alpha band power during 3PP than during 1PP only in the passive condition but not in the active condition. The interaction effect for agency * hemisphere demonstrated topographically the strongest alpha band power for the midline electrode clusters for the active condition and a similar distribution between the left, the midline and the right electrode clusters for the passive condition. Finally, the interaction effect for region * hemisphere revealed in frontal areas more alpha band power in the midline electrode cluster compared with the lateral electrode clusters, and in parietal areas more alpha band power in the lateral electrode clusters compared with the midline clusters. Table1 shows the results of the post-hoc t-tests between the four conditions. In summary, and as depicted in Figures3 and and4,4, there is generally more alpha band activity in the passive compared with the active condition and in the 3PP compared with 1PP.
The ANOVA for the theta band power showed three significant main effects for agency (F=5.731, df=1, 17, p<0.05), for region (F=39.265, df=1, 17, p<0.001) and for hemisphere (F=38.521, df=2, 16, p<0.001), and three significant interaction effects for agency * region (F=16.406, df=1, 17, p<0.001), for agency * hemisphere (F=8.032, df=2, 16, p<0.001) and for region * hemisphere (F=8.973, df=2, 16, p<0.01). However, there was neither a significant main effect nor a significant interaction effect for the factor perspective (main effect: F=1.473, df=1, 17, p>0.05). Unlike in the alpha band ANOVA, there was more theta band power in the active condition than in the passive. In addition, the main effects for region and for hemisphere and the interaction effect for region * hemisphere showed significantly more theta band power in frontal brain parts and significantly more theta in the midline electrode clusters. The interaction effect for agency * hemisphere demonstrated increased theta band power at the midline electrode clusters for the active condition compared to the passive condition. The interaction effect for agency * region showed more theta band power in the frontal electrode clusters in the active condition compared to the passive. Table1 shows the results of the post-hoc t-tests between the four conditions. In summary, Figures5 and and66 illustrate that there are significant main and interaction effects for agency but not for perspective.
Using sLORETA to locate the neural underpinnings (Table2 summarizes the sLORETA results), the comparison between 1PP and 3PP (in the active condition) revealed in 1PP significant less alpha1 frequency band power in the limbic cortex (bilateral posterior cingulate, left cingulate cortex, left parahippocampalgyrus) and the occipital cortex (left lingual gyrus, left cuneus) and significant less alpha2 frequency band power in the parietal cortex (right inferior parietal lobule) [see Figures7a/b]. The comparison between active and passive (in 1PP) revealed in the active condition compared to passive significantly more theta frequency band power in frontal brain parts bilaterally (superior, middle, medial and inferior frontal gyrus in the left hemisphere and superior and middle frontal gyrus in the right hemisphere) [see Figure8].
To compare the present EEG study with previous EEG and fMRI studies of Baumgartner et al. [6,7], two more analyses were conducted to compare the four conditions. First, the condition that induced the highest SP experience (number of participants with the highest SP in 1PP-active: 14, 3PP-active: 3, 1PP-passive: 3 and 3PP-passive: 0) was compared with the condition that induced the lowest SP (number of participants with the lowest SP in 1PP-active: 1, 3PP-active: 2, 1PP-passive: 2 and 3PP-passive: 15) for each participant. This comparison showed significantly less alpha2 frequency band power in parietal brain regions of the left hemisphere (left superior and inferior parietal gyrus, left precuneus) in the high SP conditions compared with the low SP conditions [see Figure9.
Second, a region of interest analysis for the DLPFC was performed. The mean intracerebral activation in the DLPFC of each hemisphere (left hemisphere: -30; 15; 15, right hemisphere: 30; 15; 15) was estimated and correlated with the SP ratings of the self-location subscale. By this, a significant correlation between SP and the deactivation in the DLPFC of both hemispheres was found: High SP ratings were correlated with the intracerebral alpha activity in both DLPFC (left hemisphere: rs=0.526, p<0.05; right hemisphere: rs=0.566, p<0.05; both hemispheres: rs=0.563, p<0.05) [see Figure10].
