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Mars has historically been unfriendly to Earth's attempts to visit it. More missions have been attempted to Mars than to any other place in the Solar System except the Moon, and about half of the attempts have failed. Some of these failures occurred because Mars was the first planet Earth attempted to explore, and the early exploration attempts taught us many lessons that have made subsequent missions more successful. But many failures have occurred relatively recently, proving again and again that space exploration is very, very difficult. But since 1996, Mars exploration has undergone a Renaissance, with data from four orbiters and four landed missions developing a revolutionary new view of Mars as an Earth-like world with a complex geologic history.
Active missions: InSight - ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter - MAVEN - Mars Orbiter Mission - Curiosity - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter - Mars Express - 2001 Mars Odyssey
Future missions: ExoMars Rover - Mars 2020 - Emirates Mars Mission - China Mars 2020
Past missions: Phobos-Grunt - Yinghuo-1 - Phoenix - Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity - Mars Exploration Rover Spirit - Mars Polar Lander - Nozomi - Mars Climate Orbiter - Mars Pathfinder & Sojourner - Mars 96 - Mars Global Surveyor - Mars Observer - Phobos 2 - Phobos 1 - Viking program - Mars 4, 5, 6, & 7 - Mars 2 & 3 - Mariner 9 - Kosmos 419 - Mariner 8 - Mars 1969a &b - Mariner 6 & 7 - Zond 2 - Mariner 4 - Mariner 3- Mars 1 - Korabl 11 & 13 - Korabl 4 & 5
Mars lander (NASA)
Launch: 5 May 2018
Arrival: 26 Nov 2019
InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a Mars lander full of geophysical instruments. Using a seismometer, heat flow probe, and precision tracking it seeks to explore the deep interior of Mars and improve our understanding of the formation of terrestrial planets.
Links: Complete Planetary Society InSight Mission Coverage
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ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Mars orbiter and lander (ESA)
Launch: March 14, 2016
Mars orbit insertion: October 19, 2016
This first mission of ESA's ExoMars program consists of a Trace Gas Orbiter plus an Entry, descent and landing Demonstrator Module, known as Schiaparelli (which transmitted data during its descent before crash landing on the martian surface). The main objectives of this mission are to search for evidence of methane and other trace atmospheric gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological processes and to test key technologies in preparation for ESA's contribution to subsequent missions to Mars.
Links: All Planetary.org Coverage - ESA - Wikipedia
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Mars orbiter (NASA)
Launch: November 18, 2013
Mars orbit insertion: September 22, 2014
MAVEN, which stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, has provided first-of-its-kind measurements to address key questions about Mars climate and habitability and improve understanding of dynamic processes in the upper Martian atmosphere and ionosphere.
Links: All Planetary.org Coverage - NSSDC - Wikipedia - NASA - Facebook - Twitter
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Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)
Mars orbiter (ISRO)
Launch: November 5, 2013
Mars orbit insertion: September 24, 2014
Sometimes referred to by the nickname "Mangalyaan," the Mars Orbiter Mission is India's first interplanetary spacecraft. It is primarily a technology demonstration mission that carries a small, 15-kilogram payload of 5 science instruments. It entered orbit at Mars in September 2014, just two days after the arrival of NASA's MAVEN mission. The orbit is highly elliptical, from 387 to 80,000 kilometers.
Links: All Planetary.org Coverage - ISRO website - Facebook page - Wikipedia - nasaspaceflight.com - unmannedspaceflight.com
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Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) (MSL)
Mars rover (NASA)
Launch: November 26, 2011
Landing: August 6, 2012
Curiosity is the next generation of rover, building on the successes of Spirit and Opportunity. It landed in Gale Crater, the location of a 5+ km tall mound of layered sedimentary material, which Curiosity has found was at least partially deposited in a lake setting. The rover has also made key discoveries such as the detection of organic material. After a 2-(Earth)-year trek from its landing site, it is now entering the foothills of the mound, dubbed "Mount Sharp" (or Aeolis Mons), where it will then start its ascent up the mound.
Links: All Planetary.org Coverage - NSSDC - Wikipedia - JPL - USGS - UnmannedSpaceflight
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
In orbit at Mars (NASA)
Launch: August 12, 2005
Mars arrival: March 10, 2006
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is searching for evidence of past water on Mars, using the most powerful camera and spectrometer ever sent to Mars. Its cameras are also helping in the search for landing sites for future Mars rovers and landers, and to monitor martian weather on a day-to-day basis.
Links: Your guide to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
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Mars Express and Beagle 2
Currently in orbit at Mars; failed lander (ESA)
Launch: June 2, 2003
Mars arrival: December 26, 2003
Five days before its arrival Mars Express successfully pushed off the tiny, 30-kilogram Beagle 2 geochemical lander. Although it had functioned successfully throughout cruise, the lander was never heard from again. Beagle 2 may have landed too hard, the victim of an unexpectedly thin atmosphere at the time of its arrival.
Mars Express successfully entered orbit on December 26 and immediately began returning stunning, 3D, color images. Mars Express has detected surprising concentrations of methane and evidence for recent volcanism on Mars. Its radar sounder, MARSIS, was deployed late in the mission due to spacecraft safety concerns, but is functioning well.
Links: NSSDC - Wikipedia - ESA - HRSC images
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2001 Mars Odyssey
Currently in orbit at Mars (NASA)
Launch: April 7, 2001
Mars arrival: October 24, 2001
Mars Odyssey is capturing images of the Martian surface at resolutions between those of Viking and Mars Global Surveyor, and is making both daytime and nighttime observations of the surface in thermal infrared wavelengths at resolutions higher than ever before. It has detected massive deposits of water lying below Mars' surface in near-polar regions and widespread deposits of olivine across the planet, indicating a dry past for Mars. The MARIE instrument measured the radiation environment at Mars to determine its potential impact on human explorers, and found them to be 2 to 3 times higher than expected. Odyssey also serves as a communications relay for the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers.
Links: All Planetary.org Coverage - NSSDC - Wikipedia - JPL - THEMIS images
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ExoMars 2022
Future rover (ESA)
Launch: August to October 2022 (planned)
Landing:April or July 2023 (planned)
ESA's ExoMars 2022 mission will deliver a European rover, named Rosalind Franklin, and a Russian surface platform, Kazachok, to the surface of Mars. A Proton rocket will be used to launch the mission, which will arrive to Mars after a nine-month journey. The ExoMars rover will travel across the Martian surface to search for signs of life. It will collect samples with a drill and analyze them with next-generation instruments. ExoMars will be the first mission to combine the capability to move across the surface and to study Mars at depth. Its planned 2020 launch was delayed to 2022 because of late problems with parachute testing.
Links: All Planetary.org Coverage - ESA - Wikipedia
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Perseverance (Mars 2020 Rover)
Future rover (NASA)
Launch: 17 July 2020 (planned)
Arrival: 18 February 2021
Perseverance, with a design based on the Curiosity rover but different science instruments, is an astrobiology-geared mission to look at surface geology and assess past and present habitability and the potential for preservation of biosignatures. It will collect and document Mars rock samples for collection and return to Earth by future misions.
Links: Complete Planetary Society Mars 2020 Mission Coverage
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Hope or Emirates Mars Mission
Future orbiter (UAE)
Launch: July 2020 (planned)
Arrival: First quarter 2021
The Emirates Mars Mission, which consists of an orbiter called Hope, will study Mars' climate and attempt to build a complete picture of the planet's seasonal atmospheric cycles. It will be the Arab world's first mission to another planet.
Links: All Planetary.org Coverage - Mission site
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China Mars 2020
Future orbiter, lander, and rover (CNSA)
Launch: July 2020 (planned)
Arrival: First quarter 2021
China plans to launch an all-in-one orbiter, lander and rover to Mars, using its Long March 5 rocket. The mission goals are vast, and include investigating soil characteristics, searching for water ice, assessing habitability, studying the atmosphere and tracking the weather.
Links: All Planetary.org Coverage
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Phobos-Soil (Phobos-Grunt)
Failed sample return mission to Phobos (Russia)
Launch: January 15, 2012
Phobos-Grunt's modified Fregat upper stage of failed to ignite after launch, and the spacecraft crashed into the southern Pacific ocean.
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Failed Mars orbiter (China)
Launch: January 15, 2012, piggybacked on Phobos-Grunt
Yinghuo-1 crashed with Phobos-Grunt.
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Successful lander (NASA)
Launch: August 4, 2007
Mars arrival: May 25, 2008
Last communication: November 2, 2008
Phoenix landed near Mars' north pole to study the water ice found close to the surface there. Its arm dug trenches into the soil and delivered samples to sophisticated chemical analysis instruments. The mission ended when winter temperatures and cloud cover led to depletion of solar power, which was expected. The mission was declared concluded on November 10, 2008, after engineers we unable to establish contact with the lander. After unsuccessful attempts to contact the lander with the Mars Odyssey orbiter up to and past the martian summer solstice on May 12, 2010, JPL declared the lander to be dead. The mission was successful, completing all planned science experiments and observations.
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Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity
Successful Mars rover (NASA)
Launch: July 7, 2003
Landing: January 24, 2004
Contact lost: June 10, 2018
Opportunity landed in Meridiani Planum at 354.4742°E, 1.9483°S, immediately finding the hematite mineral that had been seen from space by Mars Global Surveyor. After roving more than 33 kilometers, Opportunity arrived at the 22-kilometer-diameter crater Endeavour, which was like landing in an entirely different site on Mars. A major global dust storm in June 2018 caused it to lose power. After months of attempting to hail the rover, NASA declared the mission at an end on February 13, 2019.
You can read a detailed history of Opportunity's mission in our MER Updates section or on our Mars Exploration Rovers page.
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Mars Exploration Rover Spirit
Successful Mars rover (NASA)
Launch: June 10, 2003
Landing: January 3, 2004
Contact lost: March 22, 2010
Spirit landed on Mars within Gusev crater at 14.5718°S, 175.4785° E. The initial panorama showed a rock-strewn site similar to Pathfinder's. Spirit had to rove several kilometers across Mars and into its extended mission before it found evidence for past water. It was hobbled by one stuck wheel for many years and finally became stuck in fluffy sand. Unable to move into a favorable position to keep the battery charged through winter, the rover's power was eventually drained. After numerous failed attempts to contact the rover, the mission officially ended on May 24, 2011.
You can read a detailed history of Spirit's mission in our MER Updates section or on our Mars Exploration Rovers page.
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Mars Polar Lander
Failed Mars lander & 2 penetrators (NASA)
Launch: January 3, 1999
Attempted landing: December 3, 1999
When Mars Polar Lander arrived at Mars, it turned its antenna away from Earth to prepare for its entry into the Martian atmosphere. This was the last time controllers heard from the spacecraft. A review board determined the most likely cause for the loss of mission was a faulty software system that may have triggered the retrorockets to turn off early, causing the lander to crash. The spacecraft had carried The Planetary Society's Mars Microphone to Mars, the first privately funded hardware provided to a planetary mission. Two microprobes, Amundsen and Scott, were piggy-backed on the lander and expected to separate just before the lander entered the atmosphere. However, no signal was ever received from the probes.
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Nozomi (Planet-B)
Failed Mars orbiter (ISAS)
Launch: July 3, 1998
Mars flyby: December 14, 2003
Originally scheduled to arrive at Mars in October 1999, Nozomi failed to gain enough speed during an Earth flyby on December 21, 1998. The spacecraft also used much more fuel than predicted. A looping trajectory was developed, including two more Earth flybys, to return Nozomi to Mars for orbit insertion in December 2003. But on April 21, 2002, a powerful solar flare damaged Nozomi's computer. As a result, Nozomi's hydrazine fuel froze during the long interplanetary trek and mission controllers were unable to place it into orbit. Nozomi flew by Mars at a distance of 1,000 kilometers (600 miles), and is now in a 2-year orbit around the Sun.
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Mars Climate Orbiter
Failed Mars orbiter (NASA)
Launch: December 11, 1998
Mars Climate Orbiter was lost on September 23, 1999, when a mathematical conversion error placed the spacecraft too close to Mars at the time of orbital insertion. Mars Climate Orbiter carried a few re-flown instruments from Mars Observer, marking the second failures for those experiments.
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Mars Pathfinder & Sojourner
Successful Mars lander & rover (NASA)
Launch: December 4, 1996
Mars arrival: July 4, 1997
Mars Pathfinder's successful airbag-assisted landing was the first successful mission to the Martian surface since Viking, 20 years earlier. The landing site was near the mouth of Ares Vallis, at 19.33°N, 33.55°W. On July 6, 1997, the six-wheeled rover, named Sojourner in a Planetary Society-run contest, rolled off a ramp and onto the Martian surface. The lander, now named the Sagan Memorial Station for The Planetary Society's co-founder Carl Sagan, returned many images as well as weather data. The original mission was scheduled to last for 30 days, but the lander and Sojourner continued to transmit data until September 27, 1997 when contact with the lander was lost.
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Mars 96
Failed Mars orbiter, lander, & 2 penetrators (Russian Space Agency)
Launch: November 16, 1996
The rocket carrying the spacecraft launched successfully, but its fourth stage ignited prematurely and sent the spacecraft crashing into the ocean. Several of the science instruments originally built for Mars 96 were later flown on ESA's Mars Express.
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Mars Global Surveyor
Highly successful orbiter (NASA)
Launch: November 7, 1996
Mars arrival: September 12, 1997
Contact lost: November 5, 2006
Mars Global Surveyor was the first completely successful Mars orbiter since Viking 1 shut down in 1980. The start of Mars Global Surveyor's science mission was delayed due to a problem with one of its solar panels that caused its aerobraking period (which reduced its initial orbit from an ellipse to a low-altitude, near circular one) to last for a year and a half. Once science operations began in March 1999, Mars Global Surveyor provided scientists with a wealth of images and data, including the highest-resolution images yet achieved from orbit. Many of the Mars Observer instruments were re-flown on Mars Global Surveyor. Its mission was extended three times, making it the longest-lived spacecraft in Martian orbit at the time contact was lost on November 5, 2006.
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Mars Observer
Failed Mars orbiter (NASA)
Launch: September 25, 1992
