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Wipeout Pure
Review by Phange
"Whoa doggy"
Wipeout is a futuristic racing game not unlike F-Zero and Extreme-G (the latter of which is dearly departed). Unlike most games, the Wipeout series peaked very early in its life with Wipeout XL, a game that came out a mere one year after the Playstation launched in the United States. Many early subscribers to the then-uncertain Playstation were enthralled with the original Wipeout, and were absolutely blown away by the incredible Wipeout XL. Since then, there has been a steady decline in popularity and quality of Wipeout. The last installment, Wipeout Fusion, was so unpolished and wonky that Sony itself wouldn't publish it in the United States. Most, if not all, Wipeout fans assumed that Fusion was the final death throw of a series that simply lived too long. As if some divine intervention guided Sony and its young Studio Liverpool, Wipeout Pure is absolutely everything that made Wipeout XL a fantastic game... and then some.
Wipeout has always been about presentation, and Wipeout Pure is clearly no different. The game features some spectacular effects like bloom and mist. In fact, it runs so smoothly and has such high polygon counts that it looks day and night better than Wipeout Fusion. Wipeout's graphics aren't simply a technical feat; they're also a stylistic statement. From the incredibly unique Zone mode to the high-in-the-sky F-Zero-esque track, the game oozes a futuristic aura. And, unlike the current trend in "futuristic" scenarios, it's a clean future. A utopia of sorts.
Coupled with all these effects is a framerate that runs with hardly ever a hitch, and even when it slows down it doesn't effect the gameplay in the least.
Arguably, Wipeout is more about the music than it is about the graphics. The original Wipeout was totally unique with its excellent Techno songs (which were all the rage in the mid-90's). Wipeout Pure makes use of some of the best Techno artists of today and mixes what could be considered the best Wipeout soundtrack to date.
The sound effects are equally as cool, with great futuristic whirrs and buzzes.
Wipeout can best be described as F-Zero with weapons. You choose a hovercraft with a given set of points in handling, speed, thrust, and shields and you race it through a series of tracks in order to win the gold medal. To do this, you'll need more than just pure speed and good shields: you'll need weapons. Wipeout Pure's weaponry isn't nearly as powerful as Wipeout Fusion's, which is a good thing. Pure strikes a good balance between effective weaponry and not sending the game to a screeching halt every time you get hit with a missile. What you get is a very stylish racer with weapons to even the odds. They're not quite as powerful as, say, Mario Kart, but they get the job done and they look very cool.
As you progress through the tournament difficulties, faster modes will be unlocked. Once "Flash" is unlocked, the speed starts to become comparable to F-Zero. "Phantom" is so fast that it's nearly unplayable given that the tracks are so tight-knit.
Wipeout Pure is a great racer with an even better presentation. It's a shining example of what the PSP can do and a very impressive comeback for a long-forgotten series. I highly recommend this one.
Reviewer's Rating: 4.5 - Outstanding
Originally Posted: 03/29/05
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General Information for Strata Conference Santa Clara 2013Date: February 26-28, 2013 Location: Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, CA 95054 ( map) Actuate Booth # 411 http://strataconf.com/strata2013/?intcmp=il-strata-stsc13-franchise-page Conference delegates, and those unable to attend the conference itself, can connect with Actuate via Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. In addition, join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #actuate. Find additional information about Actuate's solutions for Big Data. Actuate – The BIRT Company™Actuate founded and co-leads the BIRT open source project, which is used by more than 2 million developers around the globe and serves as the foundation of the ActuateOne ® platform. Applications built on ActuateOne deliver more business and consumer insights to more people than all BI companies combined - ensuring organizations are ready for the exponential growth of Big Data and the proliferation of touch devices. The ActuateOne platform empowers developers to rapidly develop custom, BIRT-based business analytics and customer communications applications. ActuateOne applications built with one BIRT design can access and integrate any data, including unstructured sources. They provide one user experience regardless of skill level and are supported by one platform for any cloud, hybrid, on-premise, web or touch device deployment. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Actuate has over 5,000 customers globally in a diverse range of business areas including financial services, technology and the public sector. Actuate is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol BIRT. For more information, visit www.actuate.com or engage with the BIRT community at www.birt-exchange.com. Copyright © 2013 Actuate Corporation. All rights reserved. Actuate, ActuateOne, BIRT Analytics, and the Actuate logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Actuate Corporation and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. The use of the word "partner" or "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership relationship between Actuate and any other company. All other brands, names or trademarks mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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subset: commoncrawl


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New York, NY, US
Feature Construction Details:1. 120' tall waterfall feature in conven-tion center lobby: due to the height, the water feature consultant suggested to step down the waterfall to reduce water speed, and enclose the water inside of the vertical ribs to avoid water splashing out as a result of the interior draft. The bottom of waterfall is an infinity pool.2. Floating serpentine feature: this sculptural piece is there for esthetical and safety reason. Visitors on the escalators when approaching to near the top will be protected by the feature to avoid height phobia. The circular center piece is a LED lighting feature. Also this serpentine sculpture is to signify the pool/ night club entrance at the top of the escalators. Due to its size and curvy nature, the structure en-gineer suggested to use space frames clad with GFRC. The space frames also allow for maintenance space behind the LED lighting feature.3. The double ellipse arches: these two arches are designed repeat the circu-lar theme of the project and to unify the entrance to convention meeting rooms and ballrooms. The freestanding smaller arch is also constructed in space frames to reduce the weight and cladded with S.S.. The base of the arch is substantial size for stability.4. Glass canopy/ chandelier: made of curved glass and suspended by steel cables. This feature was originally intended to signify the pool and night club entrance, however, was deleted due to concern over earthquake.Design concept was produced by hand and computer sketches. Construction de-tails were hand sketched for CAD operators.
Status: Under Construction
Location: Las Vegas, NV, US


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Pawtucket, RI | Providence, RI
We are thrilled to be working with Bryant University on a new learning facility for their expanded Physician Assistant program. LLB Architects has been working collaboratively with the university to program, plan, and design a 10,000 sf facility that includes simulation laboratories, lecture... View full entry »
The Miller/Carr Residence - a custom home designed and built for a young family in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA - is featured in Think's latest publication, Houses Designed for the Country. Think Publishing is an Australian-based publisher that curates and creates books featuring international... View full entry »
The Design Exchange, LLB Architects' collaborative work environment, now has its own website atthedx.com. The Design Exchange is one of the newest historic redevelopments in Rhode Island and brings together creative industries in a unique, collaborative work environment. Originally constructed in... View full entry »
The new Walpole Public Library surpassed its original plan for achieving LEED Silver and has recently been awarded LEED Gold certification. It is Walpole's first LEED certified building and just one of a handful of libraries in Massachusetts achieving certification. The design of the... View full entry »
In a process that has spanned several years, and with continued community support, the Thayer Homestead development in Medway officially broke ground today. Construction will begin immediately on the restoration of and addition to the 150-year-old Thayer Homestead, a historic farmhouse built in... View full entry »
At the AIAri Annual Design Awards Gala last Thursday, LLB Architects took home top honors for Hillside Hall at the University of Rhode Island, the school's newest and most energy efficient residence hall. The Rhode Island chapter of the American Institute of Architects hosts a design... View full entry »
Lounges for studying and socializing are just about everywhere you look. Courtyards and rain gardens are beautiful and functional. A four-story glass bridge that connects the two wings of Hillside Hall adds sparkle to the south end of the residential section of campus, whether day or night... View full entry »
In the historic context of New England, the Walpole Public Library is a rare new building sited adjacent to the town hall and historic Blackburn Hall and just steps away from downtown. LLB Architects had been working with the Walpole community since 2007 when we were asked to re-envision and... View full entry »


