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Patent application title: Wide field-of-view amplified fiber-retro for secure high data rate communications and remote data transfer
Arun Kumar Majumdar (Agoura Hills, CA, US)
Thomas Maurice Shay (Albuquerque, NM, US)
IPC8 Class: AH04B1000FI
USPC Class:
Class name: Optical communications transmitter and receiver system
Publication date: 2009-08-13
Patent application number: 20090202254
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Patent application title: Wide field-of-view amplified fiber-retro for secure high data rate communications and remote data transfer
Arun Kumar Majumdar
Thomas Maurice Shay
Arun K. Majumdar
Origin: AGOURA HILLS, CA US
IPC8 Class: AH04B1000FI
USPC Class:
An optical system for remotely optical communications at a high data rate
between a base station and a remote station under atmospheric turbulence
conditions is disclosed. The remote station includes an entirely
different type of retroreflector that does not use the conventional type
of retroreflection, but instead consists of two sets of lenslets coupled
with single-mode fiber array, called fiber "retro". Amplified
retromodulation is achieved requiring only one single optical amplifier
and one single modulator. A transmitter located at the base station sends
an interrogating optical beam to the fiber "retro" which modulates the
optical beam according to the input signal/data, and redirects the
modulated optical beam to the base station for detection by a receiver.
The present invention includes the capabilities of providing
Identification of Friend-or-Foe (IFF), secure communication, and a means
of achieving a wide field-of-view (FOV) with a fiber-coupled lenselet
1. A system for remote communication and data monitoring, comprising:a
base station and a remote station, said base station comprising
transmitter-receiver means to transmit an interrogation optical beam to
said remote station, and a receiver at said base station to detect the
returned signal from the said remote station;said remote station
comprising:receiving optics wide-angle large format telecentric lens with
an array of lenslets coupled with single mode fibers to accept lights
from the interrogator, an optical amplifier, a modulator;transmitting
exit optics with co-aligned lenslet array coupled with single-mode fibers
and a wide-angle telecentric lens to re-direct (i.e., basically to
retro-reflect) the modulated light back to the interrogator
location;receiving signaling device to electronically control, manipulate
and direct the incident signals detected at the receiving optics to
properly channalizing for optically amplification and
modulation;transmitting signaling device to properly correlate and select
the amplified and modulated signals to re-direct (i.e., basically
retroreflect) via the exit optics to the interrogation source at said
base station;said atmospheric channel comprises of atmospheric turbulence
and scattering media.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said telecentric lens comprises a wide-angled lens with a large format putting the far-field plane of the input at the input plane of the said lenslet array making each lenslet in the array to correspond to a different input-beam angle, and thus different direction to the laser interrogator, and wherein said amplified fiber retro modulator (AFRM) provides a novel means of determining the exact angular location of the source.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein a two-dimensional lenlest array is used to obtain large field-of-view (FOV) to accept a wide-angle incident light.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein a separate two-dimensional lenlet array is used to transmit the light at any wide-angle within the said FOV.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein said AFRM comprises only one single low noise, low power-consuming optical amplifier for amplifying the optical signals at said receiving optics lenslet array outputs.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein:said AFRM comprises only one single modulator for modulating the optically amplified signals; andsaid data buffer provides the signals to modulate the amplified optical signal by the modulator.
7. The system of claim 2, further comprises a low outcoupling fiber tap combined with a slow-speed photodetector attached to each coupler to detect the input time-averaged powers in order to identify the particular lenslet which accepts the incident light from the interrogator.
8. The system of claim 2, further comprises an electronic switch (N×1, i.e., N inputs and 1 output) which selects the largest input and sends the indices (e.g., the row/column information) to the spatial router (1.times.N) in order to transmit via said transmitting exit optics.
9. The system of claim 1, comprises a data buffer which receives data from a monitoring sensor, and could either output real-time data or data stored over some previous time interval. The monitoring sensor could be an imaging camera, audio recorder, any instrument that measures any environmental property of interest or any other data generating device which contains information collected by any instrument that needs to be monitored remotely from said base station.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein said amplified retromodulator comprises in addition to said optical communication and remote data monitoring system of claims 1 through 9, an identification of friend-or-foe (IFF)-capability, wherein said IFF-capability comprises:an optical transmitter of the interrogation beam modulated with IFF-code by means of an IFF-code generator;an optical receiver at said interrogator with IFF-code filter;a low outcoupling fiber tap attached with a high speed photodetector for sampling the optical amplifier output and detecting the IFF-code pulse sequences;a decoder/encoder for verifying the authenticity of the IFF-code, and a timing circuit to produce timing pulses to trigger the outgoing code and the outgoing data;a modulator controller to accept decoded pulse sequence, external data signal from said data buffer, and the timing pulses to trigger the outgoing code and the outgoing data; andan optical receiver at said interrogator comprising said IFF-code filter;a receiving and transmitting signaling device with decoding and encoding devices to properly electronically synchronize, decrypt the encrypted interrogation message, control, manipulate and direct the signals back to the interrogator location.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the IFF-code generator produces a modulated IFF-code which has four time sequences: the interrogation message pulse train contains a trigger pulse (to set the marker at time, t=0), followed by a pre-assigned IFF-code, a delay interval allowing time for IFF-code verification by the AFRM, and an unmodulated pulse containing the trigger and IFF-code pulse plus an interval time to allow the AFRM to return a data message.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein the coded reply signal after being verified by the said AFRM is returned back to the dedicated receiver with IFF-code filter of claim 10, in the interrogator unit, which then checks the coded signal against a data base of codes for friendly devices to determine whether the retromodulating devices isfriendly by making sure the authenticity of the received data from AFRM.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein said base station and said remote station is a platform selected from a group consisting of air-borne, satellite, ground, and underwater such as submarine.
14. The system of claim 10, wherein said IFF operation provide secure communication.
15. The system of claim 10, wherein said base station and said remote station can form a pair wherein many such said pairs can be combined together to operate as a relay (or repeater) system using such a constellation of AFRMs. This said constellation can be either in space, on ground, underwater platforms such as submarines, or any combination of both.
16. The system of claim 10, wherein said optical interrogator can include multiple transmitting wavelengths using a device such as wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) to receive back re-directed modulated signals at all the wavelengths from the said AFRM, which comprises also a WDM demultiplexer capable of separating the signals into all wavelengths, said data rate capability to increase many folds.
17. The system of claim 10, further comprising an all-optical repeater or signal router, which can be visualized as a multi-access communications hub with optical gain, without going through the expensive optical-to-electrical-to-optical conversion processes, using a 1.times.N splitter right after the optical amplifier and retransmitting the signal beams to various ports.
18. The system of claim 10, further comprising a multiple access configuration with a single receiver aperture collecting a number of wavelengths that are demultiplexed with a conventional telecommunications WDM multiplexer.
19. The system of claim 10 can provide a method of building a constellation of optically amplified retromodulator pairs in airborne platforms such as micro satellites with the base station located in a fixed platform.
20. The system of claim 10, wherein said data buffer receives data from said monitoring sensor that comprises a global positioning system (GPS), wherein the said GPS signal determines the position coordinates and location of said AFRM.
21. The system of claim 10, wherein two moving vehicles each comprising said AFRM to avoid collision and provides traffic collisions between said vehicles.
22. A method of optical communication and remote data monitoring, comprising the steps of:transmitting, to a remote station from a base station, an interrogation light beam, passing said interrogation light beam through an amplified fiber retro-modulator (AFRM) at said remote station;collecting and selecting the incident light beam and the direction angle by the lenslet array and the probe photodetector of the said amplified fiber retro-modulator (AFRM), combining the input signals from the individual lenslet/fiber couplers into a single-mode fiber, optically amplifying the incident beam with an amplifier, modulating the beam according to the external data, and then directing the light beam to the corresponding lenslet using a spatial router; andtransmitting said modulated light beam through a second telecentric lens back along the incident path to the interrogator at said base station.
23. A method of claim 22, further comprising secure communication with friend-or-foe (IFF) capability and the steps of:detecting the IFF-code pulse sequence with a high speed photodetector, sending the detector outputs to both decoder/encoder and timing circuits;decoding the coded pulse sequence, verifying its authenticity;selecting the largest input average power sampled from the low out-coupling fiber tap by the electronic switch (N×1);selecting the largest input and sending the indices (e.g. the row/column information of the input lenslet array) to the spatial router only when the electronic switch is turned ON by the output of the decoder/encoder;leaving the spatial router in its default OFF state when the electronic switch does not receive verification from the decoder;redirecting (i.e., basically retroreflecting) a return modulated reply signal with a correct pre-assigned code back to the dedicated receiver in the interrogator;sending the decoded pulse sequence to the modulator control wherein the timing pulses triggering the outgoing code and the outgoing data, thus the main part of the optical signal going through the optical amplifier and then the modulator and the spatial router into the output exit optics; andchecking the correctness of the interrogation signal, then redirecting (i.e., retroreflecting) a return modulated reply signal with a correct pre-assigned code back to the dedicated receiver in the interrogator, thus making sure of receiving the pre-assigned message code back from only a friendly target equipped with said AFRM.
24. A method of claim 23, further comprising the step of selecting frequency-hopping (or wavelength-hopping) technique, commonly used in communications, and using an interrogator laser emitting different wavelengths in order to provide secure communication with IFF capability.
25. A method of full-duplex electromagnetic communication and thus a two-way communication, the method comprises the steps of selecting a pair of data modulation formats for forward and return data links such that a forward data optical beam also serves as a carrier for return data; separating the transmitted and returned optical beams by some discrimination techniques such as polarization, or wavelength.
[0001]The present invention relates to devices for passive free-space optical communications and more specifically to retro-reflecting devices using fiber-retro concept with unique secure optical Identification of Friend-or-Foe (IFF) capability.
[0002]The novel classes of modulated retro-reflective photonic devices described herein may be used for establishing free-space laser communication links, remote data monitoring, IFF (identification of friend or foe), and for enabling multi-port optical communications for optical networks (including relay nodes). Remote data monitoring and secure optical communications with satellites, airborne or ground-based platforms requires that the response to an interrogating light beam needs to be reflected back directly to the source of the light beam itself. One of the main reasons for this is that the pointing and tracking of the beam is eliminated as long as the interrogating light beam illuminates the retro-reflective device.
[0003]Systems for communications and identification between two locations using modulators and retroreflectors are known in the art. Issued patents that have addressed the need for laser retro-reflector system for remote data monitoring and IFF includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,879 to Sepp et al. entitled, "Remote Data Monitoring System," wherein a laser and a modulatable retroreflector for the remote interrogation of information from space or targets with a simultaneous IFF. In this system, a liquid crystal modulator is arranged in front of a retroreflector and is modulated by respective information. The system is complex, laser transmitter section comprises laser beam controller means including two-motor driven rotating optical wedge compensators for directing the laser beam, and the transmission frequency is limited to 1-7 kHz only because of the use of liquid crystal modulator. U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,911 to Buser et al. entitled," Laser Retroreflector System for Identification of Friend or Foe," also discloses a covert laser retroreflector system to establish IFF capability. The interrogator requires to be a high power laser, and the modulating rertroreflector may be an acousto-optic modulator, a parallel array Pockels cells, or a parallel array of transversely excited Stark Cell in front of a reflecting mirror. The frequency response using acousto-optic (AO) modulator was claimed to reach up to 960 kHz, and to 50 MHz using Pockels Cell modulator for CO2 TEA laser. But CO2 laser will need a cooled HgCdTe detector. Overall the system would require high power, for example for 10.6 μm radiation modulator requires 170-200 watts of RF power. U.S. Pat. No. 6,624,916 to Green et al., entitled, "Signaling System," describes a free-space point to multipoint signaling system using a retroreflector comprising a telecentric lens for receiving and focusing light from a light source and a reflecting means for said light back. The patent discloses a pixellated modulator forming part of the retroreflecting modulator unit. However, the modulators used are SEED (self-electro-optic effect device), already developed by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T). But the range for this type of signaling system is limited to only 150 meters. Some other retroreflector devices for communications and modulators are described in: U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,942 to Waddoups, entitled, "Retro-reflecting laser responser and data modulator,"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,434 to Waksberg, entitled, "Retro-reflection communication system,"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,008 to de Corlieu et al, entitled, "Light-retroreflecting responser and data modulator arrangement,"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,689 to Linford et al, entitled, "Laser secure communications system,"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,310 to Meyzonnette, et al, entitled, "Identification system using a laser retro-reflecting and modulating set,"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,470 to Wooton et al, entitled "Beam steered laser system,"; U.S. Pat. No. 6,624,916 B1 to Green et al, entitled, "Signaling system,". U.S. Pat. No. 6,954,302 to Sayyah, et al., describes a conformal retro-modulator optical devise based on an array of multiple quantum well (MQW) devices disposed in a thin array. One of the other prior arts which also includes MQW device is U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,299 to Gilbreath et al., entitled, "Modulating Retroreflector using Multiple Quantum Well Technology," discloses a system for remote optical communications where the remote station includes a MWQ modulator, and drive circuitry that drives the MQW. The retroreflector reflects the modulated beam to the base station for detection by a receiver. One of the present patent application applicants, Thomas M. Shay has disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,778,779 to Shay et al., entitled, "Full-Duplex Optical Communication Systems," a method of full-duplex communication using a method of encoding optical information wherein right-hand and left-hand circular polarizations are assigned to optical information. One possible application is for an earth to low orbit optical communications system implementing the full-duplex communication and circular polarization keying modulation format. Besides the above patents, there are a numerous published papers in the open literature where some implementations have attempted to describe modulating retroreflector for communications and other applications. In order to understand the uniqueness and the innovations of the present invention in this patent, a comparison of the various state-of-the-art modulating retroreflector technologies is summarized as follows. Swenson et al. SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 2990, pp. 296-310, 1997, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a Ferroelectric Liquid crystal technology: data rate=1-10 Kbit/s, physical aperture size=15 cm, full field-of-view (FOV)=±44.9°, range demonstrated=30 Km. Olson et al., Appl. Opt. 34 (12), Apr. 20, 1995, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a CO2 laser communication system with modulable retroreflectors with frequency response to 3.5 kHz only with a range of 24 km. But the system requires a cooled detector, laser power of 10-15 W and coherent detection scheme. Luo, et al., IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 16, No. 9, pp. 2045-2047, 2004 discloses an optical micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) array: data rate=2.5 Kbit/s, wavelength=1.064 μm, physical aperture size=0.68 cm, range demonstrated=4 m. Bifano et al., http://people.bu.edu/bifano/Retro.html describes MEMS-based modulated retroreflector: data rate=10 KHz, physical aperture=5 mm, power consumption=5 mW, range demonstrated=30 m. MacCannell, et al., Proceedings of the Solid State Diode Laser Technology Review 2002, Albuquerque, N. Mex. May 2002, "Full-Duplex Communication on Single Laser Beam," described a liquid crystal-based shutter for retromodulation: data rate=20 Kbit/s, wavelength=0.852 μm, physical aperture size=2.26 cm, full FOV=±40.1°, power consumed=120 mW, range demonstrated=30 m. Joseph Ford of the University of California, San Diego described (see T. K. Chan and J. E. Ford, "Deformable MEMS micro mirror array for wavelength and angle insensitive retro-reflecting modulators," Proceedings of the IEEE LEOS Annual Meeting, Paper ThEE4, Puerto Rico, November 2004.) a MEMS based retromodulator: data rate=100 KHz, FOV=+680. Some other papers in the similar areas include: Gunawan et al, "Micromachined corner cube reflectors as a communication link," Sensors and Actuators A, vol. 46-47, pp. 580-583, 1995; Handerek et al, "Feasibility of retroreflective free-space optical communication using retroreflectors with very wide field of view," SPIE European Symposium on Optics/Photonics in Security and Defence, Proc. SPIE, vol. 5614, pp. 1-9, 2004. Other papers include the developments of the modulating retroreflectors (MRR) for free space optical communication links at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) since 1998. Some of the NRL's disclosures include: Gilbreath et al, "Real time video transfer using multiple quantum well retromodulators," Proc. SPIE, Vol. 4821, pp. 155-162, 2002; Gilbreath et al, "Modulating retroreflectors for space, tracking, acquisition and ranging using multiple quantum well technology," Proc. SPIE, Vol. 4821, pp. 494-507, 2002; Goetz et al, "Modulating retroreflector implementation of MIL-STD 1553 protocol with free-space optics," Proc. II Aerospace Conference Paper No. 1559, 2003; Rabinovich, et al, "Performance of Cat's eye modulating retro-reflectors for free-space optical communications," Proc. SPIE, Vol. 5550, pp. 104-114, 2004; Wasiczko et al, "Optical communication and navigation for spacecraft docking using modulating retroreflectors," Proc. SPIE, Vol. 5892, 2005; Murphy et al, "FM-MRR analog audio system," Proc. SPIE. Vol. 5892, 2005; Rabinovich et al., "Free space optical communications link at 1550 nm using multiple-quantum-well modulating retroreflectors in a marine environment," Optical Engineering, Vol. 44(5), May 2005: data rate=5 Mbps, FOV=+60°, physical aperture size=0.63 cm, wavelength=1.55 μm, range demonstrated=2 km; Rabinovich et al, "45 Mbit/s cat's-eye modulating retroreflectors, Optical Engineering, 46(10), October 2007. Also Hemmati et al., Proc. SPIE., Vol. 5338, pp. 50-55, 2004, "Retro-Modulator Links with a Mini-Rover,": describes a retro modulator at the data rate=10 Mbps with a range=2 km. Rabinovich et al., Photonics Technology Letters, November 2003 describes a Cat's Eye multiple quantum well modulating retro-reflector: data rate=50 Mbps, physical aperture=0.5-1 cm, FOV=±30°, wavelength=0.980 μm, power consumed=120 mW. Other recent patent includes the following: U.S. Pat. No. 7,224,905 B2 to Ruggiero, entitled, "Remotely-interrogated high data rate free-space laser communications link," May 29, 2007 describes a system and method of remotely extracting information from a communications station by interrogation with a low power beam using the property of nonlinear phase conjugation. The only description of the background art which is related to the present patent is the work by Dr. Thomas M. Shay, who is one of the present patent applicants: Shay et al., Proceedings of the SPIE, Vol. 5550, pp. 122-129, 2004, "2.5-Gbps Amplified Retro-Modulator for Free-Space Optical Communications," describes the first amplified retro-modulated free-space optical communications link: physical aperture=2 cm, pigtailed to a single-mode fiber, wavelength=1.55 μm, FOV=±0.004°, power consumed=120 mW.
[0004]The prior art using the conventional retroreflector modulation technologies, previously described, have the following drawbacks and limitations. Ferro-electric-liquid crystal (FLC) modulators can achieve modulation rates of only a few kilohertz, which severely limit their bandwidth. Multiple Quantum Well modulated retroreflector can attain a data rate of about 50 Mbps, but are extremely complex devices, limited to relatively small devices and are prohibitively expensive. Neither of those retromodulators can provide a long range (more than a few km) communications link at a high data rate (higher than 50 Mbps). Even the work of Shay et al.'s attempt to couple free-space optics (FSO) signals directly into a "single" single-mode fiber (SMF) to demonstrate 2.5-Gbps data rate was limited to its extremely small FOV of about ±0.004° only, and the demonstration was limited to laboratory experiment without any results for any range (link). None of the FLC, MQW-based and FSO-SMF retromodulation technology has any IFF (identify, friend or foe) capability.
[0005]What is unique about this patent is the ability for the first time to couple light from a wide field-of-view into a single mode optical amplifier and return that light to the source. The uniqueness is accomplished by the receiving optics, the N×1 combiner in combination with the fiber tap and the probe photodetector, the electronic N×1 switch, and the 1×N spatial router, and the single mode optical amplifier. This system of elements identifies which direction the incident light arrives from, couples the light into a low noise single mode amplifier, and finally redirects the amplified and modulated light back to the source terminal.
[0006]Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to overcome these and other limitations and difficulties by providing an alternate and entirely different type of retroreflector that does not use the conventional type of retroreflection where an electromagnetic wave impinges upon and is merely reflected by a surface element (FLC or MQW). Instead, the alternate retroreflector consists of two sets of lenslets coupled with single-mode fiber (SMF) array and is called fiber "retro".
[0007]This aspect of the present invention also provides a retroreflector comprising a telecentric lens for both receiving and transmitting light. The telecentric lens allows receiving and focusing light from a light source and a lenslet array located at the focal plane of said telecentric lens collects said light and transmits back via another array of lenslets to said light source.
[0008]It is another object of the present invention to optically communicate to a base station without the need for including a transmitter or a pointing and tracking system at the remote station capable of accepting an optical signal within a wide field-of-view (FOV).
[0009]Another object of this invention is to provide a compact system capable of high data rate optical communication system while keeping the power consumption at the remote end very low.
[0010]Another object of the present invention is to provide a means of achieving a wide field-of-view (FOV) fiber "retro" system where the remote device can accept a wide angle of interrogating signal.
[0011]Another object of the present invention is to provide a pixellated fiber array system for both incoming and outgoing optical beams to maintaining one-to-one correlation between each set of lenslet/fiber array which can also determine the exact location of the source.
[0012]Another object of the present invention is to provide an amplifying retromodulator device using an optical amplifier where the amplified retromodulator provides a factor of a few hundred increase in the modulated retro-reflector return signal compared with a conventional modulated retroreflector of the same aperture. To put it in another way, an amplified retromodulator can provide the same return signal as a passive retromodulator that is orders of magnitude larger and considerably heavier, thus significantly reducing the weight and power consumption of the retromodulator that delivers the required signal.
[0013]Another object of this present invention is to provide an amplified retromodulator requiring only one single optical amplifier and one single modulator for the whole unit using a fiber combiner at the receiving side and a spatial router at the transmitting side of the system.
[0014]Another object of the present inventions is to provide a fiber "retro" which has a long-range capability (10 s to 100 s of Km). This is possible because of the amplification of the return signal to improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) whereas other existing retromodulators have a range of a couple of Km.
[0015]Another object of this present invention is to provide a system to operate under atmospheric turbulence conditions.
[0016]Another object of this present invention is to provide an extension of this system to be able to communicate two-way (transceiver at both base and remote sites).
[0017]Another object of the present invention is to provide a system which can offer covert operation with the advantage of secure communications.
[0018]A further object of the present invention is to provide Identification of Friend-or-Foe (IFF) capability where the remote fiber "retro" is equipped with a decoder/encoder containing pre-assigned code key data.
[0019]Other objects of this present invention include: (1) all-optical repeater without OEO (optical-to-electrical-optical) conversion process and (2) Wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) routing terminal.
[0020]For a better understanding of the invention as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is made to the following Description of the Preferred Embodiments, wherein:
[0021]FIG. 1a is a schematic block diagram of a modulated fiber "retro" system including a laser transceiver cooperating with a fiber "retro" for providing a remote data monitoring ability through the atmosphere.
[0022]FIG. 1b is a diagram of a modulated fiber "retro" system showing an alternative embodiment of the present invention for secure communication and identification through the atmosphere.
[0023]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the fiber "retro" unit of the overall system for remote data monitoring purpose according to the present invention.
[0024]FIG. 3 illustrates the concept of achieving IFF capability using the transmitted and received pulses with the laser interrogator/transceiver and the fiber "retro" using the embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1b.
[0025]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the fiber "retro" unit of the overall system for secure communication and identification ability according to the present invention.
[0026]FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a wide-angle telecentric lens and an array of pigtailed lenslets/fiber arrangement for both the input incoming light and retroreflected outgoing light according to this invention. A cross-sectional view of the two-dimensional lenslet array is also shown next to this array; and