Contact lost: August 21, 1993
Mars Observer was designed to study the Red Planet from orbit. On August 21, 1993, only three days away from Mars, all contact with the spacecraft was suddenly lost. Scientists were unable to determine the cause of the failure. It is possible that Mars Observer followed its onboard program and is in orbit around Mars. However, the results of failure investigations suggest that a fuel line ruptured during tank pressurization, which would have caused the spacecraft to spin uncontrollably and fail to enter orbit. Most of the science instruments that were originally built for Mars Observer were eventually "re-flown" on subsequent orbiters.
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Phobos 2
Mostly failed Mars orbiter & 2 Phobos landers
Launch: July 12, 1988
Mars arrival: January 29, 1989
Phobos 2 was designed to orbit Mars and land a "hopper" and a lander on the surface of Phobos. The spacecraft successfully went into orbit and began sending back preliminary data. Then, on March 27, 1989, just before the spacecraft was to move within 50 meters of Phobos and deploy the two landers, the spacecraft's onboard computer malfunctioned and the mission was lost.
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Phobos 1
Failed Mars orbiter (USSR)
Launch: July 7, 1988
Phobos 1 was designed to study the Sun and interplanetary space while on its way to Mars. Once in orbit around Mars, it was going to study the Red Planet and take close-up images of its moon Phobos. However, on September 2, 1988, only two months in to the flight, controllers on the ground accidentally uploaded software containing a command that deactivated the spacecraft's attitude control thrusters. The spacecraft then turned its solar panels away from the Sun and was unable to recharge its batteries. As a result, the mission was lost.
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Viking 2
Successful orbiter & lander (NASA)
Launch: September 9, 1975
Mars arrival: August 7, 1976
Mars landing: September 3, 1976
The Viking 2 lander touched down in the Utopia Planitia, on the opposite side of the planet and almost 1,500 kilometers closer to the north pole than Viking 1 at 47.27°N, 225.99°W. One of the lander's legs settled down on a rock, so the entire lander was tilted by about 8 degrees. The lander took extensive atmospheric readings and conducted experiments on soil samples that it had collected with a scoop. The Viking 2 lander quit operating on April 11, 1980, when its batteries failed, but it lasted long enough to see multiple winters come to its landing site and to see it cover with frost. The Viking 2 orbiter was shut down on July 25, 1978, after 706 orbits. The Viking 1 and 2 landers returned 1,400 images from the Martian surface. The orbiters took 50,000 images, producing a global atlas that is still used today.
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Viking 1
Successful orbiter & lander (NASA)
Launch: August 20, 1975
Mars arrival: June 19, 1976
Mars landing: July 20, 1976
When Viking 1 entered orbit at Mars, it began taking pictures of the surface in search of a safe landing site for the lander. Mission planners were hoping for a July 4th landing, but the original site turned out to be too rocky. Another site was chosen and the first successful Mars landing took place on July 20, 1976, the seventh anniversary of the first Moon landing. Viking 1 landed in Chryse Planitia at 22.48°N, 49.97°W. The lander took extensive weather readings and conducted experiments on soil samples collected with a scoop. The orbiter was powered down on August 17, 1980 after 1,400 orbits. The lander survived on the surface until November 13, 1982.
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Mars 4, 5, 6, and 7
Under pressure from the developing Viking mission, the USSR attempted one last time to beat the USA to a successful soft landing on Mars in 1973. Because of an unfavorable launch window, however, orbiters and landers were launched separately. All four spacecraft were hurried to completion and launched to Mars with microchips known to have serious problems. The problems mostly doomed the missions, but Mars 4, 5, and 6 all successfully performed radio occultation experiments of Mars' atmosphere, proving the existence of an ionosphere at Mars and resulting in the measurement of a 6.7-millibar surface atmospheric pressure.
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Mars 4
Failed Mars orbiter attempt (successful as a flyby) (USSR)
Launch: July 21, 1973
Mars flyby: February 10, 1974
The microchip problem caused the failure of the Mars 4 orbiter to fire its orbit insertion rockets. It flew by Mars at a distance of 2,200 kilometers (1,370 miles), taking one set of images and collecting limited data. It continued to function after the flyby, returning data from solar orbit.
Mars 5
Initially successful Mars orbiter, failed after 22 days
Launch: July 25, 1973
Mars arrival: February 12, 1974
Mars 5 entered orbit successfully, but after completing 22 orbits and returning 60 images the spacecraft malfunctioned and the mission ended.
Mars 6
Slightly successful descent craft and flyby
Launch: August 5, 1973
Mars arrival: March 12, 1974
The Mars 6 descent craft separated successfully from the main spacecraft and descended through the atmosphere, transmitting 224 seconds of data before abruptly cutting off (either when the retrorockets fired or when it slammed into the ground). Although this was the first data of its kind (from within the Martian atmosphere), most of it was garbled and unusable due to the microchip problem. Mars 6 landed at 23.90°S, 19.42°W.
Mars 7
Failed descent attempt
Launch: August 9, 1973
The Mars 7 lander separated too early, causing it to miss the planet by 1,300 kilometers (800 miles).
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Mars 2
Successful Mars orbiter and failed descent craft (USSR)
Launch: May 19, 1971
Mars arrival: November 27, 1971
Mars 3
Somewhat successful Mars orbiter and very briefly successful descent craft (USSR)
Launch: May 28, 1971
Mars arrival: December 2, 1971
The identical Mars 2 and Mars 3 spacecraft each released descent craft 4.5 hours prior to their arrivals at Mars. But the landers had the misfortune of arriving at Mars during one of the greatest dust storms in recorded history. The Mars 2 probe descended at a steeper angle and faster rate than intended and crashed near 45°S, 313°W. However, the Mars 3 probe used aerobraking, parachutes, and retrorockets to descend successfully to a soft landing near 45°S, 158°W. It operated for 20 seconds on the surface before mysteriously failing, possibly because it was blown over by the wind. Before failing, Mars 3 may have deployed the first tiny rover onto the surface of Mars. The Mars 2 orbiter was successfully placed in an 18-hour orbit. The spacecraft completed 362 orbits. The Mars 3 orbiter, short on fuel, was unable to obtain its intended 18-hour orbit. Instead, the spacecraft ended up in an almost 13-day orbit around the planet and completed only 20 orbits. Both spacecraft were shut down on August 22, 1972. Together, Mars 2 & 3 returned 60 images of Mars, recorded temperatures ranging from -110 to 13 degrees Celsius (-166 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit), produced surface relief maps and studied the Martian gravity and magnetic fields.
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Mariner 9
Successful Mars orbiter (NASA)
Launch: May 30, 1971
Mars arrival: November 14, 1971
Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to go into orbit around another planet. However, excitement for its arrival was subdued by a dark cloud -- literally. A Martian dust storm, which had started in late September 1971, had grown to cover the entire planet. When Mariner 9 arrived in November, the only surface features visible were the summit of Olympus Mons and the three volcanoes of Tharsis Ridge. Mission scientists had to wait about a month and a half until the dust settled before they could begin the science portion of the mission. When the spacecraft ran out of fuel almost a year later (on October 27, 1972), Mariner 9 had taken a total of 7,329 images of Mars, studied the atmospheric and surface composition of the planet, the density and pressure of its atmosphere as well as the planet's gravity and topography. The spacecraft also provided scientists with the first close-up views of Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars.
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Kosmos 419
Failed Mars orbiter attempt (USSR)
Launch: May 10, 1971
Kosmos 419 reached Earth orbit, but its fourth stage rocket, which would have sent the spacecraft on its way to Mars, failed to ignite. The spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere and was destroyed.
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Mariner 8
Failed Mars flyby attempt (NASA)
Launch: May 8, 1971
Mariner 8, a twin to the successful Mariner 9, failed to reach Earth orbit.
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Mars 1969B
Failed Mars orbiter attempt (USSR)
Launch: April 2, 1969
The first stage of the rocket launching this mission to Mars failed almost immediately after liftoff.
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Mars 1969A
Failed Mars orbiter attempt (USSR)
Launch: March 27, 1969
The third stage of the rocket launching this mission to Mars failed, caught fire, and exploded, causing the remaining pieces to crash land back on Earth.
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Mariner 6
Successful Mars flyby (NASA)
Launch: February 24, 1969
Mars flyby: July 31, 1969
Mariner 6 and 7 were identical spacecraft arriving at Mars five days apart. Mariner 6 flew by Mars at an altitude of 3,431 kilometers (2,131 miles) and Mariner 7 at 3,430 kilometers (2,131 miles). Mariner 6 returned 75 images, and Mariner 7 126 images. Data from the twin spacecraft helped establish the mass, radius, and shape of Mars and revealed that its southern polar ice cap was composed of carbon dioxide. The spacecraft are now in solar orbits.
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Mariner 7
Successful Mars flyby (NASA)
Launch: March 27, 1969
Mars flyby: August 5, 1969
Mariner 6 and 7 were identical spacecraft arriving at Mars five days apart. Mariner 6 flew by Mars at an altitude of 3,431 kilometers (2,131 miles) and Mariner 7 at 3,430 kilometers (2,131 miles). Mariner 6 returned 75 images, and Mariner 7 126 images. Data from the twin spacecraft helped establish the mass, radius, and shape of Mars and revealed that its southern polar ice cap was composed of carbon dioxide. The spacecraft are now in solar orbits.
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Zond 2
Failed Mars flyby and descent craft attempt (USSR)
Launch: November 30, 1964
Controllers lost contact with Zond 2 after a mid-course correction maneuver while the spacecraft was on its way to Mars. The spacecraft is now in a solar orbit.
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Mariner 4
Successful Mars flyby (NASA)
Launch: November 28, 1964
Mars flyby: July 14, 1965
Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to fly by Mars and obtain close-up pictures of the Red Planet, passing within 9,844 kilometers (6,117 miles) of Mars. It then took four days to transmit the data back to Earth. Mariner 4 imaged a large, ancient crater on Mars and confirmed the existence of a thin Martian atmosphere composed largely of carbon dioxide. Once past Mars, the spacecraft continued on its way, returning data until October 1965, when the orientation of its antenna made communication with Earth impossible. However, scientists were able to re-establish contact with Mariner 4 in late 1967 and continued to receive data until December 20, 1967, when the mission was terminated. The spacecraft is now in a solar orbit.
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Mariner 3
Failed Mars flyby attempt (NASA)
Launch: November 5, 1964
A shield that was designed to protect Mariner 3's instruments during launch failed to release once the spacecraft had reached Earth orbit. With its instruments covered and the extra weight of the shield dragging it down, the spacecraft was unable to obtain the necessary trajectory to send it on to Mars. The spacecraft is now in a solar orbit.
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Mars 1 (Sputnik 23)
Failed Mars flyby attempt (USSR)
Launch: November 1, 1962
Mars 1 launched successfully and began the trip to Mars, returning data on interplanetary space. However, controllers lost contact with Mars 1 on March 21, 1963, when the spacecraft was 107 million kilometers (66 million miles) from Earth when signal was lost. The spacecraft is now in a solar orbit.
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Korabl 11 (Sputnik 22)
Failed Mars flyby attempt (USSR)
Launch: October 24, 1962
Korabl 13 (Sputnik 24)
Failed Mars flyby attempt (USSR)
Launch: November 4, 1962
Korabl 11 broke apart after reaching Earth orbit. The debris reentered Earth's atmosphere and was tracked by the U.S. Ballistic Missile Early Warning System in Alaska, who first thought it was a Soviet ICBM attack in response to the ongoing Cuban Missile Crisis. Korabl 13 broke apart in Earth orbit during a burn to transfer the probe to a Mars trajectory.
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Korabl 4 (Marsnik 1)
Failed Mars flyby attempt (USSR)
Launch: October 10, 1960
Korabl 5 (Marsnik 2)
Failed Mars flyby attempt (USSR)
Launch: October 14, 1960
Korabl 4 and 5 were the Soviet Union's first attempts at interplanetary probes. The third stage of both launch vehicles failed, and neither obtained Earth orbit.
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The Investor as Visual Learner
This story appears in the March 2010 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
As a venture capitalist, I get pitched daily by entrepreneurs looking for financing for their companies. The pitches come in many forms, ranging from random e-mails to introductions from other people I know to formal presentations from entrepreneurs I've worked with in the past. I take them all seriously and try to respond quickly regardless of their quality or whatever else I'm working on.
I'm often asked what the best way to present to me is. I have a simple answer, which is the same as the common advice to writers: "Show, don't tell." I want to understand your product and your vision, but rather than have you explain this to me, I want to experience it myself. If it's something I can play with, I want to use it. If it's not built yet, I want to try to visualize it. I don't want you to explain it to me or guide me through it--I want to get down and dirty with it. I know it'll be rough, won't work properly, will have bugs and will have a long way to go. That's fine--I'll apply the appropriate lens to it. But if you are brave enough to let me have at it, I'll understand it better and be able to tell if it's something I'm interested in much faster.
Since I only invest in software and Internet companies, the "show, don't tell" mantra is easier to apply, but I think it works for any situation. Are you an entrepreneur working on a new restaurant concept? Show me the menu, the layout of the restaurant and photos of some of your signature dishes. Are you creating a new retail store concept? Show me examples of the products and how you will promote them. Are you building a company to produce a new electric engine for heavy farm equipment? Show me the design specs along with real data about the difference in performance between your machine and things that currently exist in the world.
Over the years, both academic and non-academic entrepreneurship programs, books and magazines have extolled the value of a business plan and an executive summary. You can buy software to help you write a business plan, take a course, or even hire a consultant. I'm the regular recipient of many different forms of these, and I rarely look at any of them in the first pass. Instead, I reply with, "Do you have something I can play around with?" If the answer is no, then occasionally I'll ask you for four or fewer paragraphs showing me the plan. If I'm interested, I'll have a lot more questions for you. These questions will fall in the "tell me" category, where thoughtful analysis and explanations are important and all that work and time spent on the business plan will come in handy.
But at the beginning, when you are trying to get my attention, showing--not telling--is the key. Remember, I'm a teenage boy masquerading around as a grown man. Give me stuff to play with.
Brad Feld has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur for more than 20 years. He is a co-founder of Foundry Group, an early-stage VC firm. Feld blogs at feld.com and askthevc.com, run marathons and lives with his wife and two golden retrievers in Boulder, Colo., and Homer, Alaska.