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The Haunted House~ (Ghost Types)
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December 30th, 2012 (9:44 AM). Edited December 30th, 2012 by Olli.
I am still bathing in a summer's afterglow
Silver Tier
Join Date:
Aug 2010
: Olli97
: Gastly and Litwick
Ghosts. Why
: I've always loved Ghost types. Ever since generation I. The concept is great, and they usually find some way to be scary, whether it's through design, background or w/e. The reason they've never really made an impact on me when it comes to the love of certain Pokemon types, is because I've never found a place where they fit in. Whenever I get to a point where I can catch Ghost types, my team is either already full, or I've already decided on which Pokemon I'm gonna use. It's a shame really, because for what it seems, and what I've experienced, Ghost types are really good in battling, with how a lot of types are either weak or have no effect on Ghost types. Also, there seem to be a lot of great Ghost type moves... well, basically, I've always been really fascinated by the Ghost type Pokemon, but I've just never really found any time to ever really use them, and want to know more about them. And with all the Ghost type Pokemon that came in B/W, hopefully I'll find a few in my B2 adventures :p
What do you like about your partner Pokemon?
My love for the Ghost types started with the Ghost types themselves, so obviously I'd like the very first that ever came out. Fact just is, to this day, the Gastly line still remains my favourite. Why? Well it just seems like they're actual Ghost types. They're designs are based on what kids typically see Ghosts as, and they catch the scariness I'd like to see from Ghost type Pokemon through their design, growing more scary with each evolution. They may not be
scary compared to what can be seen in several other kids games, but I still managed to get scared enough to always rush through Lavender Town, however that may have been more from the rumours. But basically what I'm saying is, out of all the Ghost types, I feel like they seem more like actual Ghost types than any of the others, and they managed to scare me back when I played through the first games.
The Gastly line is also the only Ghost type Pokemon I've ever actually used as part of my main team, which is just more reason they'd be my favourites.
The Litwick line is mainly my favourites because of their relatively cute appearances compared to their backgrounds. I mean, seriously, at first glance I wouldn't see a Ghost type in them, but rather just a lightsource-based fire-type line, but when I read their Pokedex entries, I found out just how wrong I was. They're some of the most terrifying Pokedex entries I've ever read, and can easily see why they'd be regarded as Ghost type Pokemon. I've never actually used them though, so I can't say much for their performance in battle, but pretty sure they wouldn't be too bad.
Ooh, and level up Gastly :D
Not removing this from my signature!
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"Delta", the fourth full length album from Austrian symphonic power metal act, Visions of Atlantis, is their first release to feature vocalist Maxi Nil. Anyone who has followed the band to some degree knows that they have been plagued with close to as many lineup changes as Iced Earth, but somehow they continue to roll forward. "Delta" continues where the previous albums left off, showcasing melodic power metal with heaps of symphonic elements and orchestrations out the wazoo. It also shows the band toying with a more radio-friendly, gothic tinged sound, as well.
Maxi Nil is a fairly strong, mid range singer,, but she seems to be trying too hard to match the symphonic style of the band. There are some slower, less orchestrated parts that show her as a great and confident singer, but when she tries to do the Tarja tinged operatic style, it falls somewhat flat. It should also be noted that the male vocals suffer from the same syndrome: they sound good when the singer does a more hard rock / AOR approach, but when he tries a more operatic style it's extremely forced and flat. Speaking of forced and out of place, "Conquest of Others" shows two different and distinct styles of harsh vocals: one being a raspy take on metalcore and the other being a deeper, grunt style. These harsher styles pop up here and there, but thankfully aren't the norm.
The music ranges from a fast paced melodic style of power metal, similar to Dark Moor, to a slower, more gothic inspired style. While the band is competent musically, both Maxi and the male vocalist shine brighter when the music slows down and they stick a more standard delivery, like on "New Dawn". The fast paced sections have chugging guitars riffs, double bass runs, soaring lead work and, as with everything else here, comes backed by a nonstop wall of string inspired orchestrations, shown on the album opener "Black River Delta". The slower style has subtle melodic guitar lines twining alongside piano segments, once again backed by an onslaught of orchestrated keyboard music, but vocals shine brighter. Honestly, I don't think there's any free air space at all as the keys and orchestrations are so slathered on so thick: frankly it becomes too much by the end of the album.
Even though Visions of Atlantis is technically a power metal band, they sound best on "Delta" when slowed down to a more gothic inspired sound. Both vocalists sound more comfortable with the slower sections and it allows them to present a more emotional output. This is something that Visions of Atlantis would capitalize on their next full length album, "Ethera", but it's only sporadic here. The music on both the fast and slower sections is good, but everything comes together much more fluidly on these slower, more radio-friendly sections.
If "Delta" did nothing else, it allowed Visions of Atlantis to begin to toy more with slower sections and begin the initial steps of phasing out their power metal leanings. While "Delta" is still a power metal album, it opened the doors for Visions of Atlantis to find a new niche, and one that would help differentiate them from the crowd a little more. "Delta" is a decent album, but it's nothing overly special. Find this if you dig female fronted metal, but you'd be better suited to pick "Ethera" first.
Written for The Metal Observer:
I have to wonder if Thomas Caser is an agreeable fellow, considering that he remains the only member of Vision Of Atlantis' current entourage whose been there through thick and thin since their inception without taking an extended break or permanent leave of absence. He has to be either this "fly on the wall" character perched behind his drum-kit observing numerous feuds and hair-yanking between bandmates with detached amusement, or a sordid deviant who trashes hotel rooms and tosses whiskey bottles at his drum techs while whistling at the female singer's buttocks. Either way, the man is an immovable monolith amongst such a revolving door entity. Visions Of Atlantis doesn't accurately fit a band persona whatsoever, but alternatively resembles a project by which musicians join under that moniker to wax philosophical and record symphonic metal music for an interim of time until replacements arrive.
Plagued by a plethora of lineup changes, it's amazing that this group still exists, grinding out new material and touring after receiving a jolt of fresh and eager new faces between album releases. What is also significant is that the evolution of their music remains markedly persistent despite the numerous abrupt performer adjustments. From the marshmallow shitstorms of their early material, through the improved yet still average effort in Trinity by which the packaging and comeliness of Melissa Ferlaak triumph in notability over the musical contents, up to this release, the ascension remains a steady flow upwards in ecumenical quality.
Although it lacks the pure crystalline polish of recent Edenbridge or Nightwish recordings, those behind the knobs more than capably separated the instruments to easily discernible levels to avoid a potential symphonic morass effect. Keyboards swirl and encompass the metal backbone ceaselessly, providing an equal degree of melodies as the guitars, which could render most novice engineers dealing with these songs bed-ridden thanks to each instrument vying for bombastic supremacy. In the case of this album, balance between instruments is maintained, aside from a few relatively inconsequential incidents of muddiness.
As with many acts of this nature, vocals are usually regarded as a key ingredient and often the primary distinguishing feature, and Visions Of Atlantis on this occasion deliver the goods. Maxi Nil's name may be deciphered as "a whole lotta nothing", and she may not add a new dimension to the band's sound, but her delivery is no less potent and professional than her immediate predecessor, and despite the roots of her singing career firmly planted with the goth genre, her admittedly minor tremor of a transition to pure symphonic pastures was a seamless shift. Male counterpart Mario Plank possesses the more unusual pipes of the two by circumventing the more standard approaches of vibrato-drenched pseudo operatics, death grunts or lunkhead gang shouts. His technique rather suggests an 80's cock-rock swagger more befitting a performer who dons a headband and a strategically torn leopard print shirt while pumping his fist at the crowd with reckless abandon. Together they form an agreeable team rattling off the lyrics with aplomb while never crossing the line into over-emoting drama and self-parody.
The album starts off strong, with "Black River Delta" providing a strong overview as to what constitutes this band at their foremost capabilities. Symphonic as hell and backed by driving rhythms, the opener balances sweeping majestic passages with metallic fortitude while Maxi belts her opening lines with zeal. Her vocals are not pushed to the forefront production-wise, thus she becomes a piece in the overall puzzle rather than the main focal point. In this instance it works in establishing an all encompassing vision of bombast, and likewise on a few other occasions during this album that degree of quality is duplicated.
Truth be told, the album is somewhat front-loaded, with the following two tracks completing the list of paramount songs within Delta. "Memento" is the epic track, gliding through various tempos and riffs deftly to the point where even some odd clunkiness towards the song's climax involving drunk pirates warbling lyrics that seem to involve spiritual enlightenment can be forgiven. "New Dawn" is the requisite short catchy mid-tempo number with the all-important focus on love and a snazzy hook for a chorus. Yeah, trite it is, but damn, that chorus is almost maniacally catchy and the tune has a nice overall 'punch' to it, though softened a bit by keyboard pomp.
And that is what eventually brings this album down from what began as an excellent release. The persistent orchestral programming and keyboard melodies wafting over the entire proceedings gets tiresome as the album soldiers on from track to track with no relief from the incessant embellishments that half the time aren't even necessary. If the revolving door policy of the band continues unabated, I'd like to see keyboardist Martin Harb take a hiatus since he obviously wants to drench every second of every song with his ostentatious presence.
This release doesn't completely falter after the formidable opening momentum though thanks to a few choice cuts that offer a bit of variation. "Reflection" is the ubiquitous power ballad that gives Maxi a chance to seize the spotlight, and she pulls off her showcase admirably. "Conquest Of Others" is Mario's shining moment, channeling a Pain Of Salvation vocal delivery while Nintendo missiles rain down from the heavens onto Yoshi's Island. "Twist Of Fate" is notable for the cheerful keyboard melodies in the background (I'll give Martin a free pass for this one) that, combined with the mid-paced metal chugs, accord the song with a positive and even "cute" vibe, in a good way. Finally there's the instrumental "Sonar", which perfectly envisions the band members, after treacherous travels and hardships, finally reaching that vista displayed on the album's cover sleeve where the mysteries of life are revealed in all their shimmering glory. Or maybe not...who fucking knows?
As for the rest, including the final track, there's generally nothing loathsome about them, but they do little to perk the ears thanks to the bloated symphonics and rehashed rhythms. The prevalent sound of the band works well enough for a certain extent, but by not changing the dynamics at any point throughout the recording, it can hurt the accessibility of the later tracks which need all the help they can get since the most memorable tunes in terms of songcraft are firmly entrenched at the commencement. Without a doubt, though, this is currently the band's finest achievement, and if they can stick together as a team for once, focus on strong and varied compositions with an edgier vibe and regulate the amount of keyboard slush appropriated, they might just cross that barrier towards the upper tier of symphonic power-tinged female-fronted acts. It can't be that hard, can it?
Austria's Visions of Atlantis has been a talented symphonic power/gothic metal bands that has just been overshadowed since their inception by the more popular and successful bands within the same genre. Within Temptation, Epica, Nightwish, Edenbridge, Xandria and After Forever would all be mentioned before Visions of Atlantis, which is unfortunate.
The band has continued to plug away since their beginnings in 2000 and had released three albums to 2007 (not including their latest), but aside from the group trying to find their right niche and sound, perhaps one reason why they haven't taken off like the bands mentioned above is the massive amount of musician turnover. Since 2000, only two of the original six members remain (drummer Thomas Caser and guitarist Werner Fielder), and overall there has been nine past members (the ninth leaving after the release of the latest album'); which includes four vocalists.
Visions of Atlantis' first three albums were all natural progressions of each other and while they were fairly decent sound-wise, there just seemed to be something missing or something not quite right or where it should be. Male vocalist Mario Plank, who joined in 2003 and remains to this day, stood out like a sore thumb for all the wrong reasons when he debuted on 'Cast Away'. His vocals were at times horrendously un-metal, high-pitched and just plain aggravating; spoiling most fans enjoyment of the CD. His style was not suited to the band's sound, but to my surprise he has stuck around and managed to improve his vocal style and delivery.
Between the debut and now their latest release, 'Delta', Visions of Atlantis have cycled through four female vocalists, the third singer Joanna Nieniewska didn't even last long enough to record an album, however the fourth and current vocalist is Greek native Maxi Nil (On Thorns I Lay, ex-Elysion), who seems to be the best and most consistent of the bunch. Similar to other gothic/symphonic female vocalists around at the moment, Maxi brings a passion and presence that has been missing in this band for quite a while.
While Visions of Atlantis' previous efforts have lacked power and enthusiasm, particularly from the drums and guitars, 'Delta' proves to be a big improvement in that area, with stronger song-writing across the album. The songs are much more creative, bombastic and enjoyable; rather than weak, predictable and lack-lustre that had been the case mostly with the first two releases. It seems the band has listened and learned from the bigger bands in their genre, and whilst not completely copying their successful styles, have taken some of their structures and arrangements to benefit their own cause.
The epic "Memento" is definitely a stand-out track which surprised me the most. With choirs and an orchestra, the tracks is fluent in harmony, emotion and extravagance; while Maxi asserts herself in the centre singing with commanding, yet angelic tones. With strong guitar riffs and energetic synths and keys, even male vocalist Mario adds a nice touch overall to the song. Despite some songs being fairly straightforward and pretty much forgettable after the disc has stopped ("New Dawn", "Reflection"), there are some that are very well done and arguably Visions of Atlantis' best constructed and delivered songs to date; a definite plus while this band is trying to re-invent themselves.
The best three – "Where Daylight Fails", "Conquest of Others" and "Elegy of Existence" are all kick ass tracks that are memorable, catchy and executed with precision. "Elegy of Existence" is a great mid to fast-paced track, with both Mario and Maxi contributing 50/50 down the line. Exceptional and powerful guitar riffs, inside a bombastic and symphonic blast of orchestral sound makes for a great listening experience. "Conquest Of Others" is a darker-edged track, featuring mainly Mario on vocals, but singing in a dark grating and raspy tone, with Maxi coming in during the chorus with angelic cries. The guitars riffs are somewhat down-tuned throughout the song, while the orchestration features horns and any other instrument to deliver added bass, the end result is an incredible song of emotion and power.
Lastly, "Where Daylight Fails" is a more light-hearted and upbeat track that includes a vocal duel between Maxi and Mario. Again the standout is the orchestration, the vocals, the guitar riffs and the memorable chorus. Another song worth mentioning to round off the CD is the album closer "Gravitate Towards Fatality", which is a great song, powerful and bombastic and a top way to finish the disc.
In the end I was quite surprised with Visions of Atlantis' vast improvement from previous discs and it's great to see this band finally settle down with a line-up that has seemed to have worked for them thus far (going by the end result of 'Delta'). Maxi's vocals do play a big part in the album's success and hopefully she will stick around and stay with the band for a long time. With so many musicians coming in and out of this band over the past few years, it would have pushed back important progress the band really needed over that period of time. But persistence ultimately pays off and Visions of Atlantis have created (in my opinion) their most consistent album to date. Yes, there are a couple of fillers on the CD and the material on show here is not new, but it is however entertaining and definitely worth tracking down if you are a fan of symphonic power/gothic metal and bands like Epica, Within Temptation, Nightwish, Sirenia and Edenbridge are on your favourites list.
Originally written for www.themetalforge.com
The Austrian band Visions of Atlantis serves symphonic power metal. I didn't know the band's music, but I "had heard the name". I'm familiar with the genre and occasionally I can enjoy some of the really cheesy stuff it sometimes produces (Rhapsody of Fire! Nightwish!). Now how does Delta sound?
The band uses both a male and a female vocalist. No singer/guitarist as other bands tend to have, but two full time singers. That could create some very interesting vocal interaction, but does this interaction actually happen? Yes, and no. During some songs she does most of the singing (Reflection), during some other songs he does most of the singing (Conquest of Others) and some songs have both of them singing with equal importance, but nearly never really together. What I like to hear in mixed gender vocals are "dialogues", with both singers alternating. That doesn't really happen on this album and is a missed chance. The chorus of Elegy of Existence hears this but it's over before you really realize it happened. What we do have is for example Twist of Fate: he sings and she can be heard on the background. In the chorus they do sing the same lines, but it's not quite the same as what I really like. Both he and she know how to control their voice: there are no false notes although I had to get used to the male vocals. Too bad they didn't do something really interesting...
The instrumental part of the music is good, but you've heard it all before. After five songs it feels like you've heard the entire album. Bad thing? Not really: the songs are good quality and something really bad can not be found on the album. There is a ballad, which seems obligatory for any album in the genre and its not really overwhelming. Reflection turns out to be a stereotype ballad: it begins with only female vocals and piano/keyboard. After a while the drums join in and the song gains a little power. Halfway through the song there is a short guitarsolo and the picture is complete. A ballad following the ancient recipe. Bad? No, but not my cup of tea.
The other songs do contain the guitars that we as metalfans all love. Black River Delta is a great opener: it begins with a few keyboard lines, and then the guitars and fast drums kick in. Ha, got to love it! It sounds a little epic, not in the least because of the Alladin-like keyboard melody that you can hear at some points. This presence of keyboards makes the music sound a little bigger, and is an important part of the music's character.
Delta is not a modest album: symphonic metal means big and bombastic! The song vary between fast and slow ones, like the slower Memento following the fast opener. These changes ensure you don't listen to the same song over and over again.
Lots of really catchy riffs and melodies you won't find on Delta, but fans of female fronted/symphonic power metal will appreciate this album. The main reason I didn't give the album a higher reason is the absence of some really interesting male/female vocal interaction.
Originaly written in Dutch for Ashladan.be.
I think that all of us, or at least many of us, remember those days back in 2007, when Visions of Atlantis released their 3rd studio album, "Trinity". The album showed what a band can do with effort, patience and creativity: in only 5 years, the band renewed their sound from a keyboard-based power metal with little symphonic tunes, to a more mature form of symphonic power metal where the combination of solid guitar sounds and an orchestra get along with each other while keeping a place for the fantasy themes the band is well known for. But then the storm came: VoA parted ways with their most talented female singer until then (Melissa Ferlaak), and for a while the golden dream broke into pieces: maybe the band would never achieve the same quality in the future… until now. 2011 has come to prove us (or maybe just me) wrong, that Visions of Atlantis still has a long way to go, and that the only way a young band can move forward after such hard times, is to forget, forgive and bet to evolution.
In order to make their comeback to the metal scene, the band hired a new female singer, Maxi Nil. Although she is not an opera-style singer like Melissa Ferlaak, she has brought something more valuable to a young band with her: tons of experience! These 4 years, the experience and versatility of their new female singer and the brave decision of going further into symphonic metal instead of turning into pure power metal promoted the development of the band's latest effort, "Delta".
"Delta" is the final proof of the talent Visions of Atlantis has always had. The album itself is enough to give the band a nice place in the symphonic metal scene. The way the fantasy themes and the maturity and integrity of the sound the band has developed after 11 years of history (9 if we count only since the release of their debut album) are fused together cannot be found easily among most bands, even among those that have lasted for more than 15 or 20 years. The band has grown up, so let's take a look on the new things VoA has to offer.
Musically, "Delta" may sound very close to its predecessor ("Trinity") to all those who are not into symphonic metal extensively. For those who have heard more of the subgenre, "Delta" is far more complex, as the use of the orchestra becomes more and more sophisticated, even within this album alone, ranging from accompaniment only ("Black River Delta", "Conquest of Others", "Twist of Fate") to those sections where the orchestra becomes the main element of the music ("Where Daylight Falls", "Reflection", "Gravitate Towards Fatality" and, of course, the instrumental "Sonar"). The guitars equilibrate the orchestral work and keep the main musical elements of VoA's original sound: powerful PM solos, harsh sections and, of course, many parts where the guitar section may become too simple but it's far from being so ("New Dawn" is the best example of this situation). The rhythm section provides most of the time the basis of the sound, failing to become prominent; if we were talking about an extreme metal subgenre, the rhythm section remaining hidden would be unforgivable, but in the case of symphonic metal, the orchestra or the keyboards can contribute and compensate largely the relative absence of a prominent bass or drums. However, we can find many interesting drums through the album, such as a few double kickings at the beginning, for example.
The vocals shall be analyzed separately from the rest of the music due to the fact that there are many new elements and resources in "Delta" that cannot be found in anything the band had released before. As it is common among female-fronted metal bands, the vocals section relies heavily on the female vocals, as they are used more prominently. However, the same way it was shown in "Trinity" but in a more developed way, the male vocals also play a key role here, and they are used often one after another or together. In the song "New Dawn", even a little growling can be heard, making us wonder how VoA would sound like if they were used more frequently.
The lyrics follow the same trend Visions of Atlantis is well-known for: fantasy themes told with dramatic colors and a delicate equilibrium between quiet moments and more intense peaks. However, the band moved on to reflect more mature lyrics, using the imagination of the listener to create the fantasy worlds that are described through the album, making it difficult to find explicit references to these imaginary places in the lyrics.
Conclusion: Visions of Atlantis has returned to the music scene with a jewel, a product of their effort and dedication, nurturing their innate talent as it keeps on growing stronger. "Delta" is a new step of the band, their best achievement so far, and probably the best album of the first half of its year. In one word: majestic!
A long 4 year wait since the last album Trinity, Visions of Atlantis are back and more exceeding than ever before with a new collection of songs and again a new female singer. The band has really worked hard creating Delta and stands as being their greatest achievement to date.
As with many (and most) metal fans who have listened to VoA before, the band has been criticized for the lack of originality and constant comparisons to the leading symphonic band Nightwish. I have given Delta many spins and still feel that originally is still a problem, so if you're here and looking for something different than your ordinary female-fronted symphonic (Nightwish) sound, you won't find it here.
Onto the music, the elements here on Delta are much more dynamic and a much stronger use of powerful orchestrations which brings out the magic and force of the album. Orchestrations in metal now are getting quiet overused like, for example, the bands Dimmu Borgir, Edenbridge and SepticFlesh, who have all used a real, full orchestras. For VoA, they rely most of the sound of their orchestrations on keyboard synths, which again brings back the early Nightwish influences.
The guitar and bass work haven't really changed that much since previous album Trinity, but still packs a strong boost of power and heaviness throughout the album. The drumming is not too bad either with lots of blasting beats in trademark power metal style. Still, this is typical, but a very solid symphonic power metal sound.
The vocals have generally improved thanks to the new female singer, Maxi Nil, who is a fine vocalist and does a superb job singing. Her voice has moved away from the previous operatic style of the last singer and into more of a rock style which finally brings them out of the opera metal category. Mario (the male singer) also does great as his vocals are much more aggressive than before and even with sounding a slight tinge of heavy metal vocals.
The tracks are set out evenly throughout the album with some of those overlooked fillers that many pure metallers may avoid. Songs range from a 1 and half minute atmospheric interlude to an over 6 and half minute epic. As you play the first song (Black River Delta) of the album, you are immediately hit with keyboard orchestrations, full-on power metal blasts, and Maxi Nil's voice all in 30 seconds. Already the albums starts off great and promising and maybe you'll listen further. I won't give away much else, so it's your choice to listen to the rest. The album doesn't give away many surprises, but it does play lots of fun and catchy tracks for anyone to pick their favourite and repeat, but all this positive talk does come with its price. Because of the band being too similar as other bands, after about 3 or 4 listens of the whole album it can get pretty boring and you may want to skip to something else.
Delta all in all has its highs, but also has its lows which brings my rating down. Such as that in some of the tracks, it feels like it's just cut off and unfinished, like the band got bored with editing and decided to leave it as it is (maybe not the case, but who knows?).
Although the vocal duties are used in as duets in some songs, you have Mario singing a bit more than Maxi does. Some of you may like more male vocals, others may get tired of the same vocals. And then there's that huge originality problem again which has the biggest affect on the band. Feelings of the same old song structures, same old sound (musically and vocally), and the lyrics, which aren't so bad, but are a little cheesy at times.
Visions of Atlantis has reached their top game here with Delta, maybe not a masterpiece of symphonic metal, but a rock solid one at that. Will the band maybe do something different next time? Time will tell. Overall, this is a big recommendation to any fans of female0fronted metal, melodic power metal, and orchestral/symphonic music.