The goal of this study was to establish whether SP is modulated by the two critical media factors perspective and agency and to delineate the neural impact of these factors during video game play. We thus conducted an experiment in which the participants played the video game "Oblivion" in four different conditions (1PP-active, 3PP-active, 1PP-passive and 3PP-passive) while scalp EEG was recorded and subjective experience of SP was assessed. The most important findings may be summarised as follows: (1) Higher SP ratings were obtained in 1PP compared with 3PP and in the active compared with the passive condition. (2) The analysis of the scalp EEG data revealed more alpha band power during 3PP than during 1PP and more alpha band power in the passive than in the active condition. (3) For the theta band, there was more activity in the active than in the passive condition and no significant activity difference between the two perspectives. (4) The intracerebral activations inferred with sLORETA revealed less alpha band activity in the parietal cortex, the occipital cortex, and the limbic cortex for the 1PP compared to the 3PP condition. (5) Finally, there was stronger theta activity bilaterally in the frontal cortex including superior, middle and inferior areas in the active than in the passive condition. In the following, we will discuss these findings in the context of the literature on SP with specific emphasis on neuroscientific findings.
Operating the video game in the 1PP and active conditions was associated with the strongest subjective SP feelings, thus corroborating the results of previous studies [12,13]. Nevertheless, our findings go beyond these previous studies because we also examined the interaction of these two factors. Doing this, we found stronger SP ratings during the active conditions (1PP-active and in the 3PP-active) than during both passive conditions (1PP-passive and 3PP-passive), meaning that this general effect was independent of whether the subjects played in 1PP or 3PP. Thus, the factor agency exerts a stronger perception of SP than the factor perspective.
Early conceptualisations of SP have highlighted the specific role of perception on the generation of SP (the perception-oriented view). In this view, SP most strongly depends on the specific perception of spatial cues in VR. It has been argued that the person is concurrently "inattentive" to the spatial cues of the real physical surroundings [2]. Thus, a sensory-rich media stimulation evokes greater attentional processing preferentially via the visual dorsal stream and thus contributes to an enhanced perception of SP [1,10,18]. An alternative view of SP has been proposed by Sanchez-Vives and Slater (the action-oriented view) [4]. These authors highlight the role of controlled actions in the real or VE as a constituent feature for experiencing SP. The sense of "being there" in a VE is thought to be based on the ability to "do there". Thus, conscious action control and movement within the VE is an important constituent of SP. This does not necessarily mean that real actions must be executed in a VE. A mental representation of an action can be automatically triggered by the incoming VE stimuli irrespective of subsequent execution of the action or not [10]. Both views, the perception-oriented and the action-oriented, receive support from our own study since we demonstrate that the experience of SP can be evoked by the perceptual perspective and by the experience of agency in the VE.
However, our experiment indicates that agency is more important for SP, given the larger influence of agency than of perspective on SP ratings. This finding is consistent with the action-oriented view in a gaming situation, although this may be limited to the specific characteristics of computer and video gaming and may not be generalized to all VR situations. In a common video gaming situation like the one used in our experiment the sensory modalities are not exposed to the kind of near-real-life stimuli that more sophisticated VR technologies can deliver. Sophisticated VR technologies are capable of addressing different sensory modalities and of sustaining a match between these different modalities (e.g. by using eye goggles and real-time tracking devices) [42]. However, in video or computer gaming, the means to stimulate sensory modalities are technically limited to a TV or computer screen. But we suggest that in video gaming this limitation can be compensated for by an increase in the interactivity enabled or required by the mediated environment. Referring to the model of Wirth et al. [5], we postulate that the possibility to act and manipulate first "attracts" the attention of the player to the VE and, in a second step, increases the acceptance of the mediated ERF as the primary ERF. Consequently, it is possible that (especially in video gaming) the perception of agency is of higher importance than the perception of self-location.