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There are a lot of things that you are supposed to enjoy when you are a grown-up, that I don't really enjoy.
- getting tipsy at dinner parties and arguing about politics
- organising community events
- the theatre
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- The Sopranos
- oysters
- striking up conversations with check-out people at supermarkets
- reading the newspaper for fucking HOURS
- classical music
- gardening
- very long lunches where your bum goes to sleep
Fish is another one. And vegetables. If it wouldn't have such invidious effects on my long-term health prospects, (by which I mean make me fat), I would just eat burgers and chips and pizza all the time.
But you're not allowed to do that when you are a grown-up, you have to eat fish and vegetables - often at the same time. And a lot of people LIKE it and order it in RESTAURANTS!!!! I used to dread fish nights. I would buy it because if I didn't my husband would give me a lecture about how we're not allowed to eat burgers all the time and I'll do anything to avoid a lecture.
I'm a bit scared of fish. It smells horrible even when reasonably fresh and stinks the house out when you cook it and it's all slimy and sometimes there are BONES and urgh it's all completely gross and designed, if you ask me, just to make yourself extra grateful that you're having spag bol the next night.
And while I often get a craving for sushi, (I think I'm after the salt in the soy), quite often halfway through some sashimi I am filled with the fear that I might vomit.
Recently though, I have hit on a thing to do with salmon that I actually really genuinely look forward to.
What you do is you cover it in chilli, lime, soy, ginger, garlic and whatever other Asian things you have knocking about, wrap it in foil and then BAKE it for 12 minutes.
It doesn't stink the house out and it isn't slimy. You have it alongside spring greens sliced finely and stir-fried with some oyster sauce and it's honestly really a very nice thing to have. It has really changed my mind about fish. And I'm incredibly stubborn about stuff like that.
So let's go through that again for those of you who weren't listening.
Asian baked salmon for 2
2 salmon fillets
knob of fresh ginger, roughly sliced
1 clove garlic
small bunch coriander(???)
1/2 a chilli, seeds in or out I don't care
5 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
1 Put everything except the salmon fillets in a whizzer and whizz for a few minutes.
2 Put a piece of foil on a baking dish large enough to wrap over the salmon fillets in a loose parcel. Put on the salmon fillets. Pour over your whizzed slush marinade and leave for as long as you can - although it can be baked just how it is.
3 Bake in a 180 oven for 10-12 minutes
Please note: you do not have to use all of those ingedients - this is nice just with chilli and soy and ginger; everything else is just showing off, which is a grown-up thing that I do actually enjoy.