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FOUR men found guilty of conspiracy to murder two people in a revenge street shooting were today jailed for a total of 48 years.
The four, who were all jailed for 12 years each, were arrested after Michael Wall and John Jnr Phillips were shot at and rammed by a jeep while travelling in a Ford Ka in Chepstow Road, Newport, a court heard.
The Ford crashed into the Cross Hands pub and Mr Phillips needed a shotgun pellet surgically removed from the back of his head, Newport Crown Court heard.
The revenge attack took place after Mr Phillips and Mr Wall robbed one of the defendants, Brogan Hooper, at gunpoint of drugs and money at his home two days previously, the court was told.
The court heard the defendants made "careful attempts" to dispose of evidence and cover their tracks after the attack on September 3 last year.
The shotgun and jeep were never found.
Police intelligence also revealed Mr Wall and Mr Phillips had links with drugs and drug crime but they did not cooperate with the police investigation, the court was told.
Ryan Battersby, 25, of no fixed abode, Lewis Bridge, 23, of Nash Drive, Newport, Brogan Hooper, 21, of Feering Street, Newport, and Gary Rabjohns, 25, of no fixed address, had denied being involved in the murder plot.
The four were found guilty of conspiracy to murder on June 5 by majority verdicts in respect of Mr Wall and Mr Phillips, but cleared of the same charge in respect of the Ka driver, Shanice Francis, who was unharmed.
Meanwhile, Rabjohns was found guilty by unanimous verdict of attempting to pervert the course of justice by writing a letter urging his co-defendants Bridge and Hooper not to tell the truth and threatening the safety of their families if they did.
Judge Laura Cox DBE jailed each defendant for 12 years for each count of conspiracy to murder, to be served concurrently.
She also gave Rabjohns six months for perverting the course of justice, to be served concurrently.
She told the court: "It was purely fortuitous that none of the occupants of the Ka was killed or seriously injured.
"It is clear on the evidence that what happened that night was a revenge attack - the Newport boys on the Cardiff boys as it has been described - and that it was carefully planned.
"Since each of you had an intention to kill, the level of culpability of each of you is very high."
Both Rabjohns and Battersby had denied being in the 4x4 Grand Jeep Cherokee on the night of the incident, the court heard.
Rabjohns' barrister, Paul Lewis, today said there was an element of "provocation" to the incident as he had received texts from Mr Phillips indicating he was coming to Newport "looking for trouble".
Harry Baker, for Battersby, said in mitigation his client had a partner and two disabled children together.
Bridge had admitted being in the car, but claimed he was unaware there was a gun in it, the court was told.
His barrister, Sarah Waters, indicated today that he was as involved as the other defendants in the plot and stressed he had got into the vehicle at a late stage.
Ms Waters added that he had spent a lot of time looking after his grandmother and may have the opportunity to volunteer at a friend's gym upon his release from prison.
Hooper had admitted being in the car, but declined to name those who were with him, a jury heard.
He also denied knowing there was a gun in the car or that the plan was to ram the Ka, the court was told.
His barrister, Andrew Morse, stressed his client was younger than his co-defendants having been 20 at the time of the shooting.
Judge Cox also ordered each defendant to pay a £120 victim surcharge during their time in prison.
Musician pleads guilty to intimidating witness
A MUSICIAN who intimidated a witness in the trial was handed a four-month custodial sentence yesterday.
Jermain Smith, 22, contacted Ryan Milton via Facebook then called him on his mobile to discuss his statement to police, Newport Crown Court heard. Smith, of Caerleon Road, Newport, had previously been given a suspended custodial sentence for cannabis possession with intent to supply, the court heard.
But Judge Cox ruled it was not "directly relevant" to the shooting trial and decided to ignore it.
Judge Cox gave him a four-month custodial sentence but because of the time he had spent on remand he was immediately freed.
He had been in custody since January and pleaded guilty to one count of witness intimidation.
His barrister, Matthew Cobbe, said his music career had been "put on hold" because of the court proceedings but stressed he had used in time on remand to re-engage with his Christian faith.