[0027]FIG. 6 is a plot of the received power versus laser transmitter power as an example of a satellite-based laser interrogator and a ground-based fiber "retro" system using the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b.
[0028]It will be understood that the following description of the invention of the preferred embodiments do not limit the invention to those embodiments and it is intended to cover all aspects, alternatives, modifications and equivalents as defined by the appended claims.
[0029]The present invention is a system allowing remote data monitoring of hard-to-access locations that employs a laser interrogator and an actively modulated retroreflector in a two-way coded communication scheme. This invention also provides a new method for simultaneous identification of friend-or-foe (IFF), direction location of the source signal, and secure communications.
[0030]Referring to the detailed drawings (wherein like numerals in different figures represent the same structures or elements), FIG. 1a shows an overview of a preferred embodiment of a novel remote data monitoring system 10. FIG. 1b shows an overview of another embodiment which includes the IFF capability of the communication system 10' according to the present invention. Throughout this discussion, elements numbered without prime symbols refer to elements in the FIG. 1a embodiment, while elements with prime symbols refer to the corresponding elements in the FIG. 1b embodiment. The system comprises a transceiver (transmitter and receiver) at base station 12, 12' and a remote station 13, 13', separated by the atmosphere 14, 14'. Transmitter 16, 16' transmits an interrogation beam 18, 18' through the atmosphere 14, 14' to remote station 13, 13' having an amplified fiber retro-modulator (AFRM) 11, 11', which returns a reflected modulated beam 52, 52' to a receiver 50, 50' back at the base station 12, 12'. The atmosphere can constitute a turbulent and scattering medium, and is the communication channel for both outgoing transmitting and incoming modulated reflected beams. Either the base station or the remote station can be on the ground or in space, so that remote interrogation from or to space is possible.
[0031]In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1a, the laser transmitter 16 sends the interrogation beam 18 that can be a constant average power beam to the remote station 13. The remote monitoring is accomplished by relaying data from unattended sensors located at the remote station according to the present invention.
[0032]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the amplified fiber retro-modulator (AFRM) 11. The interrogator (illuminating) signal is received at the remote station 13 by receiving input optics which consists of a wide-angle telecentric compound lens 20 and a lenslet/fiber coupler array 22, which efficiently couples incident light into single-mode-fibers (SMF). The lens puts the far-field plane of the input at the input plane of the lenslet array, so that each lenslet in the array corresponds to a different input-beam angle. For a collimated input from a distant interrogator, the spatial displacements in the far field (i.e., at the focal plane) map to angular displacements in the near field. This means that each of the N lenslets corresponds to a different direction to the laser interrogator. The large total field-of-view (FOV) is thus equal to the sum of the individual FOVs of all the lenslets. High-efficiency optical couplers direct the signal from each lenslet into a SMF.
[0033]The incident power on each individual lenslet/fiber coupler is sampled with a low outcoupling fiber tap 24 combined with a low-speed photodetector 25 attached to each coupler. The individual photodetectors detect the input time-average powers, which are input to the electronic switch (N×1, i.e., N inputs and 1 output) 28. The electronic switch 28 selects the largest input and sends the indices (e.g., the row/column information) to the spatial router (1×N) 34. The input signals from the individual lenslet/fiber couplers are then combined with an N×1 combiner 27 into a single-mode-fiber 29 which leads to an optical amplifier 30. The amplified optical signal is then modulated by the modulator 32 according to the external data buffer 33, the order of the modulation and amplification may be interchanged if required by the power handing capability of the modulator. The data buffer receives data from some kind of monitoring sensor 39, and could either output real-time data or data stored over some previous time interval. The monitoring sensor could be an imaging camera, audio recorder, any instrument that measures any environmental property of interest, or perhaps a message from an individual. The amplified and modulated beam is input to the spatial router (1×N) which sends it to the particular lenslet/fiber in the transmitting array 23 with row/column indices selected by the electronic switch. The outgoing beam is collimated by a second wide-angle telecentric compound lens 21 in the transmitting exit optics, which is co-aligned with the receiving input optics, to return the signal back towards the laser interrogator. Alternatively, in some cases the receive and transmit fibers can be interleaved and the same optic 20, can be used for receive and transmit.
[0034]For the separate transmit 21 and receive 20 optic, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the input receiving lenslets and the output transmitting lenslets, such that the input/output angles for each corresponding pair are parallel, but in opposite directions. Transmitting the light exactly back along the incident path effectively completes the process of retro-reflection even though the incident signal is not actually being reflected. The location of this lenslets in the output lenslet array corresponds to the output angle that is aimed back towards the laser interrogator. The information on the lenslets location, and hence on the direction of the interrogator unit, may also be output locally. This method of returning the incident signal provides a novel means of determining also the exact angular location of the source.
[0035]In the FIG. 1b embodiment, there is an added capability of IFF and secure encoded communication. Here, the laser transmitter 16' sends the interrogation beam 18' modulated with the IFF-code by means of an IFF-code generator 17'. The information from the external data buffer 33' is transmitted by the amplified fiber retro-modulator (AFRM) 11' back to the receiver 50' which here includes an IFF-code filter.
[0036]FIG. 3 illustrates conceptually one possible embodiment of the signal timing of the overall secure communication system, many other embodiments are possible. An interrogation message pulse train is followed by a time delay and then an unmodulated pulse. The interrogation message pulse train of duration within T1 contains a trigger pulse followed by a pre-assigned IFF code. The start of the unmodulated pulse follows the start of the trigger pulse by a predetermined time T1+ΔT1, where the delay interval ΔT1 allows time for IFF code verification by the AFRM. The unmodulated pulse has duration T1+ΔT2, where the interval ΔT2 allows time for the AFRM to return a data message. The start of the trigger pulse is clocked into both the interrogator and the AFRM clocks to synchronize them, allowing for beam transit time.
[0037]During the interrogation time interval T1+ΔT1, the AFRM does not produce any output, so as to remain covert, but is only alerted to be ready to modulate the unmodulated pulse when it arrives. If the received IFF code is verified during ΔT1, then the AFRM is activated to produce a modulated output; otherwise, it remains inactive. Over the duration of the unmodulated pulse, the AFRM, if activated generates a "reply signal" to identify it. This signal is intensity modulated, or OOK (on-off-keying)-modulated, according to a pre-assigned code built into the decoder/encoder 37' in the AFRM. Additional secure communication data may also be included in the modulated return signal during the ΔT2 interval. The available amount of this additional information will be limited by ΔT2, and hence by the length of the unmodulated pulse. As shown in FIG. 1b, the coded reply signal is then returned back to the dedicated receiver 50' in the interrogator unit, which checks the coded signal against a database of codes for friendly devices and determines whether the retromodulating device is friendly. This way the receiver in the interrogator unit makes sure of the authenticity of the received data from the AFRM.
[0038]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the amplified fiber retro-modulator (AFRM) 11' that includes IFF and encryption capability. Some of the elements are similar to that of remote data monitoring system as shown in FIG. 2 except there are some additional elements in the IFF system. The interrogator (illuminating) signal is received at the remote station 13' by receiving input optics consisting of a wide-angle telecentric compound lens 20' and a lenslet/fiber coupler array 22', similar to the system of FIG. 2.
[0039]The incident power on each individual lenslet/fiber coupler is sampled with a low outcoupling fiber tap 24' combined with a low-speed photodetector 25' attached to each coupler. The individual photodetectors detect the input time-average powers, which are input to the electronic switch (N×1, i.e., N inputs and 1 output) 28'. The electronic switch 28' selects the largest input signal and sends the indices (e.g., the row/column information) to the spatial router (1×N) 34'. The input signals from the individual lenslet/fiber couplers are then combined with an N×1 combiner 27' into a single-mode-fiber 29' which leads to an optical amplifier 30'. A portion of the optical amplifier output signal is sampled with a low outcoupling fiber tap attached with a high speed photo detector, 36'. This high speed photo detector detects the IFF-code pulse sequences and the output of this detector is input to both the decoder/encoder and the timing circuits. The decoder decodes the coded pulse sequences and verifies its authenticity of the code. The incident power on each individual lenslet/fiber coupler is sampled with a low out coupling fiber tap combined with a slow speed photo detector, 25' which is attached with each lenslet/fiber coupler. The individual photo detectors just detect the input average powers (integrated power) and are connected with the electronic switch (N×1), 28'. The electronic switch selects the largest input. But if the electronic switch is turned ON by the output of the decoder/encoder, the switch selects the largest input and sends the indices (e.g. the row/column information) to the spatial router. On the other hand, if the switch does not receive verification from the decoder, then it leaves the router in its default OFF state, and there is no output. In remote locations where power consumption is a concern, then the decoder/encoder output could also be used to turn off the optical amplifier and the modulator power supply (not shown in the diagram of FIG. 4, but can be implemented), until a verified code is received. The decoder/encoder will have a microprocessor that has the corrected pre selected encrypted message built therein for proper detection and decoding with preprogrammed code that modulates the retroreflector device. Thus a friendly target will be able to send a reply signal with the correct modulated code. As soon as the encrypted interrogation message is received by the amplified fiber retro-modulator, 11' it checks if the interrogation signal is correct, and if so, it retroreflects a return modulated reply signal with a correct pre-assigned code back to the dedicated receiver in the interrogator. Only a friendly target equipped with the modulated reflector will send the pre-assigned coded message back. Otherwise the target will be assigned as foe. The decoded pulse sequence is sent to the modulator controller. The output of the timing circuit, 38' produces timing pulses to trigger the outgoing code and the outgoing data. The modulator controller, 35' also accepts external data signals. The modulator controller outputs the voltage signals into the modulator. The main part of the optical signal goes through the amplifier, and then through the modulator and the spatial router, 34' into the output optics. Thus as soon as the encrypted interrogation message is received by the amplified fiber retro-modulator, 11' it checks if the interrogation signal is correct, and if so, it retroreflects a return modulated reply signal with a correct pre-assigned code back to the dedicated receiver in the interrogator. Only a friendly target equipped with the modulated reflector will send the pre-assigned coded message back. Otherwise the target will be assigned as a foe.
[0040]The interrogation beam 18, 18' is received in the AFRM device 11, 11' by the Wide-angle telecentric lens 20, 20' which ensures that the outgoing rays from the telecentric lens hits the lenslets 22, 22' at almost perpendicular angles. FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the telecentric 20 and the lenslets/fibers unit 22. Similar description also applies to the telecentric 20' and the lenslets/fibers unit 22' for the AFRM system with IFF capability. A cross-sectional view of the lenslet array is also shown on the right side. Note that in the FIG. 5, the elements numbered without with prime symbols refer to elements in the FIG. 2 embodiment, while elements number with prime symbols (not shown to avoid unnecessary repetition) will refer to the corresponding elements in the FIG. 4 embodiment. Furthermore, the arrangement of 20, 22 which constitutes the receive optics is identical to the arrangement for the transmitting optics (not shown again to avoid repetition) where the incoming interrogation beam will be amplified and modulated and finally returned (re-directed) back to the interrogator with the directions of the optical rays going opposite. The wide-angle telecentric lens allows to accept incoming interrogator signal from a wide angle (more than ±30° to 40°) to achieve a large field-of-view (FOV) (˜80°) of the AFRM system 11, 11'. Available commercial lenses can map the incident angles onto different spatial portions of the image plane so that the rays are perpendicular to the image plane, where the lenslet array is placed. Due to the telecentricity of the telecentric lens 20, the light incident on the lens system is focused at the rear image plane 47 in such a way that the principal rays such as 44 and 46 which emerge from the lens system are perpendicular to the back focal plane 47. By using a telecentric lens 20, and by placing the lenslet array at the back focal plane 47 of the telecentric lens 20, the principal rays of the laser interrogation beam 18 will be nearly perpendicular to the surface of the lenslets, regardless of the positions of the laser interrogator base station 12 within the fiber retro-modulator's field-of-view. Consequently a high efficiency optical coupling for subsequent amplification and modulation can be achieved. As shown, in this embodiment, the wide angle telecentric lens and an array of lenslets thus comprises the receive optics. The size of the lens elements is a design choice and depends upon the particular requirements of the FOV of the AFRM system. Similar discussions and comments apply to the transmit optics 21 and lenslet array 23 as well as for corresponding elements number with prime symbols for receive optics 20, 22' and the transmit optics 21, 23' in the FIG. 1b.
[0041]An efficient coupling of the incident light to the telecentric lens 20 and lenslet array with single-mode fiber pigtailed collimator 22 is achieved by proper design of the lenslet and telecentric lens parameters. Small misalignments due to thermal and mechanical disturbances and the depth-of-focus (DOF) are the criteria to be considered in this design. The depth-of-focus for ideal imaging optical system is given by:
D O F = d 2 NA ( 1 ) ##EQU00001##
[0042]Where d represents the focal spot and NA represents the numerical aperture of the optical fiber. For conventional single-mode-optical fiber, the mode-field-diameter is 10.5-μm and the numerical aperture is 0.13. Thus the depth-of-focus for direct coupling by imaging optics is 40-μm. Thus a small change in the position of the lenses due to the typical thermal expansion or mechanical vibrations experienced in the field produce the severe coupling efficiency losses. Efficient coupling of light into a single-mode-optical fiber requires that the light at the entrance of the receiver must have an etendue that does not exceed the etendue of the single-mode-optical fiber. The etendue of a single-mode-optical fiber is constrained by the upper limit on the V parameter for a single-mode-optical fiber:
V = 2 π a core λ NA = 2 π a core λ Sin ( θ ) ≦ 2.405 ( 2 ) ##EQU00002##
[0043]Where αcore represents the fiber core radius, λ represents the operating wavelength, and NA represents the fiber numerical aperture, θ represents the acceptance angle of the fiber. The etendue of a single-mode-fiber is:
ξ SMF = π ( a core NA ) 2 ≦ ( 1.2025 λ ) 2 π ##EQU00003##
[0044]where ξSMF represents the etendue of a single-mode-fiber. For nearly all of the 1550-nm telecommunications imbedded optical fiber, the product of the fiber mode-field-diameter, MFD, times 2 NA is, 1.36-μm radians, the upper limit allowed by equation (3).
[0045]In this invention the combined wide-angle lens 20 and the lenslets/SMF pigtailed collimator 22 provides the needed requirements for coupling the incident light onto the lenslets array. The input optics deliver the light from difference angles to the separate lenslets that couple the signal light into the single mode fibers. Thus the input optics takes the light from separate angles and maps the incident light from different input angles to specific locations on the lenslet array and also provides nearly collimated light at each lenslet. In free space laser applications, a plane wave is a reasonable approximation to the received wavefront if the atmosphere does not distort the wavefront too much. The optimum coupling of a plane wave into a single mode fiber is ˜81%. Furthermore, the efficiency of coupling into an optical fiber falls to roughly 50% when the angle of incidence upon the coupling lens results in the center of the beam falls at the edge of the core of the fiber.
[0046]In a preferred embodiment of the communication and remote identification system of the present invention, a wide-angle telecentric lens is incorporated with an array of the single element free-space optics-single-mode fiber (FSO-SMF) couplers as shown in the FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. The incident signal photons enter the telecentric lens, imaged onto the lenslet array, the output signal (after the combiner) is then optically amplified in a low-noise highly efficient erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). Next the signal is modulated in a commercial telecommunications electro-optical intensity modulator according to the external data (for remote data monitoring application) and outgoing code signal (for IFF application). Finally the modulated and amplified photons are sent out the exit port (transmitting optics) back to the interrogator (transmitter) location. If the entrance and exit apertures are aligned to produce parallel beams, then this configuration serves as an amplified retro-reflector/retromodulator. As described in the present invention, an amplified fiber retro-modulator (AFRM) can be developed using high efficiency free-space optics (FSO) (an wide-angle telecentric lens and an array of lenslets) and an array of SMF couplers with telecommunications grade high-speed modulators and very low-power consumption EDFAs. Commercial fiber coupled electro-optical modulators can operate at data rates of ≧10-Gb/s and a 2.5-Gb/s modulator consumes only 1/8-watt when unbiased data is transmitted. These modulators have extinction ratios of >20-dB and have insertion losses of 3-dB. EDFA design calculations indicate that a low-noise EDFA with a gain of 33-dB that consumes only 200-mW of electric power is easily obtainable. The low-power consumption optical amplifier is therefore an integral part of the amplified retromodulator system in the present invention which does not exist in any other present retromodulator concept. It will be shown below that the AFRM is capable to return signal a few thousand (˜1000 s) times the return signal from an identical aperture conventional modulating retro reflector (MRR) that can simultaneously be operated at several Gb/s modulation rates. The total power consumption of an amplified 2.5-Gb/s AFRM should be near 350-mW, or about the power consumption of two cell phones.
[0047]A note on the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the AFRM: Atmospheric Turbulence effects and FOV consideration for input and retroreflected communication signals.
[0048]The effect of atmospheric turbulence on such a proposed system using an array of fiber couplers needs to be evaluated. This is best understood by estimating the variance of angle-of-arrival fluctuations caused by the presence of atmospheric turbulence in between the laser transmitter and the modulated retro-reflector. The variance in angle-of-arrival fluctuation can be written as:
σ α 2 = 2.914 D - 1 / 3 H - 5 / 3 ∫ 0 H z 5 / 3 C n 2 ( z ) z ( 4 ) ##EQU00004##
[0049]where D=aperture diameter, Cn2 is the turbulence strength and H is the altitude. If the communication link is along a slant range, then the Cn2(z) should be replaced by sec θ Cn2(z), where θ is the zenith angle (away from the vertical) and the limit of integration should be taken as the slant range. As an example, for a vertical communication link range, H=20 km, using the atmospheric model (HV21), the value of the variance in angle-of-arrival fluctuations due to atmospheric turbulence is, σ.sub.α˜32.5×10-8 rad. This value does not seem to impose a problem in pointing requirement of a single element amplified retro-modulator.
[0050]A simple theoretical model that allows a comparison of the AFRM and conventional modulated retro reflector (MRR) performance is described next. In a typical modulated retro reflector optical communications system, the intensity incident upon the retro-reflector is,
I inc = 4 P T η T T Atm π θ T 2 R 2 ( 5 ) ##EQU00005##
[0051]where PT represents the transmitter power, ηT represents the efficiency of the transmit optics, TAtm represents the atmospheric transmission efficiency, R represents the link range, and θT represents the divergence of the transmitted beam.
[0052]The net gain of the amplified retro-modulator system can be obtained by taking into the account the losses of each element and the gain of the EDFA. The net gain of this system in dB is
Gnet--dB=LInput--coupler--dB+L.sub- .mod--dB+GEDFA--dB+Loutput--couple- r--dB (6)
[0053]where LInput--coupler--dB, Lmodulator--dB, and Loutput--coupler--dB represent the respective losses of those three elements in dB and GEDFA--dB represents the EDFA gain in dB. To be conservative we use the 47% input coupler efficiency that we have already measured that yields a loss of -3.3-dB, we assume an output coupler efficiency of 90% or -0.05-dB, the modulator has a -3-dB loss and the EDFA has a 33-dB gain. Thus the net gain is 26.65-dB or 460.
[0054]The signal power received at the base station of the laser interrogator after the round-trip path propagation and amplification at the AFRM is given by
P rec_Sat . = G net 16 P T η T T Atm 2 D retro 4 A rec - Sat 5.954 π θ T 2 R 4 λ 2 ( 7 ) ##EQU00006##
[0055]where Dretro represents the retro-modulator optical aperture, A.sub.rec-Sat represents the receiver aperture at the laser interrogator station, λ represents the signal wavelength and Gnet represents the net gain of the amplified retro-modulator system. Note that the signal power returned from the amplified retro is exactly Gnet times the signal power returned from a conventional retro-modulator with the same aperture. That is, in our conservative example, one would obtain 460 times more power back from the amplified retro-modulator than the conventional modulator would provide. Commercially available EDFA systems with 40-dB small signal gains are available. Since the effective area of the AFRM is also Gnet times the area of a conventional MRR, it is therefore possible to increase the effective area of the retro-modulator by nearly 4 orders of magnitude (or equivalently increase the gain of the return power by about 2000 times or more). If the EDFA spontaneous emission noise, PASE, is much less than the amplified signal power collected by the input aperture of the retro-modulator, the link performance will not be degraded by the use of an amplifier. Therefore, the effect of the spontaneous emission noise on the receiver signal-to-noise ratio can be neglected.
[0056]In accordance with the communication and remote data monitoring system of the present invention, an example of link analysis for a Satellite-based laser interrogator and low-power Gbit/s amplified fiber retro-modulator is given below.
[0057]FIG. 6 shows the simulation result for a satellite-based laser interrogator and ground-based amplified retro-modulator. The range of the satellite was assumed to be 370 km, the atmospheric transmission efficiency=0.5. The retro-reflected beam is received by the satellite receiver of 6 inch diameter. The transmitter efficiency was assumed to be 0.5, the bit-error-rate (BER)=10-9, signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR)=144, and the gain of the retro-modulator system was taken to be 4×105.
[0058]The simulation result shows the received power at satellite as a function of required laser transmitter power on the satellite for different values of the divergent angles of the transmitter. The two horizontal dashed lines represent the needed received power at the satellite for 100 Mbit/s and 2.5 Gbit/s data rates. For example, to achieve a data rate of 2.5 Gbit/s, for a transmitter divergent beam of 6.8 mrad, it requires 160 mW of laser power whereas for transmitter divergent beam of 27 mrad, it requires about 2.5 W of laser power. All these numbers are very practical and realistic; thus the AFRM system can be built. This is an example of a realistic device. Note that the device based on this patent has not been reduced to practice.
[0059]The present invention illustrates that an AFRM can provide orders of magnitude increase in the link data rate and orders of magnitude decrease in the transmit power compared with the conventional MRR systems. While the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing descriptions, it will be recognized that modifications can occur to persons skilled in the art. It is therefore intended, by the append claims, to cover any such modifications as within the scope and spirit of the invention. [0060](i) Long-range capability (10 s to 100 s of Km), even in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. This is possible because the return signal is amplified to improve signal-to-noise ratio. A passive cornercube or any other existing conventional retromodulator would simply reflect the input signal without amplification, which will be often be too weak to provide reliable identification. [0061](ii) Extremely covert system that can almost never be used to the enemy's advantage. The proposed device provides an identifying output signal only for an extremely brief time, and only in the direction of an authorized interrogator. (For example, the typically slow response times for a shutter on a cornercube or for existing retromodulators would leave significant windows for possible enemy detection, during which time it could send a return in an unauthorized direction toward the enemy.) [0062](iii) Fast response, allowing high laser interrogator slew rates and high friendly asset speeds. The proposed device achieves this with high-speed optical switching. The slow response of a mechanical cornercube shutter or any other existing retromodulator could severely limit performance. [0063](iv) Capability for the friendly asset being interrogated to identify and precisely "locate" the direction of the interrogator. [0064](v) Capability for secure two-way communications between the interrogator and the friendly asset being interrogated. Communication data rates of 2.5 to 10 Gb/s are anticipated. This data rate is much higher than any existing retromodulator devices.
[0065]This method of returning the incident signal provides a novel means of determining also the exact angular location of the source.
[0066]These additional advantages will be achieved while also maintaining the advantages of cornercubes and other types of existing retromodulators: [0067](i) Wide input field-of-view (FOV), allowing a large angular range between the laser interrogator and the device's optical axis. The larger the FOV, the fewer devices needed to ensure that the interrogator will be within the FOV of at least one device. A FOV of >±30° is possible with an array of input and output lenses thus increasing the FOV of the individual free-space optics and single mode fiber coupler-based retromodulator proposed here. [0068](ii) Low divergence of the selected return beam (after locating the source), reducing the probability of enemy detection: Near-diffraction-limited divergence may be achieved. [0069](iii) Light weight. [0070](iv) Low power consumption (˜125 mW needed to achieve ˜10 Gb/s data rates). [0071](v) Low costNote again that the device based on this invention has not been reduced to practice.
[0072]The present inventions not limited by the exemplary embodiments described above, and it will be recognized and understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all modifications and equivalents which may fall within the spirit and scope the invention.
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text:
A log cabin on wheels
Modular, mobile living was a big theme in design this year, from prefabricated, shippable houses to small temporary rooms that can be set up anywhere you like, in the backyard or the backwoods. The front runner, however, has to be the log cabin designed by Piet Hein Eek.
Working in a huge variety of materials and on projects that range from coffee cups to restaurants, Eek is nothing if not a Renaissance man. For the log cabin, he combined his rural Dutch roots and his own minimalistic aesthetic to reinvent the classic Linkin Logs-style cabin. The result is a stunning, modern twist on the form. This particular cabin was created for Hans Liberg, who uses it for his music studio. It's currently in Hilversum, Netherlands, but it can travel anywhere.