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Category: Entertainment
Start Date: 02/07/2019 18:00
End Date: 02/07/2019
Location: Poole Quay, Poole
Booking Essential: No
Description: Every Tuesday from 2nd April to 24th September.
The event creates a unique, exciting atmosphere as bikers and spectators enjoy a relaxed evening on Poole Quay. The backdrop of the quay and harbour offers the perfect location and there is a great selection of waterside cafes, bars, restaurants and food kiosks offering refreshment, many with bike night specials on their menus.
Please let us know you saw us on What's On in Dorset!
Website: Visit website
Open Location Map
If no website or contact details appear above, please contact the local TIC for further information. Please refer to our list of Dorset Tourist Information Centres
Please note:
Certain events attract an entrance charge and may need to be pre-booked. We strongly recommend that you confirm the details with the organiser, venue or Tourist Information Centre before you make your plans.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the details within this guide, dates, times and venues may change or events be cancelled altogether. The publisher cannot accept any responsibility for any such changes or for any errors or omissions which may have occurred.
© 2014 Active Publishing Ltd
Disclaimer | Advertiser Event Manager Admin | TIC Event Manager Admin


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CUC isn't lacking in details but it does seem somewhat "plasticky" and thus gives the impression of being cheap. It's made of 0.8mm steel and plenty of plastic. The case measures 210 x 525 x 560mm (W x H x L).
Side panels are made of steel but the front and top panels as well as the extrusions on the side panels are made of plastic. Of course, considering the price this is quite understandable. Cooltek sacrificed steel in order not to skimp on accessories and features – and we're all for that course of action as long as the functional aspect is improved or at least left intact.
The front panel houses five 5.25'' bays, first two of which have movable lids. This is of course purely for aesthetic reasons.
Mounting optical drives requires you to take the front panel off – a simple tug on the bottom will do. On top of the panel you'll find a blue LED.
The red stripes are made of fine mesh. Of course, the 5.25'' bays are entirely closed but the mesh that holds Cooltek logo acts as an air inlet. Behind it is a thin dust filter protecting the 12cm blue LED fan.
Control panel is neatly placed and packs plenty of connectors.
The control panel houses four keys for turning preinstalled fans on and off. The fans run at fixed RPM and they're quiet; all the fans except the one on the rear panel have a blue LED. The fans as well as the control panel keys come with 2-pin connectors.
The panel has no hot-swap nor USB 3.0 connectors but it does come with one SATA power and one SATA data cable that can be used to connect SATA devices. Cooltek again seems to have thought of everything and ships the aforementioned cables with the case.
The panel also houses one eSATA connector and four USB 2.0 connectors between. USB connectors are nicely spaced apart and you'll find plenty of space for those thick USB sticks. Same goes for audio connectors. The final touch is the All-in-One card reader and the plastic cover which can be used to prevent the control panel from getting dusty.
Behind the control panel is the red mesh again, hiding two 120mm fans. Cooltek used dust filters on top of the case as well.
The left panel (picture below) has a plastic handle and also comes with a dust filter. However, Cooltek obviously didn't intend to use a fan here.
Cooltek made a special mechanism for opening the panels, making sure that the panel doesn't open even when not fixed with screws. Pressing the mechanism and a light tug will make the side panel come off easily.
Same procedure is valid for the right side panel.
We've already shown you few pictures showing the rear of the case, where you can see 7 expansion slots. The PSU is on the bottom of the case. Unfortunately, we lost the rubber cap that's supposed to cover the water-cooling holes.
The case uses rubber feet which help with reducing vibration noise and keep the case less than 1cm off the ground.


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At the height of her success, high jumper Blanka Vlasic had to relearn how to leap.
There was really no other choice for the 29-year-old Croatian. A fragment of a bone in her left ankle broke off and embedded into her Achilles, requiring surgery to shave part of the tendon on her takeoff foot.
That was 16 months ago. Since then, she contracted a serious bacterial infection in her foot, missed the London Olympics where she would've been a favorite and spent many a grueling training session figuring out how to jump again off her repaired ankle, wondering if she would ever recover enough to be among the world's best.
On the mend, Vlasic returns to competition next week at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York, her first meet in nearly two years. Already, the jitters are building for the two-time world champion.
"To go out there and put on the spikes, to jump in front of a crowd? I just can't wait," Vlasic said in a phone interview from Croatia. "I can't wait to feel that pre-competition nervousness, the positive excitement, to be the part of that circuit again.
"I don't want to expect anything. But I still have my hopes."
There was a time when Vlasic was inching closer and closer to the world record of Stefka Kostadinova, a mark the Bulgarian has held for more than 25 years. At a meet in 2009, Vlasic cleared 6 feet, 9 3/4 inches, the best mark ever by someone other than Kostadinova, whose record stands at 6-10 1/4.
These days, Vlasic's nowhere near that form. Not yet anyway.
"I don't know if I'll be myself again," she said. "I cannot tell you how high I can go. I believe I will be able to jump as high as I used to. But I'm not obsessed over it. I can't think too much about height."
Instead, she's simply relishing her return, vowing to appreciate each step along the way.
"The worries I had before this were nothing," she said. "Why worry about centimeters or losing? I didn't have any right to be disappointed when I was healthy and had the opportunity to do what I like. It's sad that people understand that only when something happens and you don't have your abilities to do what you do best, what is your life calling."
After her surgery on Jan. 30, 2012, Vlasic had some setbacks that had her questioning if she would clear another bar. Like when she woke up one day in April 2012 and her foot was completely swollen. At first, she thought maybe she had pushed her recovery too far.
Turns out, one of her stitches didn't heal properly and became infected, she said.
Like that, she was sidelined again.
And like that, any realistic chance of being ready for the London Olympics was gone.
"I had some really dark moments," said Vlasic, who was on antibiotics for three months to clear the infection. "But what kept me going is the feeling that there was still something for me in high jumping. There was still something out there I didn't do that I still have to do. What was that? I didn't know.
"But I didn't feel in my soul that I was finished, that it was over for me."
Watching the London Games last summer was painful, simply because she had a good shot at winding up on the podium had she been healthy.
"For two days, I was in really bad shape," said Vlasic, who finished runner-up at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "But then you accept it and make peace with it. It's not like I was ready and I just wasn't there. No, I wasn't ready. So, from that perspective, you accept it. There will still be other Olympic Games and world championships for me. I believe in that. I have faith in that."
Vlasic returned to high jumping last September. Nothing too ambitious, just a four-step approach to the bar in her training shoes.
From there, she graduated to a six-step approach and eventually to eight steps.
And then she tried jumping in her spikes, which didn't have as much cushion.
"Whole different story," explained Vlasic, who now wears a custom-built pair of spikes by Adidas. "You start to jump and you see how far, far away you are from huge jumps. When I put my spikes on, I was like, 'Am I ever going to run without pain?'"
By the end of November, Vlasic began feeling a little more like her old self, the jumper who everyone else was chasing before her injury.
Still, she really has no goals set for this season. Well, maybe to make it to the world championships in Moscow in August, but that's about the extent of it.
"I expect that this season will be a season of adjustment," she said. "But I feel a huge difference.
This (recovery) pushes you to your limits, to the places you never knew you had in yourself. When you come back from that dark place, you're stronger."