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Reader Chris Chan sent a heads up that he will be on an episode of HGTV's My First Place this Thursday at 8pm.
For Chris Chan, buying a home in Chinatown would allow him to stay close to work in Washington D.C. and also stay connected to his heritage in a neighborhood he grew to love as a renter. After a long search in this expensive city and some tough negotiating, he finally gets a good deal on his dream condo. But surprise lending restrictions on new construction bring everything to a halt. For months, the only thing Chris can do is wait and wonder whether he'll ever get to close on his first place.
Chris hasn't seen the episode yet but expects it to include footage of the following:
- Chinatown (Generally)
- Chinatown Coffee Company (5th and H)
- 6th Street Flats (6th between H and I)
- Yale Steam Lofts (Mt Vernon Square)
- The Lacey (U Street)
- The Grayson (Mt. Vernon Square)
- China Boy Chinese Restaurant (6th between H and I)
- The Outdoor Public Pool at Harry Thomas Sr Rec Center (Eckington/Edgewood)
- SportRock Climbing Gym (Alexandria, VA)


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Fancy something bold, bright and fun? Become a comic book hero against a backdrop of dynamic colours, ink pen effects, half-tone dots and classic strips.
This template comes with an online version, PDF version, and 80 printed copies for you distribute amongst your family and friends.


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Ye Olde Home Office
As I mentioned before, I work from home nowadays and have been doing so since about August of last year. It's take a while to get a good setup and flow but have finally gotten a setup figured out that feels good on my desk. So I figured for fun I'd show off what the right side of my desk looks like. (The left side is pretty boring – just the Macbook Pro I work on and an external hard drive.)
As you can see, Captain America is guarding the snack container, but the bitch goes down so easily it's hardly any trouble to reach for some chocolately goodness throughout the day. No wonder he got shot.
Separated by the snacks is some reading material, with The Lutheran Confessions, ESV Bible and some church-business-related binders on one side and whatever books I happen to be in the middle of on the other. On the far side are my various calendars and a wire frame desk organizer where I keep file folders, papers I need to take a look and and such like that.
Exciting isn't it?


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Tel Aviv (May. 17)
(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Nine Jewish workmen, accused of participation in a Communist demonstration on May 1 which resulted in disturbances, were tried by the local court today. The charge also included membership in an illegal organization.
Four were acquitted. Kanievsky was sentenced to 50 days imprisonment to be followed by deportation, Luk to 30 days and deportation and the two Leker brothers and Volkoviski to 30 days imprisonment.


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Marijuana Use Up Among Teens, Survey Finds
By: ABC Digital
Health & Fitness
Updated at
(WASHINGTON) — Marijuana use is on the rise among the nation's high school students, according to a survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health.
The annual "Monitoring the Future" survey shows more than a third of high school seniors say they've tried marijuana within the past year, and views on pot are changing.
A record low number of eighth graders believe it's harmful to occasionally smoke pot — just 20 percent of 12th graders agree.
Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, highlights the dangers of teens not understanding the harmful effects of regular marijuana use.
"Marijuana use that begins in adolescence increases the risk they will become addicted to the drug, she says in a statement. "The risk of addiction goes from about 1 in 11 overall to about 1 in 6 for those who start using in their teens, and even higher among daily smokers."
The survey, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, also shows use of the prescription stimulant Adderall is up, but illicit drug use overall continues to decline, as tobacco use, and alcohol intake also fall.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio


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Detail Information
- 'For a mere cough, men must just chew Conjex, gain strength, and continue working': the provider construction and tuberculosis care-seeking implications in Blantyre, MalawiJeremiah Chikovore
HIV AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections and TB, Human Sciences Research Council, Durban, South Africa
Glob Health Action 8:26292. 2015..Delay by men in seeking healthcare results in their higher mortality while on HIV or tuberculosis (TB) treatment and contributes to ongoing community-level disease transmission before going on treatment...
- Control, struggle, and emergent masculinities: a qualitative study of men's care-seeking determinants for chronic cough and tuberculosis symptoms in Blantyre, MalawiJeremiah Chikovore
HIV AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections and TB, Human Sciences Research Council, 750 Mary Thipe Rd, Cato Manor, Durban 4001, South Africa
BMC Public Health 14:1053. 2014..We investigated masculinity's role in healthcare-seeking delay for men with TB-suggestive symptoms, with a view to developing potential interventions for men...
- "How can I gain skills if I don't practice?" The dynamics of prohibitive silence against pre-marital pregnancy and sex in ZimbabweJeremiah Chikovore
HIV AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Tuberculosis Unit, Human Sciences Research Council, Durban, South Africa
PLoS ONE 8:e53058. 2013..A fuller understanding is also needed of the different factors co-existing in contemporary African societies and how they have been and continue to be constituted within history, and the implications to the promotion of adolescent SRH...