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Coated denim is "It," so rock this electrifying shade of the jeans you already know and love. With a touch of eye-catching sparkle, these super-skinnies lend your style the look-at-me vibe you need.
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text:
A When Steel Talks Exclusive
- See more at: http://www.panonthenet.com/woman/2017/gayle-wilmot.htm#sthash.iWlDL...
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Congratulations on your film. We need more movies about the young people in Pan.
bugs: You are so SUPPORTIVE of the PAN TING. I admire you for that!!!
There is a lot of things happening in Pan. Only Rolly Polly and D'Photo spinning a top in mud.
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text:
NEW YORK, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Julia Roberts' role as Snow White's evil stepmother in Mirror Mirror might've been closer to her heart than people thought. While interviewing for the September issue of InStyle magazine, the Pretty Woman star confessed she used to think she was "the prettiest" of them all -- actresses that is.
"I think I've always sort of been on the more boyish spectrum of girls. For example, I've never been chosen as 'one of the top-five hottest actresses in a bikini.' And honestly, it's a godsend," Roberts told the magazine.
"When I was younger, I'd think, 'Oh, I'm the prettiest one. It's not Halle Berry. It's not!' But it is, you know?"
Roberts went on to say over the years she's become more and more conscious of what she wears and what she looks like, adding that before "a friend could call me at 3 in the afternoon and say, 'I have a premiere tonight. Will you come?' And I'd just take a shower and go."
"I wore a lot of vintage then. I had a navy military jacket and striped leggings I wore all the time," she explained. "Those were the fun old days. People were less judgmental, less searing in their assessment of what you dare wear to the drugstore."
But now the Oscar-winner has friend and stylist Elizabeth Stewart and her kids -- twins Hazel and Phinneas, 9, and Henry, 7 -- to help her be on point for all her red carpet looks.
"Often I'll let the kids look at my outfit choices and say, 'What do you like better -- this or this?' I just try to not take it so seriously," she shared. "And it can be stressful on the red carpet So it doesn't matter how much you dress up or bejewel yourself, you've still got to feel like you."
The September issue of InStyle, which also commemorates the magazine's 20th anniversary, will be released on August 15.