With respect to the cortical activation pattern, we identified decreased alpha band activity in the active and 1PP conditions. Since the active and 1PP conditions evoke the strongest SP perception, it is clear that strong SP is associated with less alpha band activity. Based on studies that revealed strong negative relationships between hemodynamic responses and alpha band power [24-26], we take the alpha band power as an indicator of cortical deactivation in these areas. Thus, higher cortical activation (strong hemodynamic responses) is associated with less alpha band activity. In the context of our study, the weaker alpha band responses over frontal and over parietal areas during 1PP and the active conditions indicates increased brain activation during these conditions. Since these conditions are also those with the strongest sense of SP, we assume that strong SP is associated with increased activation in the fronto-parietal network. For the theta band, we identified more theta band power (especially over the frontal midline positions) during the active conditions. In contrast to alpha band activity, theta band activity is not a direct indicator of neural activation or deactivation. However, theta band activity, especially over the frontal midline electrodes (FM-theta), is known to be involved in the control of complex cognitive operations such as working memory, memory processes, and the control of actions [27,28]. Furthermore, our finding of increased FM-theta in active conditions is consistent with previous EEG based video gaming studies in showing that operating actions in VEs is associated with increased FM-theta [29-31].
In the comparison between high SP conditions and low SP conditions, we found less alpha2 frequency band power in parietal brain regions of the left hemisphere (left superior and inferior parietal gyrus, left precuneus) in the high SP conditions. Additionally, we revealed a significant positive correlation between intracerebral alpha activity in the bilateral DLPFC and SP ratings of the self-location subscale. These findings are in accordance with previous findings of our group in which we demonstrated 1) that SP experience is associated with the involvement of a distributed fronto-parietal network including the dorsal visual stream as a prominent part, and 2) that the DLPFC is one of the major regulators within this network [6,7]. Nevertheless, our results not only replicate previous findings but expand current knowledge by showing that these neurophysiological mechanisms are not confined to the virtual roller coaster scenarios used by Baumgartner et al. [6,7]. Since the roller coaster scenarios were non-interactive and arousing, while our experimental scenarios were interactive and non-arousing, we demonstrate that the core regions associated with SP are relevant in different virtual environments.
Comparison of the intracerebral sources of alpha activity between 1PP and 3PP (separately for the active and the passive conditions) revealed a network of neural sources including the parietal cortex (right inferior parietal lobule), the occipital cortex (left lingual gyrus, left cuneus), and the limbic cortex (bilateral posterior cingulate, left cingulate cortex, left parahippocampalgyrus) with decreased alpha activity. Comparison of the active and passive conditions showed stronger theta activity in frontal brain areas during the active conditions (superior, middle, medial and inferior frontal gyrus in the left hemisphere, and superior and middle frontal gyrus in the right hemisphere). The fronto-parietal network found in the present study (and in previous studies of our group) is not exclusively associated with generating and controlling the experience of SP [see also [10]. These regions of the parietal cortex are known to be involved in spatial processing, mental rotation, and most importantly, a part of this network constitutes the dorsal visual stream, which is known to be involved in the egocentric processing [43,44]. These parts of the limbic cortex are known to play an important role in episodic memory, emotional stimuli processing, and action control [23,35]. The identified frontal brain areas are known to be involved in various executive functions that exert regulatory control over emotions and actions with the DLPFC being an important part [27,45-51].
Among the various brain regions within this fronto-parietal network, the role of a parietal-premotor connection associated with sensory-motor integration is particularly interesting for the interpretation of our findings for perspective and agency. The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is known to integrate information from different sensory modalities to form a coherent multimodal representation of space coded in a body-centered reference frame. This integration of multisensory cues includes mapping the position of objects in reference to one's own body [52]. The premotor cortex, (PMC) on the other hand, appears to define a corresponding motor space consisting of all potential motor actions within the surrounding space [53]. It has been suggested that potential target objects within the visual field elicit motor schemas for potential actions that map the position of these objects in the surrounding environment [54]. Put simply, the PPC directly maps the position of objects in reference to the body, whereas the PMC creates a motor space as an intermediate step first.