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Engineering and the applied sciences are dynamic fields that use knowledge, judgment, and creativity to solve some of the most important and compelling challenges facing society. These challenges and the changing face of engineering will shape the world of the twenty-first century—a world of exotic materials, new sources of energy, staggering telecommunications and computing capabilities, cybernetic factories, and needed public works.
To operate effectively in today's work force, engineers need to have a multidisciplinary perspective along with substantial disciplinary depth. The faculty of the Tagliatela College of Engineering at the University of New Haven have developed an innovative approach to achieve this perspective: the Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral curriculum. This curricular model enables the needed mix of breadth and depth along with professional skills by providing carefully crafted, well-coordinated curricular experiences in the first two years.
The Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral is a four-semester sequence of engineering courses (EAS prefix), matched closely with the development of students' mathematical sophistication and analytical capabilities, and integrated with coursework in the sciences. Students develop a conceptual understanding of engineering basics in courses that stress practical applications of these principles. Topics include electrical circuits, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, material balances, properties of materials, structural mechanics, and thermodynamics. Unlike the more traditional approach, each foundation course includes a mix of these topics presented in a variety of disciplinary contexts. A solid background is developed as key concepts are introduced at several points along the Spiral, gradually adding depth and sophistication. Each foundation course also stresses the development of essential skills such as problem solving, oral and written communication, the design process, teamwork, project management, computer analysis methods, laboratory investigation, data analysis, and model development. Students will build depth in some of the foundation areas in subsequent courses, while other topics may not be further developed, depending on the chosen discipline. Thus, the foundation courses serve both as the basis for depth in disciplinary study and as part of a broad multidisciplinary background.
This innovative curriculum is the Tagliatela College of Engineering's response to the call from the National Academy of Engineering for a new approach to educating and training engineers. We believe that this approach, coupled with the integration of theory and practice, will enable us to graduate industry-ready engineers who will be successful in the twenty-first century.
CH 115 General Chemistry I
CH 117 General Chemistry I Laboratory
E 105 Composition
EAS 107 Introduction to Engineering
EAS 109 Project Planning and Development
M 117 Calculus I
E 110 Composition and Literature
EAS 112 Methods of Engineering Analysis
EAS 120 Chemistry with Applications to Biosystems or Laboratory Science Course (a four-credit science course, with laboratory, specified by degree program)
EC 133 Principles of Economics I
M 118 Calculus II
During the sophomore year, engineering students begin taking courses in their chosen discipline, along with math, science, and additional multidisciplinary foundation courses.


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Berlin -
A blaze that ripped through a camel farm for tourists in Germany's Black Forest region has killed 86 of the animals, police said on Thursday.
Only five camels survived the barn fire at the Rotfelden farm, said the devastated owner Wilhelm Breitling, 74.
"In two hours, my life's work was destroyed," said a tearful Breitling, who has travelled in North Africa and other regions to study camels since the 1970s.
About 100 firefighters rushed to the scene of the blaze around 2am at Ebhausen village near Stuttgart in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.
Experts believed the blaze, fuelled by mountains of straw, reached temperatures of 1 500 to 1 800 degrees centigrade.
"Everything happened incredibly fast," said a police spokesman.
The cause of the fire at what was believed to be Germany's largest camel farm was not immediately clear. The damage was estimated at 1 million to 2 million euros (1.35 million to 2.7 million dollars).
The camel farm drew about 30 000 visitors a year, mostly children with their families, who could go on camel rides through the scenic countryside and pet baby animals. - Sapa-dpa


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Sheriff's detectives are searching for leads in an assault that left five young men with stab wounds at a party in unincorporated Vista last weekend, authorities said.
A fight broke out at a party on Royal Road early Saturday and grew into a melee despite efforts to defuse the situation, said Detective Joe Ellis of the Vista gang unit.
Five men between 18 and 20 years old suffered stab wounds and were treated at various hospitals. All have since been released and are recovering, Ellis said.
The fight is believed to be gang-related. No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Ellis at (760) 940-4551 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or www.sdcrimestoppers.com.