text:
Added to the Archives This Week
Next, Jonathan Scull takes a turn with the Cary CAD-280SA V12 power amplifier, describing it as "a handsome amp, and smaller than its name might lead you to think. In fact, it's an interesting combination of the neat'n'petite and pure flamboyance."
To open his review of the Theta Digital Generation VIII D/A converter, Kal Rubinson notes, "We audiophiles are ever hopeful that, however satisfying our present equipment and setup, we can achieve even greater enjoyment with a tweak or an upgrade." KR investigates whether this is especially possible with a major upgrade.
Finally, Brian Damkroger gets a bit nostalgic as he wires his system with Monster Cable Sigma Retro Gold speaker cables & interconnects. BD says that although they are tagged with the word "retro," the new links are "well-built and easy to use, flexible, with simple, solid terminations."


text:
Over the years I have had several "guests" present for physical exams. As a very, very young child, my older brother (3 years older) and I actually had our physical exams together. I don't remember a whole lot about them. Then when I was 12 my dad took me to a new doctor and followed me into the exam room. That exam was very intense, and the doctor kept me naked the entire time. Later as a young adult, I had one (a surprise exam) with my grandfather watching. If you are a guy and think you would like to have a visitor in the exam room, fill out the poll and tell us about it.
This poll was created on 2003-06-14 13:29:37 by man_in_boxers56