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Back in the early 1980s I experimented with matrilineal genealogy charting. It was not prompted by any overt feminist ploy, but from wanting to play around with the traditionally male-dominated family pedigree charts. It wasn't easy. We genealogists know it's harder to find out about female ancestors. Of course each woman has a mother-based descent shared with her siblings. But when you play around with matrilineal lines of yourself or your cousins, mutual family ancestry veers off into fascinating tangents just as valid as your birth surname lineage. This view of ancestry has received a little more attention since Mitochondrial-DNA studies came into focus the last few years.
When I first began with this idea I wanted to show the female Scottish connections which I had traced for several generations. The idea instantly clashed with my maternal ancestry which goes entirely Latvian. And so does that of my daughter, because of me. And so does that of her daughter, because of her. Thinking out loud here for fun (allowing for my defective gene in mathematical skills) I am 50% Latvian, my daughter is 25% and my granddaughter 12½%. Of course the percentages get diluted as time goes on, but the connection is always there. My few maternal female cousins have Latvian mothers and grandmothers and so on, unrelated to my lines. It seems I have no maternal Scottish connections.
Not to be defeated at the outset for this vision of the Scottish female forebears, I used my paternal cousin's granddaughter as the bottom line. Paternal cousin and her offspring have the Scottish maternal lines I lack. (My heritage too, I claim!) This later led to making a chart that ascends from my own granddaughter. I had to cull everything I knew, and am still learning, about my Latvian grand-mères.
The photograph is entirely gratuitous! ... one of the old wooden houses in the city of Riga, October 2006 by BDM. No grandmother peeking out of the window there. Must take more photographs. Must remember to cite photographs and maps found on the Internet!
Investigating maternal lines is a slightly different way to look at genealogy and family history. Each spouse along the way of direct-line surname tracing, often ignored in traditional context, contributes not only to the unbroken inheritance of MtDNA in women but also to how many genes or characteristics the latest baby may display. Percentages and DNA aside, we should never underestimate the value of matrilineal heritage in family history.
25 March 2008
Labels: matrilineal, MtDNA
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BlockVenture necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 11 diseños de 2 diseñadores freelance.
I'm a marketer who is targeting the travel niche
Tourists who are visiting Las Vegas and who are looking for information on different attractions. I will earn money from selling attraction passes and possibly up selling hotel rooms.
Title on the website : Las Vegas Attractions
I would like 2 huge buttons in the header one is 'Discount Tickets'
and the other 'Accommodation' For an example of this see: orlandoattractions.com/parks-index.php If buttons are not in the header they should be easy to find. Feel free to be creative on this.
These are 2 websites that I like but even these websites could be better:
denver.org/ san-diego-attractions.10-best.info/
I don't want the website to have a search function like
the denver site does. The header/website should have a strong las vegas theme, feature las vegas images.
I want a left navigational menu. The Links on left should be set up in a similar way to this site:
seattleattractions.com/allattractions.html I want all the links on that site plus the links 'shows' and 'Nightlife' Leave space for banners below the links.
I want this to be an impressive looking website but with an intuitive look and navigation. Lastly, I want to use the same design as the index page for all interior pages so please take this into consideration.
Please make http://www.lasvegasattractions.com the best site it can be.
Also, I dont want the website to have any flash, please take into consideration it will be converted into html later on. If you have any other ideas for a layout I would be willing to look at that too.


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Brian Goldner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro, revealed today a temporary logo for Michael Bay's Transformers 4 along with some minor plot details as part of the UBS Best Of Americas 2012 Conference. TFW2005, reporting from the event (via Bleeding Cool) learned that, while Transformers: Dark of the Moon scored at the box office, it failed to sell as many toys as the company had hoped.
"This is why 'Transformers 4' will have a new cast of [robot] characters," Goldner explained, "and it will be a story revolving around these new characters."
This certainly matches comments made by Bay earlier this year that also seemed to hint that the fourth adventure may take the story into outer space.
Ehren Kruger is drafting the screenplay with a planned release date of June 27, 2014.
Click on the logo below for a larger version:


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Pacific Resort Hotel Group
Rarotonga and Aitutaki - Pacific Resort Hotel Group properties, Pacific Resort Rarotonga, Pacific Resort Aitutaki, Little Polynesian Resort and Te Manava Luxury Villas & Spa are located in the Cook Islands, on the islands of Rarotonga and Aitutaki.
Earning Airpoints Dollars™ with Pacific Resort Hotel Group
Airpoints Dollars™ can be earned at hotels in this group at the following rate:
- Pacific Resort Hotel Group hotels and resorts when booking a point-eligible rate: A1* per NZD $20 spend**
How to book
Make your reservation online at www.pacificresort.com, telephone toll-free (within New Zealand) 0800 774 469 or outside New Zealand find the contact details.
To earn Airpoints Dollars with Pacific Resort Hotel Group, Airpoints™ Members must make their reservation directly with the hotels and quote/present their Airpoints Membership card when making a reservation and at check-in/check-out.
* Members resident in Australia and in Norfolk Island, please note that these earning rates are in New Zealand Airpoints Dollars™, which will be converted to Australian Airpoints Dollars before being credited to your account.
** You will earn 1 Airpoints Dollar for each NZD $20.00 spent during your stay. Based on a one night minimum stay.
Some stays are not eligible to earn Airpoints Dollars, please check with Pacific Resort Hotel Group at the time of booking. Airpoints Dollars are earned on accommodation only.
Please allow up to 60 days for your Airpoints Dollars to appear in your account. Retain your original receipt or invoice in order to claim any missing Airpoints Dollars. Claims may be made through your Air New Zealand online account by logging into your account and selecting the My Bookings tab, then the Claim missing Airpoints button. You must claim missing Airpoints Dollars within 6 months of your stay.
See the Airpoints™ terms and conditions for full details.


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The Geoportal includes also special-purpose cadastral maps of the JMK (hereunder the "ÚKM"). This is a special-purpose digital seamless format of the cadastral maps developed in cooperation with the Land Registry for the South Moravian Region for the purposes of the the geographic information system of the South Moravian Region. It can be utilised as reference data for the projects of the individual departments of the Regional Authority of the South Moravian Region, including spatial planning for the development of urban master plans (hereunder the "ÚP") in a digital format with accurate identification of land parcel numbers and possibility of interconnecting with the ISKN ČÚZK database.
Besides viewing data compositions, the Geoportal deals with map services publishing (in the WMS standard according to the OGC specifications, version 1.3.0). Registered users are provided with a medatata administration application in accordance with the requirements of the INSPIRE Directive, selected data download service using a data export module, editing module and data analysis module. The Portal also enables publishing selected map services in the KML/KMZ format.


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Inspirational Freshman Brings Dedication and Passion to the Lacrosse Team
"I know this university is going to change my life."
Strong words, but even more powerful when you hear the story behind them. They're from Connor McKemey, an incoming freshman at High Point University.
In 2008, McKemey suffered third degree burns over 87 percent of his body in an outdoor fireplace accident at his home in Fort Mill, S.C. Doctors put him in a 10 week induced coma to help him recover. Suddenly, the three sport athlete was being told sports were no longer an option; his bones were brittle, he had lost more than 50 pounds and portions of his hands were gone.
That's what he was told, but McKemey didn't listen. He worked hard to get back on his feet, walking and eventually running. Two to three months after he had started running again, McKemey was back on the lacrosse field.
"It was difficult, but I knew I had to get stronger and keep believing in myself," says McKemey. "I kept exercising so I could finish my season off on a strong note."
McKemey says staying in shape was a constant battle.
"Every summer I would have a major operation, like skin grafts, and one summer I broke my toe," he says. "The surgeries would put me out for a couple of weeks and I would have to work to get back in shape."
That dedication was evident when McKemey attended one of High Point University's lacrosse clinics the summer after his sophomore year of high school. High Point University's men's lacrosse coach, Jon Torpey, reached out to McKemey after reading an article about the athlete in US Lacrosse magazine, where McKemey said one of his dreams was to attend HPU.
"I talked to him, and he came to our summer clinic," says Torpey. "He battled through some challenges, but he kept a positive attitude."
"Coach Torpey is one of the biggest reasons I chose HPU," explains McKemey. "He's doing great things with the team, and I just wanted to be a part of it in any way I could."
"We basically read our potential athletes the riot act," says Torpey. "I tell them it's not going to be all fun and games. We get up at 6 a.m., sometimes 5:30 a.m., for long and difficult practices. Connor's eyes lit up when I said that; he was so excited. That shows passion."
Now, McKemey is bringing that passion, dedication and incredible attitude to HPU's men's lacrosse team as their manager. He'll attend practices and games with the team, and help the coaches in anything they need, from moving equipment to acting as another opinion on how the team can improve.
"My dream is to coach lacrosse," says McKemey. "This opportunity will allow me to be involved with the team and set me up for the future."
"That was one of the biggest reasons this was an easy 'Yes,'" says Torpey. "He will be another set of eyes and ears on the field for the coaches, and will be able to act as a bridge between the players and coaches. He'll also get on-the-job training over the next four years, so this is a real win-win for everyone."
McKemey plans to major in mass communication and minor in sports management to give him the practical skills he'll need to become a lacrosse coach.
Torpey says he knew McKemey would be a perfect fit for the team as soon as he met him.
"We look for good guys who are dedicated, have a passion for the sport and value their education," says Torpey. "Connor is one of those guys. He's funny, personable, a nice kid. He's also one of the angriest players I've ever seen," Torpey laughs as he continues, "He's aggressive. He'll bring a little extra edge to the team. He's the total package."
McKemey's spirit of "anything can be done" is the spirit High Point University strives to instill in all of our students by believing in them.
As HPU President Nido Qubein says, "We tell them we believe in them, and then we show them we believe – by providing them with abundant opportunities."


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Need to locate a homeowners association in the state of Illinois? Trying to determine if a particular Illinois home is part of an HOA? Association Online can provide you with the information you need. You provide a property address and we will locate all homeowners associations related to the property or confirm that no homeowners association exists.
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Association Online TM is the primary source for all community association information in Illinois.
Contact us by email or call today to request the information you need.