According to the model of Wirth et al. [5], an alternative egocentric reference frame (ERF) to the real-world ERF develops from spatial cues and action cues of the VE. This ERF contains information about the spatial properties of immediate surroundings from a first-person perspective. The parietal-premotor connection might play a key role in this process. As mentioned in a previous review [10], we believe that the new egocentric view derived from VR is generated in the context of several transformation processes in the dorsal visual stream of the parietal cortex [see [43,44]]. Regarding our findings for perspective and agency, we propose that mediated by the PPC, spatial cues from the VE directly define the spatial properties within an egocentric view. On the other hand, mediated by the PMC, actions cues in the VE are used to define a motor space which indirectly facilitates an egocentric view. Thus, we propose that both parietal and frontal regions are involved in the generation of the alternative ERF derived from the mediated environment.
The sense of SP is thought to emerge when the ERF from the mediated environment is selected as the primary ERF over the competing ERF of the actual environment (Wirth et al. [5]). We believe that whether or not a person chooses this new ERF as the primary ERF depends (among other things) upon the strength of the influence that media factors such as perspective and agency exert on this fronto-parietal network. More specifically, we propose that playing in 1PP, as well as actively controlling the actions of the video game avatar, increases the acceptance of the new ERF as the primary ERF mediated by (and observable as) increased activation in the fronto-parietal network.
The present study has some limitations which should be addressed in future studies. The SP model of Wirth et al. [5], which lays the theoretical foundation for the interpretation of our neuroscientific findings, has not yet been thoroughly investigated empirically. It remains to be seen if this model will receive further support in future investigations.
The post-hoc questionnaires used in this study have disadvantages due to their administration after exposure; these disadvantages include recency effects, anchoring effects and inaccurate recall [55]. However, the alternative of a continuous on-line measurement of SP also has important disadvantages such as disruption of the SP experience itself by drawing attention away from the VE [2]. Future studies may be able to use new developed measurement procedures which seek to overcome these issues.
A limitation of our study design was the fact that we were not able to investigate the factors perspective and agency independently. In future studies, it may prove beneficial to manipulate the amount of sensory information and the possibilities to act in the VE independently in order to further elaborate how each influence SP and which influences SP more significantly.
In sum, we propose that manipulating the factors perspective and agency influences SP by either directly or indirectly modulating the ego-centric visual processing in a fronto-parietal network. The findings of this study fit well within recent neuroimaging and behaviour studies. Several studies have demonstrated that a strong sense of SP is associated with activation in a distributed brain network that specifically includes fronto-parietal regions [6-10]. But our findings are also consistent with different theoretical views on presence (i.e. action- and perception-oriented) and may thus help to reconcile these views in one conceptual framework [5,10].
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
MH conducted the literature review, planned the experimental design, performed data collection and data analysis, and prepared all drafts of the manuscript. NL contributed to data analysis and to draft revision. MC contributed to planning the experimental design, contributed to data collection and to draft revision. LJ contributed to draft revision and to theoretical interpretation. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
This work was supported by the European Union FET Integrated Project PRESENCCIA (Contract number 27731). Furthermore, we would like to acknowledge Janine Saurer for her help in data collection.
PubMed Central Canada is a service of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) working in partnership with the National Research Council's national science library in cooperation with the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the U.S. National Library of Medicine(NCBI/NLM). It includes content provided to the PubMed Central International archive by participating publishers.


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How to upgrade your ordinary router with functionality of a high cost one with Tomato firmware
Here is how to install Tomato firmware on your cheap Wi-Fi router to attain functionality of a high cost router.What if you could simply enhance your router's functionalities just by some software alteration. well, Few people understand why some routers cost $15 and some hundreds of dollars.
There are hardware differences and… software differences.