text:
Host Vancouver Giants won their first Memorial Cup 3-1 over the Western Hockey League champion Medicine Hat Tigers yesterday before 16,281 fans at the Pacific Coliseum.
Giants hoisted the biggest prize in North American major junior hockey 13 days after losing the seventh game of the WHL finals in double overtime in Medicine Hat.
"This is a storybook ending," said Giant Wacey Rabbit. "This takes all the pain away,"
Michal Repik scored the winner with 4:55 left in the third period when he picked up a bouncing puck behind the Tigers' net and beat goaltender Matt Keetley with a short side wraparound.
"They were coming hard to the net all night," said Keetley, who made 37 saves. "[Milan] Lucic got me off balance on the first shot, I was scrambling back and as soon as I got back, [Repik] wrapped it."
Vancouver's Spencer Machacek sealed the championship when he added an empty net goal with 43 seconds to go.
"It was our time to win this," said Giant Milan Lucic, voted the Memorial Cup's most valuable player. "There were a lot of critics that said we couldn't do it."
The Tigers failed to capitalize on a 1:33 two-man advantage straddling the first and second periods. Vancouver finally broke the deadlock in the second when Mario Bliznak scored on A.J. Thelen's rebound at 6:07 of the middle period. Tiger Darren Helm equalized on a power play at 15:49.
Giants' goaltender Tyson Sexsmith faced 15 shots, including just two in the third.
"The other night we shut them down," said Tigers' head coach Willie Desjardins. "We were ahead and they had to come to us. Tonight we were coming to them."