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Locals remember Joe Paterno
The death of legendary football coach Joe Paterno sent shockwaves through the close-knit college community and reverberated all the way down to D.C.
"He was Penn State, he was Mr. Penn State," said alum Joe Corey.
Corey graduated from Penn 41 years ago, but his blood still runs blue.
"This is an institution that he gave his life to and in the end, they kicked him to the curb," Corey said.
Paterno lost his battle with lung cancer on Sunday, but many believe that's not the fight that took his life.
"The unfortunate scandal took its toll on him, which is just heartbreaking because I'm sure he went out with a broken heart," someone said.
Fired with just a phone call, the most winningest coach in college football history was ousted last November amid the sex abuse scandal swirling around his longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Students rioted against the firing by the Board of Trustees, rallying around their beloved JoePa.
With heavy hearts, they rallied once more outside Beaver Stadium, refusing to let the last two months taint the last 46 years.
"He's going to go out as a great man, great Catholic, great coach, great leader and great family member," someone said.
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August Tournament
August 8th & 9th, 2015
Nearly 1,200 athletes and coaches converge in and around Amherst in August for Special Olympics Massachusetts' annual August Tournament. The event draws athletes, coaches and partners from across the state to the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts, with over 800 athletes and Unified partners taking part in the competition, featuring bocce, cycling, fishing, golf and softball. All sports offered at August Tournament feature Unified Sports and the majority of the teams participating are Unified.
Event Handbook to be published in July 2015
Seasonal Information Packet to be distributed in Spring 2015
- Venues
Updated list of Venues will be made available in Spring 2015
- Planning Meetings
Our August Tournament Management Team meets 3-4 times prior to the event. The meeting is open to any athletes, coaches and family members who are interested in hearing what goes into planning the annual August Tournament. Meetings are held at The Yawkey Sports Training Center starting at 6:45pm.
2015 Planning Meetings are TBD
- Schedule of Events
8:30 am
- Softball Coaches Meeting
- Boats Launch at Quabbin
9:00 am Softball first pitch
10:00 am Cycling & Bocce start
12:00 pm First group of golfers tee off
2:00 pm Golf Skills starts
3:00 pm Dorms Open
5:00 pm Dinner Opens at Dining Common
8:00 pm Dinner ends Dance & Movie Start
8:00 pm Torch Lighting Ceremony
9:15 pm Dance & Movie end
*Timeline is subject to change
6:00am Breakfast opens
8:00 am Golf resumes
8:30 am Boats launch at Quabbin
9:00 am Softball, Bocce, Cycling resume
11:30am Lunch opens at all venues
4:00 pm Competition ending
Awards to be handed out at the conclusion of division play.
*Timeline is subject to change
- Directions
- For more specific directions please visit your venue's website or visit www.google.com/maps
- A complete list of venue addresses are listed in the event handbook (coming July 2015)
- Special Events
Olympic Town
- There will be an Olympic Town at Blunt Park, Cycling Fishing (Saturday Only) and Nonotuck Park.
- Vendors, games and much more to be announced.
- Special thanks to the Lion's Club for organizing and running all the Olympic Towns.
Theme – TBD
- Meals
- Meals will be provided, starting a with dinner on Saturday evening through lunch on Sunday.
- For a complete menu please refer to the event handbook (coming July 2015).
- If you have athletes with special dietary needs please plan accordingly and have that athlete bring his/her own meal.
- Meals will be made available to credentialed athletes, Unified partners and coaches FIRST. After athletes, partners and coaches are served, lunches will be made available to volunteers and for sale to family members.
- Limited concessions may be available at your venues.
- Housing
Special Olympics Massachusetts will make every effort to get housing assignments out to programs as early as possible. Please note that we are assigning 1,200 people and it takes time to ensure everyone who requests a bed is assigned one.
Housing requests are due to SOMA by end of July. It takes one week to process and assign all the requests, which are then delivered to UMass. Housing assignments will be available at the same time they are delivered to UMass.
Please note that when it comes to the dorms, SOMA must follow UMass' rules and regulations, and floor layouts. SOMA has no control over which sex's bathroom is on what floor, or how keys are to be checked in and out. We work with UMass to make things easier on our participants, but are guests of the university and have to follow their guidelines and rules.
For 2014 SOMA will be housing in a different section of the Southwest housing area due to construction. This year we will be using Kennedy & Coolidge Towers. Due to this change Please follow the detailed move in and move out instructions that SOMA will send to all teams. We will be working with UMass Police to insure a safe and timely move in and move out of the dorms. Please follow the instructions of UMass Police as you drive in and out of Southwest. Please reference the following map to have an understanding of the traffic flow in and out of the residential area.
There is NO PARKING next to Kennedy & Coolidge dorms. Once teams unload please proceed to Lot 33 off of University Ave. If you park in a reserved parking spot you will be towed at your own expense.
UMass Hockey team will be onsite assisting teams as they unload and move into the dorms on Saturday night.
- Assessment Rounds & Invitationals
- North Region – TBD, Langone Field, North End Boston
- South Region – TBD, Columbia Cultural Center, Taunton
- West Region – July 11th , Blunt Park, Springfield
- July 18th, Cushing Memorial Park, Framingham, MA
- North Region – TBD, Mt Hood Golf Course, Melrose
- South Region – TBD, Hyannis Golf Course, Hyannis
- West Region – TBD, Takoa Country Club, Westfield MA
- North Region, South Region & all Traditional Teams – July 18th , Framingham High School & Walsh Middle School.
- West Region – July 18th, Blunt Park Springfield
- Sports Specific Information
All of Special Olympics' official rules can be found here. The rules have been created based on National Governing Body (NGB) rules and NGB rules shall be employed except when they are in conflict with Special Olympics modifications.
- Bocce Divisions available August 2015
- Bocce Schedules available August 2015
- At the assessment round, teams will be required to participate in an assessment test prior to playing a mini round-robin.
- This years tournament will be round-robin play throughout the weekend.
- 2015 Course is TBD.
- Fishing will begin at 8:00 am on both Saturday and Sunday.
- Schedule of events is listed in the event handbook (Coming July 2015).
- 2015 Tee Times available in August 2015
- All golf teams and individuals must have a current up-to-date handicap assigned to them through the Mass Golf Association.
- To keep your handicap current, or to obtain a handicap, submit all your golf scorecards to Special Olympics MA, The Yawkey Sports Training Center, ATTN: Andrew MacLeay, 512 Forest St, Marlborough, MA 01752.
- Returning teams/individuals only need to submit 4 cards to keep their handicap current. New teams must submit 6 cards to obtain a handicap.
- All Scorecards must be submitted by July 2015, exact date is TBD and is determined by the Mass Golf Assoc.
- Level III golfers will play 18 holes.
- 2015 Softball Schedule available in August 2015
- Softball rules and modifications here
- Only wooden bats will be allowed. if you need more or new wooden bats contact Dream Bat, the official bat provider of Special Olympics Massachusetts.
- SOMA will have some bats on hand for teams to use, but teams are responsible for their own equipment.
- Special thanks to USSSA for their support and umpires.
- Families Information
Restaurants in the Amherst Area
- Rafters 422 Amity St, Amherst 413-549-4040
- Hanger University Dr, Amherst (Next to Rafters)
- Bub's BBQ Rte 116N, Sunderland 413-548-9630
- Amherst Brewing Co. 10 University Dr, Amherst 413-253-4400
Places on Route 9 Heading out to N. Hampton
- The Diner Stop and Shop Plaza
- McDonald's 377 Russell St Hadley 413-586-9878
- Burger King 353 Russell St, Hadley 413-584-5110
- Taco Bell 367 Russell St, Hadley 413-584-2877
- KFC 3 S Maple St, Hadley 413-586-5723
- Wendy's 376 Russell St, Hadley 413-586-4885
- Applebee's 100 Westgate Ctr Dr, Hadley 413-253-5799
- Friendly's 455 Russell St, Hadley 413-253-7640
- Chili's 426 Russell Street Rt 9, Hadley 413-253-4008
- Panera Bread 351 Russell St Rt 9, Hadley 413-387-6336
- California Pizza Kitchen 367 Russell St Rt 9, Hadley
- Bertucci's 51 E Pleasant St, Amherst 413-549-1900
- Subway 4 Main St, Amherst 413-256-1919
- Antonio's Pizza N. Pleasant St, Amherst
- Bueno y Sano 46 Main St, Amherst 413-253-4000
- Pasta e Basta 26 Main St, Amherst 413-256-3550
If you are planning on attending one of these restaurants, please call ahead for availability.
- Volunteer Information
August Tournament Online Registration will reopen for the 2015 Games in late spring 2015. If you are interested in volunteering at another Special Olympics Massachusetts event or with a program in your community, sign up for our newsletter .
Special Olympics Massachusetts is grateful to all our volunteers — we could not do this without you!
Below is a list of the volunteer opportunities and descriptions, for our annual August Tournament You will be assigned a job within the sport/category you sign up for, based on the need when you arrive and sign in.
- Official – Officiate bocce match according the the rules that govern the sport
- Scorekeeper/Timer: keep score of match and official time of match
- Measurer- Assist Official with measuring of balls thrown during match
- Course Marshall – assist race director by manning certain points on the course that the athletes may need guidance on. Also cheer athletes as they go through course
- Timer: Time racers as they go through the course
- Caddie: assist keep score of round, track down missing golf balls, deliver clubs to athletes during play
- Spotter – go ahead of athlete on course to help spot the ball prior to athlete arriving to area to hit next shot. this helps to keep play moving and limit the time athletes are searching for golf balls
- Course Marshall- keep place of moving, make sure rules of golf are properly being followed, assist in rules clarifications.
- Boat Captain: provide your own boat and take a Special Olympics athlete out fishing.Assist athletes with casting and catching & releasing of fish all Boat Captains must submit to a CORI check
- Mate: Assist Boat Captain with running of the boat, assist athletes with casting and catching & releasing of fish. All Mates must submit to a CORI check
- Timer: Keep track of the official time of the game
- Scorekeeper: Keep official score of the game
- PA Announcer: announce line ups and game play by play
- Bat Boy / Girl:
- Umpire; Officiate game according to rules that govern the sport
Venue Help
- BBQ: assist in the cooking of Sunday BBQ and passing out lunches
- Dining Common: assist getting athletes through Dinning Common. Help pass out dinner to keep lines moving
- Logistics team: Help get venues set up, deliver equipment, water distributed through out day, assist with trash removal
- Move in: help unload athletes luggage and bring up it up to athletes dorm room


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Global Business Series: Discussion with Larry Tabash
Join us for an informal discussion featuring Larry Tabash, Senior International Trade Specialist and Middle East expert for the U.S. Department of Commerce/U.S. Commercial Service in Austin, TX. He has held positions overseas with both the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State as a Senior Business Advisor in Iraq working on infrastructure development and capacity building. He has traveled throughout the Middle East and Europe and worked extensively in those markets assisting companies in finding suitable American partners. He has led trade missions to Asia and the Middle East. A native of Washington, DC. Mr. Tabash's personal and career pursuits have taken him to over 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1998, he worked as a Senior Project Manager for Visa Interactive which later became Integrion Financial Network, a start-up electronic bill payment company in Reston, Virginia and for Riggs National Bank as a Senior Sales & Service Representative and Loan Officer. Larry also worked as a Program Officer for AMIDEAST Inc., where he administered USAID and privately-funded training programs and worked on business development for the organization. He has more than 20 years of experience in international trade, business, and banking. This is a brown bag lunch and learn series. PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR LUNCH. In partnership with the International Business Institute at ACC
- Start:June 03, 2016
- End:June 03, 2016
- Where:Austin Community College - Highland Campus, 6001 Airport Blvd., Austin, Texas, United States, 78752
- Phone:N/A
- Event Type: Other
- Ticket Price:0


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Two-time Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks will be the first to portray Walt Disney in a dramatic film, reports Movie Line.
The story centers around Disney's twenty-year pursuit of the film rights to P.L. Travers' novel, Mary Poppins, and the partnership he develops with the uptight author during the sixties. The two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson will play the role of the testy novelist.


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It has been a banner year for Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville. The Tarblooders (12-1) won the Division I, Region 1 title last weekend with a dramatic 28-27 victory over Solon.
On Wednesday, the school got more great news.
An announcement was made that Glenville defensive backs Latwan Anderson and Christian Bryant were selected to participate in the 10th annual Army All-American Bowl secheduled for January 9, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas.
Anderson and Bryant have been instrumental in Glenville's success this season, making an impact on both offense and defense. Both are projected as defensive backs at the college level and will likely play in the secondary in the All-American game. However, Bryant has made a name for himself as a Wildcat formation quarterback this season and Anderson has contributed at both running back and kick returner.
Anderson, a five-star prospect and 18th ranked player in the country according to Rivals.com, transferred from Lakewood St. Edward last winter and has made a tremendous impact at Glenville. He helped the Tarblooders capture the Division I state title in the 4x200 sprint relay last spring and has served as a big-play threat on the gridiron. In the Tarblooders' 30-13 regional semifinal victory over rival St. Ignatius, Anderson picked off four passes, incuding one he returned 99 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory.
Bryant is a four-star prospect and member of the Rivals250. He has been a jack-of-all-trades for Glenville this season, serving as the team's lockdown cornerback in addition to handling kicking and punting duties. As previously mentioned, Bryant has also been a dangerous change-of-pace quarterback. The unspoken leader of the Tarblooders, Bryant is as fiery of a competitor as they come.
Both players remain uncommitted, but are entertaining prestigious scholarship offers. Anderson has named a top three of West Virginia, Ohio State and Cincinnati while Bryant will choose from Ohio State, Michigan State, Tennessee, Illinois and North Carolina. Both players will likely wait to make their decision until after taking official visits in December.
An official announcement by the Army All-American Bowl committee will take place December 3rd at Glenville High School. The duo will join fellow Ohioans Matt James (Cincinnati St. Xavier), Andrew Norwell (Cincinnati Anderson), and Spencer Ware (Cincinnati Princeton) on the East roster.