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This is a small project for my class. Need to write a code that takes in two integers in the main class. One integer is the number of dice to be thrown, and the second is a score. The program needs to throw the specified number of dice 100,000 times then report what percent of the time the score enter appeared. So say 4 was enter for the number of dice to be thrown at once, and 6 was the score entered. The program needs to count the number of times the score of 6 occurs when 4 dice are thrown 100,000 times.
Here's my code:
public class SimpleDice{ public int tossDie(){ return(1 + (int)(Math.random()*6)); } public int throwSetDice(){ int score = 0; for(int j = 0; j <= diceCount; j++){ score = (score + tossDie()); } return score; } }
import java.util.Scanner; public class DiceTester{ public static void main(String[] args){ int diceCount; int desiredScore; Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in); System.out.println("Enter number of Dice:"); diceCount = scan.nextInt(); System.out.println("Enter score to count:"); desiredScore = scan.nextInt(); System.out.println("dice: " + diceCount + " score: " + desiredScore); SimpleDice d = new SimpleDice(); int scoreCount = 0; for(int i = 0; i < 100000; i++){ d.throwSetDice(); if(d.throwSetDice() == desiredScore){ scoreCount += 1; } } System.out.println("Result: " + (scoreCount/100000)); } }
I'm getting one error in my SimpleDice class (9th line) in the for loop reading:
"diceCount cannot be resolved to a variable"
How do I call the amount of dice to be thrown at once in the SimpleDice class?


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Join Claire Robinson's Quest for the Fresh
Tonight starting at 8pm ET on Cooking Channel, Claire Robinson sets out to track down ingredients when their flavor is at the pinnacle. The mission turns out to be a bumpy ride with all the digging, diving, picking, milking and stealing required to find and cook with the best stuff around. There's an angry herd of ostriches, swarms of honey bees and the hauling of gallons of fresh seawater to harvest some salt (to name a few of her roadblocks). If you can stand the heat, get out of the kitchen and join Claire on her Quest for the Fresh.
Watch the two-part special Quest for the Fresh at 8 and 8:30pm ET on Cooking Channel.


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Aaron Meyer was trained in classical violin. Bill Lamb was a Portland songwriter who had some success in Nashville. But they both had given up music, until they found each other. Now they work together, teaching kids about music and composing and performing together, including an ambitious program called Classical Crossover, performed with the Oregon Symphony.
First Broadcast: 2004
Producer: Jessica Martin


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What does the Constitution mean to me?
My colleagues at the Capitol Visitor Center's (CVC) Exhibits and Education Division asked that I create a sample journal to inspire U.S. Capitol visitors who will make journals as part of Constitution Week activities at the CVC the week of September 17.
The activity that I was tasked with was to use the journal to express what is important to me about the Constitution.
I am not a student of history. I'm not even particularly knowledgeable about history. In fact, I've learned more about our country's history while working at the Capitol than I learned throughout my liberal arts education.
This assignment stumped me. What DOES the Constitution mean to me?
In the midst of media coverage of the Republican and Democratic conventions, there has been tremendous focus on women and how they will vote in the upcoming Presidential election. This inspired me to focus my journal on the 19th amendment to the Constitution which prohibits U.S. citizens from being denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.
I began my journal with a provocative quote from Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, second President of the United States:
"If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice, or representation."
Using the materials the CVC supplied, I included pictures of campaign buttons for former Representatives Geraldine Ferraro and Patsy Mink in my journal. I also included a photograph of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, whose statue is in Emancipation Hall in the Visitor Center. Then I began cutting out pictures of women from newspapers. And there were plenty!
I ended with a question: "What will we look like as a country on August 18, 2020, 100 years after the passage of the 19th amendment?"
This exercise gave me time to really reflect and appreciate the U.S. Constitution. I'm excited for visitors to the Capitol this week to share this experience and look forward to seeing what journals they create.
For more information about Constitution Week activities, go to www.visitthecapitol.gov.


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Seven new books provide new insights into Rembrandt's etchings.
Rembrandt unravelled
Seven new volumes in the Hollstein series on the work of the most influential etcher of all time, Rembrandt van Rijn, were published today. Rijksmuseum curator Erik Hinterding and Jaco Rutgers travelled the world to examine more than 18,000 impressions made from all 315 etchings produced by the artist between 1625 and 1665. In the course of their research, they made some unexpected discoveries about the etching techniques used by Rembrandt. As a result, we now know more about his etching and we can determine, for example, whether Rembrandt actually printed an etching himself or whether it was done much later. Together, the seven new volumes weigh approximately 10kg and cost €330 per volume. The Hollstein series accurately catalogues Dutch etching and engraving by individual artists in the period from 1450 to 1700. Since 1949, some 139 volumes have already been published.
Rembrandt unravelled, a presentation
The seven latest volumes describe and illustrate all of Rembrandt's prints (1606-1669). The last catalogue raisonné of Rembrandt's etchings dates from 1969. The new Hollstein volumes pay due consideration to research that has been conducted since then, and they also contain a rich harvest of Hinterding and Rutgers' own discoveries. Some of these were revealed by the use of digital photography. Nowadays, taking digital photographs is very easy and these images can also be blown up, which makes the detailed study and comparison of different impressions much easier.
If he was dissatisfied with a large etching, the young Rembrandt would cut it into pieces, which could then be reused. Although one such case had previously been documented, it was long suspected that this was indeed common practice.
Rembrandt usually printed and sold his impressions himself. The latest Hollstein catalogue breaks new ground by drawing a sharp distinction between impressions that were made by Rembrandt and works that were printed using his own copper plates after his death. The artist also gradually refined his designs on copper plates, often in a series of small steps known as "states". The recent study provides new insight into the successive stages of Rembrandt's work process as he went about completing his prints.
Many of the later states, whose impressions had been attributed to Rembrandt himself, have now been "unmasked". It has been shown that some of the changes involved the use of a mezzotint rocker (a kind of putty knife), which is used to roughen the surface of the copper plate. In Rembrandt's time, this rocker had not yet been developed, so any prints bearing traces of its use must have been produced after 1669, the year that the master died. This new insight has helped to classify the 18,000 Rembrandt etchings in public collections much more reliably into those impressions that were made during Rembrandt's life and those that were produced later.
Erik Hinterding & Jaco Rutgers, Rembrandt. The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, Sound & Vision Publishers in close cooperation with the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Ouderkerk aan den IJssel 2012/13. The books can be ordered from Sound & Vision Publishers.


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Infinit has discontinued its file transfer service since March 31, 2017
Some folks may be wondering: Why? At the beginning of 2015, we started building another product, the Infinit Storage Platform — a sort of Dropbox for enterprise applications. Over the last year, this product has gained momentum. As a result we have decided to discontinue our file transfer applications and focus entirely on our storage platform, taking effect on March 31, 2017.
We have spent three years building this product, discussing it with a lot of users and customers, many of whom eventually became friends. So it's with a heavy heart that we're letting it go. A huge thank you to everyone who has used our apps; for your support, feedback and reviews. We learned a lot over the last three years and it wouldn't have been possible without all of you.
The Infinit Team
I have been using Infinit for transferring/uploading files. What am I going to use to replace it?
There are several alternatives available such as: CloudApp, Droplr, Send Anywhere, JumpShare, Dropbox, WeTransfer, etc.
How do I uninstall Infinit?
On macOS, quit the app then simply drag and drop the Infinit application from your Applications folder to the Trash. On Windows, run the uninstaller and follow the instructions.
If you have any questions, contact us by email at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Toronto was one of the first cities to be reclaimed, and while the CN Tower no longer dominated the skyline, it served a new purpose, to separate the commercial harbor from the overgrown residential district. Artwork by Mathew Borrett.
Borrett has also made a daytime version of this image. Prints are available at the Torontopia Pop-Up shop at the northwest corner of Richmond & Portland.
A Future Toronto (Night) [via r/ImaginaryLandscapes]