text:
Asia Bistro serves up 'Woodbury Roll'
The home of the new "Woodbury Roll" opened its doors this week.
Asia Bistro, located at CityWalk, will offer much more than just Chinese and Japanese cuisine; it'll take its customers around the entire continent, owner Brian Tam said.
Bringing flavors from Beijing to Seoul, Tam said he and his family tried dishes from every possible restaurant while traveling around the United States and Canada to keep their ideas fresh and inspired.
"We don't want to contain ourselves into one name," Tam said of the reason why he named the restaurant "Asia" Bistro. "We don't want to put ourselves into one category."
The menu will include a list of house specials such as sea scallops, Korean short ribs and Asian-flavored steak.
After migrating from China to Minnesota, Tam's great uncle opened the once-popular Nankin restaurants in 1918. His grandparents followed in his footsteps and so did his parents.
"I was in it for so long that it was only a matter of time before I got into it myself," 27-year-old Tam said.
With an updated look, feel and ambience, Asia Bistro is more of a family-oriented restaurant that offers space for large groups. Different tones of brown and orange and the bamboo-lined sushi bar have warmed up the space.
Though he has learned from grandparents and parents with original recipes for Nankin chow mein and traditional dishes, Tam said he's bringing more of a modern twist to the Asian cuisine.
Some of the hot items right now include Chilean sea bass, Japanese Panko-crusted salmon and numerous sushi rolls created by an experienced sushi chef.
"He's actually gonna make sauces that are more unique than what's out there," Tam said, adding that among them is the "Woodbury Roll" he's kept secret until the opening.
Asia Bistro was formerly Shanghai Bistro, which closed in April. The new restaurant is not affiliated with the old one, however, its equipment and architectural features came in handy for Tam who did little remodeling.
"The space used to be dark, more trendy as opposed to family oriented," Tam said. "We've warmed up the space a little bit."
His mother, Linda Tam, who's been in the restaurant business for years, helped with some of the décor and the concept of the business as a whole.
"She loves building restaurants from the ground up," Tam said.
Even though it was convenient to take over Shanghai Bistro, Tam said it'll be a challenge to distinguish Asia Bistro in the months to come and establish its own identity. But with a diversified menu, a beer and wine selection and original recipes, he said, "there is a taste for everybody here."
Asia Bistro will have a grand opening later in July with a traditional a dragon dance performance to bring the community together. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.