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Greetings from Consol, hockey fans.
NBC Sports Network made quite a push on Wednesday to turn the Penguins and Bruins into big rivals. Tonight's game might offer a more organic feel.
The Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets play tonight for the first time as division rivals, and players from both sides indicated that they believe this has the potential to turn into a special rivalry. Proximity has something to do with it – one can get to Columbus to Pittsburgh in less than three hours, should they drive at a reasonable rate of speed – and the general improvement of the Blue Jackets from annual doormat to legitimate playoff contender doesn't hurt, either.
This is the first of two games in two nights for these teams. Should be fun.
Tonight's probable lines and defense pairings:
Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Pascal Dupuis
Jussi Jokinen-Evgeni Malkin-Jayson Megna
Dustin Jeffrey-Brandon Sutter-Craig Adams
Tanner Glass-Joe Vitale-Deryk Engelland
Matt Niskanen-Kris Letang
Brooks Orpik-Paul Martin
Olli Maatta-Robert Bortuzzo
Marc-Andre Fleury
A quick note: For the second straight game, the Penguins did not reveal their line combinations in their morning skate. This is highly unusual for them, so guessing the lineup – as opposed to actually seeing it a few hours in advance – is the best thing I can provide. I wouldn't expect too many changes from the lineup that we saw against Boston, given that the Penguins coaching staff was especially pleased with that performance.
Injury update
Expect forward Beau Bennett to return to practice early next week. He skated again before practice and looked fine, intensifying his skating on a daily basis this week. There is a good chance he will practice with the Penguins early next week. The team's next scheduled practice is Monday, and it looks likely that Bennett will skate then and could be eligible to play next Wednesday against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden or next Saturday in St. Louis.
Otherwise, injured players like James Neal and Chuck Kobasew – and Rob Scuderi, of course – weren't on the ice and won't be ready for quite some time.
Watch For This N' At
= Mark Letestu has turned into a nice NHL player with Columbus and acknowledged that being traded from the Penguins to Ohio two years ago was probably the best thing for his career. He'll be centering the Blue Jackets' second line tonight.
= Evgeni Malkin is going to start scoring goals soon, right? He was, for my money, the best player on the ice against Boston. His performance in the first period was striking. I'm thinking he lights the lamp this weekend. It's time.
= I don't expect more than a handful of Columbus fans in attendance tonight. But I'm also expecting the Pens fan invasion to take place on Saturday, as it always does in Columbus. The Penguins are expecting it too. Said Joe Vitale: "We always notice when we have a lot of fans on the road. It's awesome."
= It's always nice for Plum High School graduate R.J. Umberger to come home. And now that the Blue Jackets are in the Metropolitan Division, he'll be coming to Pittsburgh more regularly. Boo him because he plays for the other team if you'd like, but I promise you Umberger represents our city with total class. Just a great guy.
The Read
Rob Rossi with a good piece on a lifestyle change for the Penguins' goalies: http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/4962425-74/shots-penguins-fleury#axzz2jPwpH3x9
Dejan Kovacevic takes a look at Pascal Dupuis, who is happy to still be in Pittsburgh: http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/4962435-74/dupuis-game-kovacevic#axzz2jPwpH3x9
Hear Here
I'll be joining Steve Kolbe of Pens Live at 3:40 p.m.
Rossi joines Brian Metzer on Penguins Live at 5:20 p.m. for his usual pregame hit (http://sportstalk.triblive.com), and he will join Stan Savran for a TV appearance on Root Sports Pittsburgh (6:45 p.m.).
Enjoy the Pens games this weekend, because the schedule is hitting a bit of a lull. After the back-to-back games this weekend, the Penguins only play twice in a two-day span. But, first things first: This weekend is a big opportunity for the Blue Jackets to show they belong. It's also a big opportunity for the Penguins to expand an already imposing lead.
– Yohe


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IRS employees who owe taxes received money, rewards
(WJLA) - An agency tasked with holding Americans accountable is now the subject of some bitter irony.
IRS employees who are in trouble for either not paying their own taxes or guilty of other disciplinary problems have been receiving big bonuses.
Over a two-year period, employees in trouble from issues ranging from misuse of government credit cards to drug use to violent threats and fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits to lying on time sheets, were rewarded.
More than 2,800 employees with recent conduct issues received more than $2.8 million and 27,000 hours in time-off awards. More alarming, more than 1,100 of those workers with tax problems of their own got more than $1 million in cash and 10,000 hours in time-off awards.
"Certainly, someone that's an egregious tax offender working at the IRS probably shouldn't be getting a performance reward," said Gregory Kutz, Assistant Inspector General with the Treasury Department.
The inspector General's Office, which uncovered the problems, calls what's been happening here a lack of common sense. But even the IRS points out that policies considering conduct while granting awards is rare, saying that out of 28 federal and state agencies it examined, only one specifically prohibited bonuses for employees in trouble.
Senator Tim Kaine, however, wants to make a change, demanding a thorough examination of other agencies as well.


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Often my clients (mostly small businesses/individuals) ask two common questions. Those who've already integrated a blog with their primary web site sulk about not getting any concrete results from it and those who've not yet started, question the necessity of having a business blog. In both cases, they do have general awareness about using blogging as a potent weapon to rope in customers, but they lack the know-how of effectively leveraging business blog's real estate.
It is either used as a news outpost or merely resembles a collection of posts hard-selling products. These are just the two mistakes at the macro-level which are blended with dozens other to make sure your business blog serves no purpose. As a result, the team maintaining the blog finds it very difficult to convince the management to keep it running in the absence of any credible data showing leads or sales. Your business blog is not just for announcing policies and products. So, for what it's made for?
- It's there to make a connection with your existing customers.
- It's there to turn prospects into loyal customers.
- It's there to push potential buyers into your sales funnel.
- It's there to get feedback about your existing products and services.
- And last but not the least, it's there to give your company a face.
Acquisition - Getting Qualified TrafficOver the years, different case-studies and analysis have clearly suggested that organic traffic from search engines yields much better results as compared to the traffic spikes coming from social media sites like StumbleUpon. Moreover, it's not the quantity but the quality of traffic that makes the difference.
What does 'Qualified Traffic' mean? It's as simple as pulling selective traffic from popular search engines where people are querying about exactly those problems for which you've affordable and easy-to-implement solutions. To pull this targeted audience, you need a thoroughly researched and refined content creation strategy. This strategy can be divided into 3 simple steps.
- Identifying relevant keywords (long tail as well as highly competitive) people are using on search engines.
- Creating an archive of relevant and useful content based on popular visitors' queries.
- Refining and applying the above two steps in a loop.
Channeling - Diverting Visitors To Honey PotsOnce you've managed to attract potential customers coming from search engines, your next step is to channelize them towards professionally written persuasive text/video/audio content that's going to be a foundation for sign-ups for your sales funnel.
These landing pages can be separate pages on your business blog or they can a part (static pages) of your primary business web site. I'll strongly suggest you to avoid the latter approach unless your blog's look 'n' feel matches with your web site. The most common and easy approach for creating diversions within a blog post is context-sensitive links with an alluring anchor text.
You can experiment with different anchor texts by tagging and analyzing them through your favorite web analytics system over a period of time. In fact, every link involved in the lead-generation process should be properly tagged for better analysis such that you get enough data to optimize and refine the whole process. Apart from text links, custom hyper-linked banners within or around the post are an effective method to divert incoming traffic. While embedding these banners, you must ensure they're not too loud; else you'll end up experiencing high bounce rates from these posts.
Baiting - Converting Prospects Into LeadsSuccessful completion of acquisition and channeling phase presents the next challenge of alluring an individual to sign up for your sales funnel via landing pages (honey pots). These pages consist of premium content surrounded by at least 2 or more email sign-up forms. The design and placement of these email sign-up forms should be actively researched and analyzed. A wrong placement or a too loud design not only kills the conversions, but may also trigger negative feedback on various public platforms. When it comes to premium content that's used as bait, there are several forms used by expert marketers over the years. Here's a list of diverse content formats served on such type of pages.
- Videos - It is the most effective medium to persuade an individual. Video has the power to instantly make a connection with the viewer. With some clever tactics that uses human psychology, you can achieve very high conversion rates through videos.
- Product comparisons - This is yet another popular method to allure a visitor. Carefully choose the rival products/solutions to compare with and created a table or an infographic highlighting what's unique about your product.
- Q & A list - It is something like a FAQ section present on a typical web site. The only difference is that this list can be much longer and one question may lead to another question in the list. Tip: You may leave the most important question unanswered just above the email sign-up form.
- Case studies/reports - If you have a data set from credible sources that convincingly displays the qualities of your products, nothing can be better than that. The real challenge is packaging this information into a persuasive copy that converts well.
Refining Lead Generation ProcessNo lead generation system is perfect and requires continuous monitoring and optimization. You need lots of data (visitors' behavior) and people smart enough to extract trends from that data that paves the way to replenish the existing system with new improved methodologies. Here are some general guidelines that will help you in creating a solid lead generation system through your business blog.
- Extensively split test your landing pages using Google Website Optimizer. Employ both A/B and multivariate testing.
- Get your email sign-up forms designed from a professional. It is one of the critical factors that decide the course of your lead generation campaign.
- If your targeted landing pages are on the primary web site, make sure the design of your blog matches with the web site. That's where blog design fundamentals come handy.
- Keep your business blog absolutely free of any sidebar widgets, adverts or any other distracting stuff that may hurt your conversions.