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Wednesday, May 6
Mother's Day Breakfast Ideas: Chili Lime Fruit Salad Recipe
If you ever visit a San Diego farmers' markets, then chances are you'll see several people milling around who are holding tall, clear plastic cups filled with deliciously ripe fresh fruit such as mangoes, pineapple, and watermelon that have been doused with lime juice, salt, and chili pepper. They may be eating the fruit with a long toothpick (or just with their hands, if they don't mind sticky fingers).
These fruit cups, called copas de frutas in Spanish, are the inspiration for today's recipe: salty, sweet, and tangy Chili Lime Fruit Salad. I have incorporated seasonal fruit such as fresh strawberries, blood oranges, and kumquats, but feel free to substitute what's available where you live.
I added jicama (pronounced hee-kah-mah), also known as a Mexican potato or turnip. It's a large, dense root vegetable with a thin beige peel and a juicy, creamy white flesh. What does jicama taste like? Jicama tastes sort of like a cross between an apple, a potato, and celery. It's mildly sweet and exceptionally crunchy, like a water chestnut.
For your Mother's Day breakfast, serve the fruit salad in individual bowls or glasses, or if it's easier, in one large dish, family-style. It'll be delicious no matter how it's served.
Chili Lime Fruit Salad
Serves 6-8
Print recipe only here.
This salad is highly versatile. Feel free to substitute any fresh fruits you prefer or that are in season where you live. Navel oranges, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, and kiwi are delicious alternatives. For the fullest flavor, serve fruit at room temperature.
2 medium ripe mangoes peeled and cut into thin slices
2 clementines, peeled and sectioned, with white pith removed
2 blood oranges peeled and sectioned, with white pith removed
1 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulls removed, and quartered
1/2 cup jicama, peeled and cut into 1-inch long pieces
1/3 cup sliced kumquats
2 limes
cayenne pepper
coarse sea salt
lime zest curls, for garnish
Place the fruit in a large bowl, and gently toss. Start by sprinkling the fruit with the juice of 1 lime, and season with cayenne pepper and sea salt. Taste it. Then adjust seasonings accordingly. Place in a serving bowl or dish, and garnish with lime zest curls. Serve at room temperature.
Alternative garnishes: unsweetened shredded coconut and fresh chopped cilantro or mint.
Have you gotten this week's earlier Mother's Day breakfast recipes?
Cherry, Prune, and Almond Granola
Apricot, Ginger, and White Chocolate Scones
Spinach and Ricotta Frittata (alternative method for baked eggs included)
Here are more ways to enjoy jicama:
Grilled Corn, Mango, and Jicama Salad with Honey Vinaigrette at Pinch My Salt
Quesadillas with Mango-Jicama Salsa at The Garden of Eating
Jicama Slaw with Roasted Pablano Dressing at Elly Says Opa! (plus a great entry on jicama)
Save This Page on Del.icio.us
23 comments:
What Mom wouldn't love this? ;) xox
- May 6, 2009 at 6:24 PM
- Goody said...
Actually, I'd like to be sent to a San Diego farmer's market for Mother's Day. I love reading your blog even though I know half the fruits and vegetables will never show up where I live.
- May 6, 2009 at 6:40 PM
- Cris said...
Yes... nerds candies, and the pairing was great with the lime! And I want to make a salad like yours for my mother-in-law on Mother's Day! We're going to their farm in the countryside... the chili addition is awesome.
- May 6, 2009 at 6:51 PM
- Heather said...
i loooove the kumquats in there! so delicious :)
- May 6, 2009 at 7:13 PM
- La Cuisine d'Helene said...
Beautiful salad, I would love my sons to make this on Mother's Day.
- May 6, 2009 at 8:11 PM
- Jescel said...
what a lovely fruit salad.. now I've to admit, i haven't had kumquats before.. do they taste like key limes? also, the addition of cayenne pepper really made me curious.. hmnn..
- May 6, 2009 at 9:47 PM
- Rosa's Yummy Yums said...
A beautiful salad, yummy!
- May 6, 2009 at 10:02 PM
- Jude said...
Love the collection of Mother's day ideas. Will keep this recipe in mind -- my mom loves jicama.
- May 6, 2009 at 10:35 PM
- Stephanie from Cupoladua Oven said...
I recently discovered the joys of kumquats this past year and have taken to adding them to just about everything. Right now I've been adding them to a mixed green salad. I think they add so much color and flavor to dishes. This fruit salad looks wonderful- makes me want to go have picnic!
- May 7, 2009 at 4:44 AM
- Soma said...
Love Jicamas!! Fortunately we get plenty here. & spicy, tangy & Sweet! Perfect.
- May 7, 2009 at 5:52 AM
- Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...
This would be a fantastic way to start my Mother's Day Susan:D
- May 7, 2009 at 6:01 AM
- Michelle @ Find Your Balance said...
Oooh now that's easy and lovely. Too bad I can't ship it to my mom in New Jersey.
- May 7, 2009 at 8:16 AM
- Alisa - Frugal Foodie said...
That salad looks gorgeous!
- May 7, 2009 at 8:19 AM
- Juliana said...
Such a nice treat for Mother's Day...never had chili on fruit salad...sounds terrific and the colors are just beautiful. By the way, thank you so much for visiting my site and leaving nice note. I really appreciate.
- May 7, 2009 at 9:11 AM
- Karen said...
Just delicious... and a beautiful dish, too!
- May 7, 2009 at 10:46 AM
- Lynda at TasteFood said...
I love the idea of chile with fruit. Today at the farmers market I bought kumquats, and I was wondering what to do with them. Now I know!
- May 7, 2009 at 4:09 PM
- Lisa Turner said...
Stunning combination of fruits. And the lime is the perfect accompaniment.
- May 7, 2009 at 4:46 PM
jicama is such a refreshing thing, this salad looks delicious!
- May 7, 2009 at 5:24 PM
I love this! What a healthy way to indulge the sweet/salty/tangy craving. And I have most of these fruits waiting for a "plain" fruit salad. Consider them repurposed.
- May 7, 2009 at 6:56 PM
- Susan from Food Blogga said...
maryann-Gee, thanks!
goody-That would be a fabulous way to spend Mother's Day! Thanks for the kinds words.
cris-A farm in the countryside sounds idyllic.
heather-Tart and tangy!
helene-Send them this link. ;)
jescel-They are super tart but sweeter than a lime. I have written about them here as well as on the NPR site, if you'd like to learn more. (See link on right side bar).
rosa-Many thanks!
jude-Glad to hear it!
stephanie-I love them in green salads as well. They add sass!
soma-Me too!
val-Yeah? That's great!
michelle- :)
juliana-It was my pleasure. :)
karen-Many thanks!
lynda-The heat contrasts so deliciously with the sweet fruit.
lisa-Oh, thank you!
kiwi-I think so too. I love to snack on it.
haleysuzanne-"repurposed." I like that. :)
- May 8, 2009 at 7:59 AM
- K Allrich said...
We hope to spend summer out your way- even if we haven't yet sold the house. I so look forward to the farmer's markets. This salad? It looks like jewels on a plate.
- May 8, 2009 at 8:45 AM
- elly said...
Love this! Would have never thought to use jicama in a fruit salad but I am definitely going to do that next time.
- May 8, 2009 at 6:07 PM
- Dana Slatkin said...
My eye was initially attracted to the extraordinary colors in the photograph...and then I read the ingredients. Jicama is an underused vegetable. This sounds so...satisfying.
- July 16, 2010 at 2:59 PM