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Two brothers; Dee is a graffiti-artist confronting the establishment, Marcus is an armed-robber with big aspirations – beingAnti-Social is a way of life! While London's art-elite suddenly embrace Dee's talent, Marcus soars through the echelons of organised-crime. But when a savage gangland-war erupts Dee must choose between his family allegiance and the prosperity he has carved.
A coming-of-age crime thriller inspired by the real events of London's 'Smash & Grab' Gangs.
Certificate: 15 Crime
Dir. Reg Traviss, Hungary/UK, 2015
Cast: Gregg Sulkin, Meghan Markle, Skepta, Josh Myers, Christian Berkel


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The Marvelettes-6 cd
- Type:
- Audio > Music
- Files:
- 138
- Size:
- 386.06 MiB (404817780 Bytes)
- Uploaded:
- By:
- flitigalisa
- Seeders:
- 4
- Leechers:
- 2
- Comments
- 3
- Info Hash: F9C303202D65A39C6FA4BCABA58ECC69BF36CD55
(Problems with magnets links are fixed by upgrading your torrent client!)
http://thepiratebay.se/user/flitigalisa The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla (later Motown) label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr. Postman", and for setting the precedent for later Motown girl groups such as Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes. During their eight-year run on the Billboard music charts, the group scored nineteen top forty American R&B Singles and ten Top 40 American Pop singles. Of these hits, three were Top 10 Pop singles, nine were top Top 10 R&B singles, and their debut was #1 one on both charts. (Between 1961 and 1969 they charted a total of 25 Pop singles.)
superb upload thank you.
thanks! Can't wait to listen.
YAY! More motown girl groups please! Great job!


text: News tech Hands on with Apple's MacBook Touch Bar Rod Chester reviews Apple's new innovation - the Touch Bar for MacBook. The Touch Bar adds a different way of interacting with the MacBook Pro. Picture: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP WHEN Apple announced the Touch Bar, my thought was this: looks cool but time will tell. Now I've spent some time with it, I'm ready to tell. It is good but it is not instantly... #macbook #function Tweet Source: www.news.com.au Read More


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Looking for car finance?
Get car finance tailored to your exact needs.
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Home insurance
Compare up to 65 brands in under 8 minutes
With any contract it's important to read the small print, and home insurance policies are no different.
The best way to avoid accidentally invalidating a claim is to familiarise yourself with your policy.
After all, you'll be paying out for years to protect your property, so it makes sense to know exactly what's covered and exactly what might invalidate any future claims.
Here are some examples of the type of small print found in home insurance policies.
Always close and lock windows in unoccupied rooms. During the summer, use a fan or a/c rather than exposing yourself to theft.
Never leave spare keys hidden outside the house as your policy may be void if a burglar uses them. Also, any dog flap should be too small for anyone to gain access – if it's not, this may also void a claim.
Correctly describe the locks when filling in your home insurance application form. Inform your insurer whenever locks are upgraded.
Take a look at our guide to different lock types if you need more information.
Activate your alarm whenever you leave your home, even if it's just for a few minutes.
Report all thefts to the police as soon as possible and get a crime number.
Check what is insured for use in the garden.
Extend your policy to include valuables like barbeques and lawn mowers which are likely to be outside during hot weather.
Secure tools like ladders, hammers and wrenches within a garage, secure shed or your home.
If you suffer accidental damage (e.g. to a load-bearing wall, power line or water pipe) the insurer may either refuse to pay for the claim, or only pay a reduced amount.
Tell your insurer when builders will be on-site.
This may incur a temporary increase in your premium to cover any accidental damage.
Arrange for someone to stay one night within any 30-day period to reset the count.
Even though your premiums may increase slightly, declare to your insurer from the outset that you are using your home as a base for your business.
Take a look at our guide to home insurance for home-based workers if you need more information.
Find buildings and contents insurance for your home, quickly and easily with Confused.com
Related articles
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How to calculate the rebuild cost of your home
Home insurance
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Here's some great ways that you can make earn a bit of extra cash from your home.
A lot has changed over the years, but these things we'll never forget.
These home insurance claims beggar belief, but we assure you that they're all true.
Take a look at what can influence the cost of your home insurance policy.
There are many areas where specific levels of cover might be important to you.
Slip-ups could be costly so make sure you tell your insurer everything you think that could affect the policy.
You items might already be insured with your home insurance. Read more to find out.
Confused.com answers the most asked home insurance questions.


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Homes For Sale in Northbridge Market Report
Well, we have some interesting elements in Northbridge. A sign of things to come or no? Let's see what we've got....
Can't see the chart? You can find it Here .
Let's start with the big news - we see the HSI FALLING significantly in Northbridge. See that red line make a quick turn in the downward direction? Try to find that elsewhere on the blog. You won't. Why is that the case? Well we have the number of homes for sale up (the green line), and the number of homes that sold stalled, and fell a bit.
Find Your Next Home or Check out the Competition!
- Sign me up for Automated E-mail Alerts of New Listings in Northbridge!
- Show Me Northbridge, MA Homes for Sale
- Is this an old report? Click here for updates!
- Reach me to be your Northbridge MA Realtor
However, that's not the whole story. Northbridge is really the only town in Metrowest that I track has has a significant amount of new construction. Hopkinton does too- but much of it is not advertised by Pulte, and therefore doesn't go into the stats. Northbridge's new construction is probably underweight as well, but it still makes up about 30% of the listed inventory, so it has a big impact. How's all the new construction doing? Well, there's one number I track that tells us that: The active days on market.
The active days on market, which because of all the new construction, has floated between 260 days and 300 days, fell to 124, as many of the construction opportunities sold out, and their properties fell out of MLS. People are flocking to Northbridge for new construction (relatively affordable new construction). As such, the market is doing quite well, but the HSI is going to look softer because of the extra supply, much of which has recently come on the market (so we'll see DOM climb from here).
It's kept a lid on prices too - $154/ sq foot is the same as the last report, and things have barely moved compared to other towns.
Northbridge Houses For Sale and Sold Market Statistics - Raw MLS Data
- Northbridge "Home Seller Index" (HSI):88 Last Report: 102
- There are 79 homes listed as For Sale in Northbridge.
- There have been 107 houses sold in the last 6 months, and 50 homes sold in the last 3 months.
Don't be a Turkey. Get the facts about your market
from my Blog!
- The Average number of Days on Market was 118 days for just SOLD homes.
- There is an Average Market Time of 124 days of the homes For Sale (currently for sale).
- The amount that was paid in Dollars per Square Foot averaged $154 (vs. $154)
- There was an Average Sold Price of $310,794 for sold homes.
- Northbridge ,MA, has 1 properties (vs. 3 in the last report) advertised as lender owned/foreclosure (typically foreclosure) .
- Northbridge has 4 properties advertised as a short-sale is going to be needed by lender.
*All statistics are for Single Family Houses and based on data in MLS. Matt's HSI is proprietary. (That means you won't find it anywhere else. Take that, Case-Schilling!).
Matt's Got More
Hold on there! Don't go yet. Matt's got lots more you to check out if you are planning to buy or sell a home. Why not look here, and find out a lot more about Radon, New Construction, Title V, House Styles, Town Assessments, MCAS scores, and even some tips to get the best rate possible on your mortgage.
Read my Explanation for Massachusetts Home Data Reports.


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This is a RPPC Postcard with Photographic Image of "USS Des Moines". This Real Photograph is close to Mint and has a date of 1904. We charge $4.00 for Insured Shipping in the US for the 1st Postcard you buy from us and add an additional Dollar for each other card you purchase.
Antique Sterling Silver, Jewelry, Napkin Rings, Victorian Objects
Sale * * * * * * * * Attention Sale for the Holidays * * * * * * Prices Reduced


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The on-ice success has been exciting.
That trip to the Stanley Cup final was exhilarating.
Ask Darryl Sutter what development with the Calgary Flames organization he's proudest of having now been part of it for three full years, and he turns a completely different direction.
"No question, depth," he said. "That's the biggest area of the organization that we still have to work on. You have to address it position by position and it takes a long time.
"The best organizations are teams that draft and develop. Look at the team we played (Tuesday) night (Nashville). They're an expansion team and had top drafts for a number of years and had the expansion draft itself. If you look at that team, there's 11 or 12 guys that came through those two routes. That's why they're a top team in the conference now."
Just like the Flames, which wasn't the case when Sutter took over as head coach Dec. 28, 2002.
Mired in the middle of yet another losing season -- which became their seventh straight without the playoffs -- the Flames turned their fortunes to the Viking product a month after he'd been fired by the San Jose Sharks.
Under his guidance, the club is 22 games above .500.
But that's not the direction he looks.
As GM, he's always looking at the future.
"It can't be a for-today kind of deal," he insisted. "It has to be for the long term.
"There's a process. You have to have a game plan you stick to. You have to have a long-range game plan, it can't be a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month plan, and obviously that was a real issue here before.
"It's about the stability of the whole organization."
It's a mantra he freely admits taking from long-time New Jersey head honcho Lou Lamoriello.
"Lou Lamoriello has sustained (success) over a long period of time and has the respect of everybody in the league," Sutter explained. "When you look at how you build teams, it's how you do it, goalie, defence out, not any other way."