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Lollipop Chainsaw X Tokyo Jungle
2012-06-09 - Suda 51 plays Tokyo Jungle. Tokyo Jungle's developers play Suda 51... err, Lollipop Chainsaw. Read More »
Grasshopper Manufacture and DeNA Form Social Gaming Company
2011-10-31 - Grasshopper Social Network Service to focus on social game development. Read More »
This is Suda 51 Making Sdatcher
2011-07-28 - The man behind Lollipop Cheerleader gets behind the mic in Hideo Kojima's recording studio. Read More »
Hideo Kojima Announces "Suda 51's Sdatcher"
2011-07-08 - A new radio drama from Kojima and Suda 51. Read More »
Suda 51 Wants to Make No More Heroes Sequel
2011-03-31 - Grasshopper's top creators speak about No More Heroes, Shadows of the Damned and more at charity event. Read More »
Shadows of the Damned Resurfaces
2011-03-09 - Suda 51 and Shinji Mikami discuss their collaborative project with Electronic Arts. Read More »
Japanese Developers Comment on Kinect
2010-11-19 - Suda 51 and the makers of Panzer Dragoon and Parappa share their thoughts ahead of Saturday's big release. Read More »
Former Marvelous Producers Move to Grasshopper Manufacture
2010-10-14 - Yasuhiro Wada, Yoshiro Kimura and Suda 51 explain the recent shifts. Read More »
Epic Games Forming Japanese Branch
2010-03-23 - Company to strengthen local UnrealEngine3 support. Suda 51 to appear at announcement press conference. Read More »
Shinji Mikami and Suda 51 are on Twitter
2010-03-12 - Your mom is on Twitter. Read More »
Grasshopper Manufacturer throwing 10th anniversary bash
2008-08-20 - Three days of events, with appearances by Suda 51 and Masahiro Sakurai. Read More »
Suda 51 and Shinji Mikami team up with EA
2008-08-15 - New title coming for Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Read More »


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Get your fill of facts about Fairtrade certified farmers and products
Fairtrade is growing! Every year, more farmers become Fairtrade certified and more communities are improved. Every year, Fairtrade America promotes the latest stats on Fairtrade certified farmers and workers.
Read more detailed information about Fairtrade in our Monitoring and Evaluation reports. For example, find out how many producers are part of Fairtrade, and what products they grow and where. You can also learn about how they spend their Fairtrade Premium and see how many people are buying Fairtrade products globally.
Monitoring the scope & benefits of Fairtrade 2014 (6th edition) (PDF)
Available at www.slideshare.net/Fairtrade


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Our 2014 look into the U.S. Senate found that 67 senators have enriched themselves and their family members by taking advantage of their official positions.
The Senate may be gridlocked when it comes to conducting the people's business, but for family members enjoying the perks of being related to a senator, it's business as usual.
A few of the worst offenders we found during our research.
(Listed in no particular order.)


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100 Cases in RadiologyCRC Press 2012; US$ 38.95
A 36-year-old housewife presents in the emergency department complaining of progressively increasing breathlessness over the last two weeks, accompanied by wheeze and a productive cough. You are the medic on duty... 100 Cases in Radiology presents 100 radiological anomalies commonly seen by medical students and junior doctors on the ward, in outpatient... more...
13th International Conference on Electrical Bioimpedance and 8th Conference on Electrical Impedance Tomography 2007Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2007; US$ 476.98
These proceedings continue the series edited in the framework of the traditional triennial International Conference on El- trical Bio-Impedance (ICEBI), the most important platform for presenting recent scientific achievements in the area of el- th nd trical bio-impedance. The XIII ICEBI was held from Aug. 29 – Sept. 02 2007 at the Graz University... more...
15th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Medical PhysicsSpringer Berlin Heidelberg 2011; US$ 261.80
This volume presents the Proceedings of the 15th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics. NBC 2011 brought together science, education and business under the motto "Cooperation for health". The topics covered by the Conference Proceedings include: Imaging, Biomechanics, Neural engineering, Sport Science, Cardio-pulmonary... more...
16th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical EngineeringSpringer International Publishing 2014; US$ 143.44
This volume presents the proceedings of the joint 16th Nordic-Baltic Conference on Biomedical Engineering & Medical Physics and Medicinteknikdagarna 2014! The conference theme is Strategic Innovation. It aims at inspiring increased triple helix collaborations between health care providers, academia and the medtech industry. more...
17th International Conference on Biomagnetism Advances in Biomagnetism - Biomag 2010 - March 28 - April 1, 2010Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2010; US$ 357.44
40th anniversary of "medical uses of SQUID" th It is my great pleasure and honor to invite you to the 17 International Conference on Biomagnetism – Biomag2010 held in Dubrovnik, Croatia from Sunday, March 28 through Thursday, April 1, 2010. The interdisciplinary field of biomagnetism includes dynamic and evolving SQUID-based technologies offering advanced... more...
3D Angiographic Atlas of Neurovascular Anatomy and PathologyCambridge University Press 2006; US$ 200.00
This is the first atlas to present neurovascular information and images based on catheter 3D rotational angiographic studies. more...
3D EchocardiographyCRC Press 2007; US$ 74.95
Without doubt, Dr Shiota's excellent and highly illustrated text on 3D echocardiography will provide the reader with a definitive viewpoint on the benefits of utilizing 3D echocardiography, a relatively new imaging tool in the clinical armamentarium. Internationally recognized experts share with the reader the basic facts of 3D ultrasound, as well... more...
3D Echocardiography, Second EditionCRC Press 2013; US$ 78.95
Highly Commended, BMA Medical Book Awards 2014 Since the publication of the first edition of this volume, 3D echocardiography has become a more frequent tool in diagnostic technology and patient care, while technology advancements have vastly improved this powerful imaging modality. Supplemented by video clips and illustrated with high-quality... more...
3D Image ProcessingSpringer Berlin Heidelberg 2012; US$ 131.49
With contributions by numerous experts more...
3D Imaging Technologies in AtherosclerosisSpringer US 2015; US$ 143.44
Atherosclerosis represents the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the world. Two of the most common, severe, diseases that may occur, acute myocardial infarction and stroke, have their pathogenesis in the atherosclerosis that may affect the coronary arteries as well as the carotid/intra-cranial vessels. Therefore, in the past there was an... more...


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I was recently able to sit down with David Wells to talk about his new book, God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our World (Crossway, 2014). We talk about why this is the hardest book he has ever written, how it is different from what he's written before, and why he spends so much of his time working with orphans in Africa.
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Justin Taylor, PhD
Justin Taylor is executive vice president of book publishing and book publisher for Crossway and blogs at Between Two Worlds. You can follow him on Twitter.


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Nasdaq OMX (NASDAQ:NDAQ) is expected to report earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012 on Thursday, January 31. The company's earnings through the first nine months of the year were adversely affected by a slump in trading activity as the average daily share volume in the U.S. fell by 18% leading to a 9% decline in revenues. With tepid trading activity continuing through the fourth quarter, maintaining performance in non-transaction based businesses like market data and access and broker services will be important for Nasdaq.
Our price estimate of $29 for Nasdaq OMX's stock is at a premium of 10% to the current market price.
See our full analysis for Nasdaq OMX| NYSE Euronext|CME Group
- NASDAQ Sees Growth In Cash Equity Trading Volumes, Market Share In August
- Nasdaq's Equity Options Trading Volumes Continue Strong Growth In August
- Highlights From NASDAQ's Q2 Earnings
- What To Watch For In NASDAQ's Q2 Earnings
- NASDAQ Sees Growth In Cash Equity Trading Volumes, Market Share In Q2
- Nasdaq's Equity Options Trading Volumes Continue Strong Growth In Q2
Market Not Recovering
U.S. cash equity trading accounts for nearly half of Nasdaq's revenue. The company earns around $0.40 per thousand matched shares. Although its market share has remained around 30%, the latest monthly volume report reveals that the U.S. matched equity volume dropped 37% from May through December with the December volume being 21% below the 2011 level for the same month. This decline in trading activity will likely affect the fourth quarter income, but we expect a gradual recovery in the next few years as macro-economic conditions become more conducive for trading.
Market Data
Market data is one of the important business divisions for Nasdaq, accounting for a fifth of its EBITDA. The company provides quote and trade information to news channels and institutional clients like trading firms. Nasdaq acquired RapidData to deliver government and economic news to its clients via an electronic feed at the end of 2011, and this helped boost revenues by 13% in the first nine months of 2012. The company started 2012 with 19,000 subscriptions to its data feed and has since managed to increase the number many-fold and is on track to cross 90,000 by the end of the calendar year.
Listing Affected By Facebook?
The Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) IPO fiasco seems to have had little effect on Nasdaq's reputation as the preferred destination for technology companies in the U.S. Around 70% of all technology companies in the country are currently listed on Nasdaq. More than half of the 109 companies that went public in the first nine months of 2012 preferred Nasdaq over NYSE (NYSE:NYX). The exchange hosted 17 IPOs in the third quarter, including that of travel search engine Kayak (NASDAQ:KYAK).
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Cursor Run
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Get first to the target and stop there. Moving your mouse in the direction of the target and passing over it at huge speed won't work.
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|Sport, 1 pitch, 50'
|YDS: 5.10b French: 6a+ Ewbanks: 19 UIAA: VII- ZA: 19 British: E2 5b [details]
|Page Views:
|Submitted By:
|Joe Cayer on Feb 27, 2012
|Comments on Spinal Tap
|Add Comment
|Show which comments —
By Tradiban
Jan 21, 2013
|I think this is the route closest to the left corner? It has newer Fixe hangers. There's a separate route that has older SMC hangers to the right (left of James Addiction).
By arjunmh
From: Phoenix & Prescott, AZ
Jan 1, 2014
|That's my interpretation too, except that it doesn't make sense. The older SMC hangers should mark the original route, likely to be Spinal Tap, and the new hangers are a newer route. I've now climbed both of them at last and from Marty's description and the original map/photo it's hard to know. It was established in '89, which would suggest the SMC hangers and the route closer to James Addiction. Anyone have better ideas? Both are solid 5.10 routes that are super nice for this area.
By Mike Schen
From: Phoenix, AZ
Feb 26, 2014
|The one on the right face is Spinal Tap, the left is On Tap. Both 5.10b.


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After an explosion of movement from Jude over the past week--fast crawling, climbing, and even turning completely around in the shopping cart, in spite of a seat belt--I realized that I have to get a little more serious about baby proofing.
This one however is super curious coupled with the compulsion to be right next to me at all times.
May 23, 2012
Cue the Baby Proofing
3 comments:
Oh my! Definitely time to start baby proofing. Curiosity mixed with determination? You'll have your hands full :) What a cutie!ReplyDelete
Oh, what a sweetheart he is. I just wanna nibble the baby toes, is that so wrong?ReplyDelete
Aw! Yes, baby proofing when you have such an inquisitive young one is definitely the way to go o.OReplyDelete
Look at those big beautiful eyes!
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