Using a custom firmware (if supported by the router) can give you options/features available on much more expensive hardware.
Such a firmware is Tomato USB. Its an open source firmware for Broadcomm based routers.The first step is to see if your router is supported by Tomato, so please check Shibby Tomato Builds. If it is, get the newest version and flash it on the administration interface.
If it cannot be flashed through Web interface (like Asus RT-N53), you must use the emergency procedure (see router documentation) to upload the custom firmware to the router.
After you install and set up all the usual settings on Tomato (WIFI, LAN etc.), you can go further, and with some work, you can install many programs, for example a webserver with PHP support or Transmission Torrent client (the router must have USB ports).
Different routers have different flash memory sizes. Inside the flash reside the firmware and settings. Depending on the flash size and firmware size (VPN or AIO), some unused space might still remain, so you can create a JFFS partition to install software. This is critical for routers without USB or if you do not want to use a USB drive. If you do want to use a USB drive, read here how to create a partition, and after you create it, continue this tutorial from Step 3.
Step 1: Create a JFFS partition.
Go to Administration – JFFS – Enable – Format Erase
In the text box paste:
mount -o bind /jffs /optWait a few minutes, and if you do not get any message, reboot the router.
Step 2:
Go to Administration – Admin Access and modify the default port settings for router administration (ex: 8082).
This will allow you to access your router on specified port.
http://ip_router:8082Step 3:
default: http://192.168.1.1:8082
3. Access the router on SSH using Putty (Windows) or Terminal (Mac).
On Mac, the command is:
ssh -l root IPUsername must be root and the password of the admin user.
Step 4:
Install Optware package manager by using the following code.
cd /tmpNote that it may take time depending on your internet speed and your router's processing power.
wget http://tomatousb.org/local–files/tut:optware-installation/optware-install.sh -O – | tr -d '\r' > /tmp/optware-install.sh
chmod 755 optware-install.sh
sh optware-install.sh
Step 5:
Install nano (text editor), lighttpd (webserver), and PHP
ipkg install nanoStep 6: Edit the lighttpd configuration file.
ipkg install lighttpd
ipkg install php-fcgi
nano /opt/etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.confand add this:
server.event-handler ="poll"Modify the default running port of the webserver (default is 8081).
server.port = 80Save everything and close nano.
Step 7:
Restart the webserver.
/opt/etc/init.d/S80lighttpd restartNow you can put files and scripts in /opt/share/www/
If you want your webserver to be accessible from WAN, you need to add those lines to the Firewall script (Administration – Scripts – Firewall):
iptables -t filter -A INPUT -p tcp –dport 80 -j ACCEPTIts done! now enjoy the features on your budget router. Do post your queries or suggestions in the comments.
iptables -t filter -A INPUT -p tcp –dport 443 -j ACCEPT


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My personal vehicle use for work is required by my employer but I'm not reimbursed for my mileage to and from work. Can I deduct this mileage? And if not, what mileage can I deduct?
Driving to and from work is called commuting. Commuting expenses which include the accrued mileage to and from work originating from your home is not deductible.
However, if your personal vehicle use for work is required you can deduct the travel expenses or mileage if any of these is true:
- You incur expenses going from your home to a temporary workplace outside the area where you live and normally work. You can't deduct the expenses if your workplace is in the same area as your home. However, there might be an exception if either of the next two situations applies to you.
- You have at least one regular work location away from your residence. If it's the same trade or business, you can deduct expenses for travel between your home and a temporary workplace. The distance between the two doesn't matter.
- If your home is your principal place of business, you can deduct expenses you incur going from your home to another workplace. They must have the same trade or business. This is true regardless of these:
- Whether the other work location is regular or temporary
- The distance between the two
Ready to file?
You've got your forms. And we've got your back. There's only one thing left to do. Let's do this.
So how much will you get (or owe) this year? That's the million-dollar question. We happen to have three very useful calculators to help you estimate your refund or balance due.