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DWTS Season 10 – The Conspiracy
No, actually I don't believe in a conspiracy, but lots of Evan and/or Erin fans do. So, I'm going to attempt to debunk it, although I suspect that no amount of reason and/or logic and/or math will do that for disgruntled fans.
Erin fans, you're out of luck. Unless you think the show is completely rigged, there is no way that Erin was "robbed" in the finale. She was in second place after three dances and still Evan beat her into the final two. That's simple votes, AND she was helped tremendously by the judges over scoring of her Samba. I'm pretty much leaving her out of this discussion unless someone wants to argue with me about it.
First off, a list of the common conspiracy theories floating around out there, compiled by my equally evil sidekick (or co-conspirator, if you prefer), Courtney:
"The judges pimped Nicole from the beginning." What the hell kind of drugs are you folks on?? The Judges picked her apart every time she made the slightest of errors, while some of the other couples got away with glaring mistakes. For example:
Week 1, Len told her she had "no footwork" and "lacked musicallity" which was absurd overcompensation. He gave her a 7.
Week 2, Len told her he was "ambivalent about the whole thing" and gave her an 8 while the other two gave her (well earned) tens.
Week 3 – Len, to put it simply, shredded them. Carrie Ann yelled about a lift (get over it already) and the broken hold. I don't complain about this week too much because Derek broke the rules and he knew he was breaking the rules, so they earned their criticism. But I have to agree with Carrie Ann and Bruno – other than the two rules, it was a freakin' amazing, creative, brilliant dance. Len gave them a 6 – which was ridiculously underscored. Break two rules, deduct two points, not FOUR.
Week 4 – their least memorable dance of the season. It was about this time Nicole got VERY defensive about her relationship with Derek. It affected the dance – but the judges did not blindly pimp a less than stellar dance. All three judges were critical of various things and they ended up with a 50 out of 60.
Week 6 – Len says "ugly legs" which is a load of bull. He likes certain moves in his sambas and they didn't have enough of THOSE moves, despite having other samba moves recognizable to this non-professional. There is a point when the under scoring to make it a race becomes obvious and stupid – this would be that week. Len gave her a 7. Seriously. If Len were really being critical in an even handed manner he would have given everyone else on the show that week 4s.
Now, it was very obvious what Len was doing – over compensating for the fact that she was a great dancer going in. But what we're talking about here is that some people actually believe that Nicole was pimped the whole way through – that the judges always loved her. Ridiculous. If Len was as hard on everyone, and as critical about certain moves and footwork, then no one else would have gotten above a 5 or a 6 – ever. But for as much as some complain about the show not being fair with Nicole on it, it's also not fair that lesser dancers get better scores than they should when having much larger errors than Nicole ever had. But that's the way the show rolls – I have to accept that Erin was absurdly over scored in the finale, and you conspiracy theorists have to accept that the show does bring on people with previous experience. Although, Erin and Evan also had previous experience – two strikes on them.
"Nicole is a professional dancer." – Assuming this is true (which technically it isn't) – Big fucking deal. The best dancer doesn't always win, and if they do – then people must actually like them. Someone on the US Weekly boards put it very well: "If 98% of the people on the ABC boards today were angry that Nicole won, then who were the ones voting for her enough to make her win?" Nicole is not the first, nor will she be the last, person with some dance experience to be on this show. Hello, Mel B (Maks fans – he didn't win then either), Willa Ford, Sabrina Bryan, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Marie Osmond…even Kristi had dance training if i remember correctly. Remember that Donny actually took ballroom lessons BEFORE the show started for his Vegas act? That's more than Nicole had. Now, let's talk about Mya – where were you folks last season when someone who actually TEACHES dance was on the show. What, it's okay because she didn't win?? You mad now because a ringer similar to (but far less experienced than) Mya actually WON the show and beat the other ringers out? Mya is the person with the most experience ever on the show. Nicole has no more experience than Mel B, Sabrina, Lance Bass…and really what we're talking about here is experience learning choreography. NO one on the show has had actual ballroom training, to my knowledge, other than Donny Osmond. So why are people so pissed at Nicole REALLY? Because their favorite ringer and Olympic gold medalist, defied expectations and lost? Because he is an Olympic Gold Medalist, EVERYONE expected Evan to win – he's the ringer of all ringers like Kristi was, moreso than Nicole. So why the outrage at Nicole? He was the one to beat. BUT I said it before and I'll say it again – no previous gold medalist had a Nicole to deal with. Likeable AND talented – Gilles was a close as an Olympian had to a Nicole and he made some critical errors late in the season. Heh – I guess this completely blows up the theory that "people" don't like and won't vote for people with previous experience. I've always said that was bull – people didn't vote for Mya because they didn't like her as much as they liked Donny. And we see evidence of that again this season – more people voted for Nicole because they liked her more AND she was a better dancer. Not to mention that the other two in the final three also had experience and, in a different season when Nicole wasn't on, THEY would have been taking the ringer heat.
"Nicole is a slut/whore/skank/etc. and was banging everyone on the set for votes." – Hehe, this was actually my personal favorite. If she were in fact doing this, she was banging the wrong individuals – she should have been making housecalls to every voting viewer in the nation, rather than "blowing Bruno good after the first show" (no joke – actual comment made on one comments section), which we know would have been as effective as trying to wash your hair with ranch dressing. Courtney had an extremely pithy comment in here about the intelligence of people making this argument, but we will just leave it as – "this is a really stupid argument". 😉
"Nicole was the chosen winner before the show had even started." – Seriously, what would the producers have to gain by a) choosing a winner before the show even started, and b) choosing Nicole as that winner? If the uproar over her win is any indicator, her victory has probably done more harm than good to viewership. There's just no incentive in it for them…really people, c'mon on now – you're reaching 😉 Ya need a real motive for the producers to do this – they don't have one, actually. If you're going by ratings, then they would have kept Kate Gosselin longer than they did – and they sure didn't try! They gave her the lowest scores possible and it was VIEWER VOTES that kept her around. And can you build more buzz than by having Nicole eliminated early? I think not – look at Sabrina. Talk about buzz. I think the biggest indicator that the producers didn't tell the judges who was ahead was Len himself saying that Nicole should win. Courtney made the point in the Cheesecake Awards that Len, like everyone else, was afraid that Evan (not the best dancer) would win, so he was making his feelings known in advance. Having seen Len bitch and moan about the best dancer NOT winning in previous seasons, I think he was prepared for the (late) conventional wisdom to prevail once again – the gold medalist wins. Everyone, including myself, underestimated dedicated Derek and Nicole fans. I think she may be the first pop singer to have a huge fanbase that was actually aware of HOW to vote to win.
I must say, just because someone is a great dancer, it does not mean that they've had more training than someone else. It just means they are more talented. Brooke Burke. Gilles Marini. Those are two people (just off the top of my head) who were really good dancers who won (or should have won) who had no training at all. Erin has had some degree of training as recently as college – she had to learn choreography, just like Nicole. Evan took ballet at least once a week and had a ballroom dancer, Mark Ballas, choreograph a routine for him on ice – gee, there must be some translation there, eh? All those gorgeous spins he can do on the floor – just magic?? Of course his skating training applies. Nicole? Like others before her, she could do a variety of dance moves required for pop singer – but she was also not trained in ballroom. She was just a better dancer then Erin and Evan. Period. And to top it off, she had a very popular pro (whose popularity and sheer talent, like it or not, cannot be discounted) and she herself was very likable (to the masses – and no, the ABC Boards do NOT qualify as the masses) – it's a winning formula. Great dancer, good personality (ie not boring), great choreographer as a partner who is extremely popular in his own right. I hate to say it, but Evan did not have a very popular partner (as much as I've come to like her) and his own personality was rather dry at times – none of my friends liked him and none voted for him. And these are NOT Derek fangirls that I'm talking about. I'm talking former Gilles/Donny voters. Don't get me wrong, I love Evan – it's some of his fans who annoy me. If only they had a fraction of the class that Evan himself clearly possesses.
But let's forget about all that stuff, even though it makes sense. Let's look at the actual numbers. I've heard so often that "Evan was robbed" let's see if that's even remotely true per the judges scores. Yes, they scored him lower than BOTH Erin and Nicole – but was that unfair? Did it cost him the competition? I predicted before the finale that the judges would go one of two ways: they would either cop out and give everyone the same basic score OR they would rank the dancers according to how they thought the results should be – in their opinion. At first, it appeared they would go with the former; at the end of the first dance, there was only one point between them and at the end of the performance show, Erin and Nicole were tied with 55 points and Evan was ONLY 3 points behind at 52. Like it or not, three points ain't nothing – it adds up to 1.8% difference between Evan and Erin/Nicole- peanuts, when you're an Olympic Gold Medalist. We can argue about if Evan was underscored (he was) or Erin was overscored (she was) – but I'm saying it doesn't really matter in the end. Nicole was the best dancer and she was TIED with the worst dancer of the three going into the Finale, with Evan only 1.8% behind.
So, Evan fans really poured it on since their guy was down, right? Well, not from what I hear. I heard what they said they did in terms of voting and it wasn't what I would call "power voting". I read how many times they voted and my thought was "amateurs". ; -) But internet fans aren't going to win the show on their own – the average viewer has to vote too. Anyway…
So, the first dance on Finale night is a three way argentine tango. Again, I predicted that this was NOT a smart move on Erin/Maks part because a dance is more than just one lift and her dance didn't have near the technical difficulty that Nicole's did plus that lift was NOT clean the second time. Maks should know that they typically reverse dance order from the first night which would mean Erin was going AFTER two better dancers. And I can hear the bitching and moaning now: "but they changed the rules, they changed the scoring, they were ranked instead of all given the same chance at a 30". Boo Hoo – they change the rules EVERY SEASON – where have you people been? I've been complaining about how they change the show every season on this very blog for three seasons now. Frankly, I like this rule change. Another thing I've been complaining about for a while is how the judges wuss out and give everyone an automatic 30 (although they've been doing better last couple seasons) or 29 — whether they deserve it or not. This rule change actually made them rank the contestants, which is what they SHOULD do – and is there anyone who sincerely believes that they were ranked incorrectly? Basically, there seem to be two choices in this instance – they are ranked or they are given wuss scores. I can see some preferring the automatic 30, but I doubt if the situation was reversed you would be so quick to choose that option. If Evan were actually the better dancer, would you like Nicole getting that automatic 30? Doubtful. 🙂
In any case, at this point Evan is 5 points behind Nicole. It's at this point that Erin exits the competition – even though she is 1 point ahead of Evan. Was it a conspiracy against Evan that Erin had more points? Nah, the judges were trying to make it a horse race and it didn't work. Erin just didn't have the votes. Evan clearly did. Although he didn't have to have many to beat Erin – approximately 4100 votes per 1 million votes cast. Evan versus Nicole? At this point, after three dances, he is only 2.03 percent behind her.
That brings us to the final dance. Can anyone seriously claim that Evan's quickstep was better than Nicole's Jive? Oh, I'm sure some will try. Nevermind, we're talking percentages. After all four dances, Evan is 2.3 percent behind Nicole. Two. Point. Three. Peanuts.
But let's say, for the sake of argument, that Evan also got a 30 on his final dance. That means the percentage changes back to 2.03 percent difference between the two of them. So, essentially, those two points that Evan DIDN'T get means he has to get 0.271 percent more votes than he would have if he had scored a 30. Seriously – can anyone call that a conspiracy??
Let's take it a step farther and assume that Evan was underscored on his Freestyle. He got a 24, Nicole got a 27. I think that Nicole's freestyle, even with the bobbled lift, was better and more entertaining than Evan's. But let's give him a 26 – we'll assume that Len was his usual self and stuck with the 8. If Evan keeps the 30 I gave him in the last paragraph and he gets a 26 instead of a 24 on his freestyle (and all other scores remain the same), the percentage difference between him and Nicole is reduced to 0.97 percent. Easier for Evan to win with this percentage difference? Of course. But what this REALLY means is that the judges actual scoring increased the margin between Evan and Nicole by 1.06 percent. Did this make a difference? Highly doubtful. Come on, it's 1.06 percent. If the 1.06 percent made a difference, that means that Nicole won by an extremely small margin. Listen to Tom's script on Finale night. Did he say anything about how close it was at the end? Did he ramp up the excitement and suspense? No, not like he did when Shawn beat Gilles by less than 1 percent. I don't think it was even close, frankly. They didn't really act like it was close.
Still think there was a conspiracy? Well, there's no hope for you then. You should stop watching this show.
Think that the conspiracy was that Nicole was even on the show? She was destined to win? I have to ask – where have you been? If you're going to eliminate anyone with previous experience, the entire top 3 would be cut out, in addition to Lil Kim, Lance Bass, Melissa Rycroft, Sabrina, Mya, Mel B..the list goes on. Where do you draw the line? Joanna danced until she was 11, should she be cut? If you lower the dance experience age that far, I wager there would be no female celebs on the show. And if you're going to do that, then you have to eliminate anyone with a massive fanbase because of their unfair advantage – which eliminates Evan, Donny, Kristi, and Shawn, to name a few. Suck it up people – it's a vastly entertaining show, but it's in no way FAIR. And do you really want it to be if it means never seeing Evan, Kristi, Shawn, Donny, Nicole, Sabrina, Mel B, Lance Bass….any of them DANCE? Not only would it be boring (and give me nothing to bitch about), but the ratings would plummet.


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Guns N' Roses' "Not In This Lifetime Tour" officially began in April of 2016, and 2017 summer and fall events previously announced are set to begin on July 27. The band will now also perform 11 concerts in October and November of this year with the first new event beginning on October 12 in Newark. The tour will also take the group to New York, Washington DC, Hartford, Toronto, Louisville, Milwaukee, Nashville, Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles.
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Original drummer, Stephen Adler, has made some cameo appearances during the reunion tour, but drummer Frank Ferrer has been filling this particular spot for the most part during "Not In This Lifetime" events.
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Nov 02: Detroit, MI @ Little Caesers Arena
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Award-winning EcoCAR 2 team to appear at Stocker Chevrolet
Award-winning EcoCAR 2 team to appear at Stocker Chevrolet
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's Advanced Vehicle Team is giving the public a look at its award-winning EcoCAR 2 at a consumer event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March 29, at Stocker Chevrolet on 701 Benner Pike in State College, Pa.
Team members will be on hand to discuss the EcoCAR 2: Plugging in to the Future competition, the team's series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and the practical benefits of hybrid vehicles. Visitors also will get the opportunity to ride in the team's HEV.
EcoCAR 2 is a three-year competition sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy that features 15 universities across North America competing to re-engineer a Chevrolet Malibu into a hybrid electric vehicle without compromising performance, safety and consumer acceptability.
The Penn State team won first place overall at the EcoCAR 2 Year Two competition in May 2013.