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For those having math problems ... in my personal quilt library
is Barbara Chainey's outstanding book: Fast Quilts from Fat
Quarters easily understood instructions on (1) choosing fabrics
(2) cutting your Fat Quarters into specific sizes and best of all
(3) a "map/layout" for assembly that allows various block
designs for your quilt. Highly recommended!
or 10: 0-7153-2462-4


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Old Jules
January 23, 2001, 08:54 PM
Anybody out there shooting Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Silhouette? I'm shooting a Browning BPCR 45-70 and have just started casting bullets for it. 535 gr. modified "Postell"- NEI 349c. With Swiss 1.5 and the heavy bullet it is shooting good but could stand a little more development. Anyone shooting long range?
Bill a.k.a. "old Jules"
Bill a.k.a. "old Jules"


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Anger grows against Canada border agency after deportation death
Pressure to conduct a full review and independent investigation into the apparent suicide of Lucia Jimenez in Canada Border Services Agency grew Wednesday as the BC Coroner confirmed the Mexican national was found hanging in a holding cell at YVR. (FOTOLIA)
A vigil for a Mexican national who died after a hanging incident while in Canada Border Services Agency custody has been set for Friday and a petition has been started demanding an independent review into the death and migrant detention policies.
The BC Coroners Service confirmed reports that Lucia Jimenez was found hanging in the shower of a CBSA holding facility at Vancouver International Airport. She did not regain consciousness and was taken off life support eight days later while surrounded by her family, a coroners release said.
Shireen Soofi of No One is Illegal said the vigil will be held outside the CBSA office in downtown Vancouver. She said her group's petition had garnered more than 800 signatures by press time Wednesday.
"We're calling for CBSA to be held accountable to this tragedy because Lucia did die under their custody," said Soofi. "So far there's only been one investigation by RCMP in Richmond and they claimed there was no criminal cause, however we find it extremely inappropriate to have a police-on-police investigation."
Josh Paterson of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association said independent oversight must be brought in, pointing to the Independent Investigations Office for policing.
Paterson said the CBSA has no accountability mechanism other than accepting emailed complaints.
"We don't think having a complaint email published on a website is sufficient for a police agency," he said. "That's more the level of service we would expect from some small businesses than a national police force."
The CBSA defended its holding facilities in a release Wednesday.
"The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has national detention standards, which are consistent with international standards, for its immigration holding centres," read the statement. "The CBSA's detention facilities, whether in its own immigration holding centres or in corrections facilities, are regularly monitored by independent organizations, namely the Red Cross and the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees)."


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"The Artist," "Hugo" Win Big at the 2012 Oscars! See Complete List of Winners of the 84th Annual Academy Awards aka Tribute to French Cinema!
The 84th Annual Academy Awards became a rightful homage to French cinema! "The Artist," distributed by The Weinstein company but the creative team is composed mostly of French folks, took home the big prize, the Best Picture award! "The Artist" won a total of 5 Oscars including Jean Dujardin for Best Actor, Michel Hazanavicius for Best Director, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score.
But "Hugo" also won 5 Oscars, mostly technical and artistic merits, such as Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.
"Hugo," of course, was itself an homage to George Melies, the French illusionist who gave us the trippy "A Trip to the Moon."
Both "The Artist" and "Hugo" led the Oscar nominations with 10 and 11 nods respectively.
There was really no "oh gosh what a surprise" moment of the evening except for Meryl Streep taking home the Best Actress Oscar from the perceived surefire winner Viola Davis of "The Help."
And then, Woody Allen's love letter to the magical days of Paris in "Midnight in Paris" won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.And in the end, there's really no wrong in paying homage to French Cinema. Because after all, they really do know how to make movies! The ones that are ready-made for the Oscar stage!
If you really want to know what I think of the night's festivities, click here for my live blogging of the Academy Awards, you may stumble upon a gem or two, HA!
For now, here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 84th Annual Academy Awards:
Best Picture
*** (WINNER) "The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Nominees to be determined
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
*** (WINNER) Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"
Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
*** (WINNER) Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
*** (WINNER) Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"
Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
*** (WINNER) Octavia Spencer in "The Help"
Animated Feature Film
"A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
"Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
"Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
"Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
*** (WINNER) "Rango" Gore Verbinski
Art Direction
"The Artist" Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
*** (WINNER) "Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris" Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
*** (WINNER) "Hugo" Robert Richardson
"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski
Costume Design
"Anonymous" Lisy Christl
*** (WINNER) "The Artist" Mark Bridges
"Hugo" Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
"W.E." Arianne Phillips
*** (WINNER) "The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick
Documentary (Feature)
"Hell and Back Again" Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Pina" Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
*** (WINNER) "Undefeated" TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas
Documentary (Short Subject)
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement" Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
"God Is the Bigger Elvis" Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
"Incident in New Baghdad"James Spione
*** (WINNER) "Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen
Film Editing
"The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Kevin Tent
*** (WINNER) "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen
Foreign Language Film
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
*** (WINNER) "A Separation" Iran
"Albert Nobbs" Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
*** (WINNER) "The Iron Lady" Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland
Music (Original Score)
"The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
*** (WINNER) "The Artist" Ludovic Bource
"Hugo" Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse" John Williams
Music (Original Song)
*** (WINNER) "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Short Film (Animated)
"Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
*** (WINNER) "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
"A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
*** (WINNER) "The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
"Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø
Sound Editing
"Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
*** (WINNER) "Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Sound Mixing
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
*** (WINNER) "Hugo" Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
"Moneyball" Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
"War Horse" Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson
Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
*** (WINNER) "Hugo" Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
"Real Steel" Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
*** (WINNER) "The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
*** (WINNER) "Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi
[ 29 comments ] ( 2385 views ) | permalink | ( 3 / 1610 )


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How could i use this for a DLL instead of a EXE ?
How could i use this for a DLL instead of a EXE ?
Hitokiri~ (04-30-2015)
How do you use it with multiple offsets? Pls Help. #116
can anyone help me?
i want to get a text String and the methode in Main Post not work.
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim myASCIIStringValue As String = ReadMemory(Of String)(&H159BDBDF6, 16, False) ' or True dont work too.
L2.Text = myASCIIStringValue
End Sub
anyone can help me?!?
master131 can you add AOB scanning with masks to this or tell me how to? I was looking at an old thread you commented on how to do it (cant post links :/) and tried adding that but its giving me an overflow (probs not meant for x64) but i was hoping you could make a function that uses your memclass, thanks
Stickying this, could be very useful for this section.
WARNING: Skype name is "fastifan" without live, dots, or any other characters. If you are to contact me on Skype for transactions, confirm you're talking to me on MPGH first.
Registered Since 4-23-2013
Editor 09-04-2013 - unknown
Minion 10-22-2013 - 1-18-2014
Donator 12-31-2014 - present
Premium Seller 12-31-2016 - present
Minion 03-15-2017 - present


text:
You can't watch movies and TV shows on your device just yet
But you can still browse and buy
Sorry, but TalkTalk TV Store movies and TV shows are currently only available in the UK
Rent, buy and watch the latest movies and TV shows online
How it works
Browse the latest movies and TV
TalkTalk TV Store has more of the latest movies and TV shows than our competitors.
Pay for what you want to watch
No subscription, so you only pay when you rent or buy a movie or TV show, from just 99p.
Enjoy on a range of devices
TalkTalk TV Store is available on PC, Mac, mobile, tablets and Chromecast.
As manager of the Majestic Hotel, Robert Grant is trained to handle the most chaotic situations with ease. He can deftly juggle the needs of his staff, his clients, his two sons and his cold-hearted, gold-digging boss, Mrs. Dubrow, without breaking a sweat. There's nothing he can't handle.
That is, until Dunston checks in.
Forced into a life of crime, Dunston is an orangutan and the captive partner of the slippery low-life/jewel thief, Lord Rutledge. When Dunston flees his malevolent master, a desperately hilarious chase ensues. Dunston, like some simian Indiana Jones, swashbuckles his way through a marble and mahogany gauntlet of mischief.
Dunston's about to turn a five-star hotel into a three-ring circus.
Asset Details
- Genre
Comedy, Family
- Certificate PG
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.
- Run Time
1 hour 28 minutes
- Released
- Cast & Crew
Ken Kwapis Rupert Everett Eric Lloyd Jason Alexander Faye Dunaway
Viewing options
- Watch online
PC, Mac, Chromecast, iPad, iPhone, Android phones and tablets, Windows phones and tablets, Xbox smart TVs, set-top boxes and Blu-ray players.
- Find out more
- Download
Download on iOS 8+, Android 4.0+ and Windows 8.1+ in app. Includes rentals.
- Find out more


text:
Sharon Tate Burial
December 14, 2011 by staff
Sharon Tate Burial, Sharon Marie Tate (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Valley of the Dolls (1967). She also appeared regularly in fashion magazines as a model and cover girl.
Married to film director Roman Polanski in 1968, Tate was eight and a half months pregnant when she and her unborn child were murdered in her home, along with four others, by followers of Charles Manson.
A decade after the murders, Tate's mother, Doris, in response to the growing cult status of the killers and the possibility that any of them might be granted parole, organized a public campaign against what she considered shortcomings in the state's corrections system. It resulted in amendments to the California criminal law in 1982, which allowed crime victims and their families to make victim impact statements during sentencing and at parole hearings.
Doris Tate was the first person to make such an impact statement under the new law, when she spoke at the parole hearing of one of her daughter's killers, Charles "Tex" Watson. She believed changes in the law had afforded her daughter dignity that had been denied her before, and that she had been able to "help transform Sharon's legacy from murder victim to a symbol of victims' rights".
Please feel free to send if you have any questions regarding this post , you can contact on
Disclaimer: The views expressed on this site are that of the authors and not necessarily that of U.S.S.POST.