text:
Zubin Mehta-Led Concert in Disputed Kashmir Spurs Massive Security
A planned concert by the Bavarian State Orchestra and renowned conductor Zubin Mehta in Indian-controlled Kashmir has angered separatist groups in the disputed Himalayan region, and security forces are mounting a major operation to keep the visitors safe.
The concert, the first of its kind in Kashmir, is expected to attract an audience of 1,500 guests on Saturday, including government ministers and diplomats. It will be held in a Mughal-era terraced garden on the banks of the picturesque Dal Lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir state.
The event has been organised by Germany's ambassador to India, Michael Steiner, who told a news conference that the aim of the concert was to "reach the hearts of the Kashmiris with a message of hope and encouragement".
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan. Separatists say that holding the concert on the Indian side effectively legitimises New Delhi's rule.
It takes place against a backdrop of an upsurge in violence in the Kashmir valley. Militants have staged a number of attacks against Indian security forces in and around Srinagar in recent months. Militants struck an army convoy in June, a day before Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was due to visit the area, killing eight soldiers.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir, one of the most highly militarised regions in the world. Soldiers on the disputed border regularly trade mortar and machinegun fire. About 700,000 Indian troops, paramilitary forces and police are stationed in Jammu and Kashmir state.
Kashmir separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a general strike in the region on Saturday to protest what he says is Indian occupation of the disputed territory.
"The majority of people here are suffering from state repression. Under these circumstances there is no relevance for a music programme," he said.
A little-known militant group, which has claimed responsibility for previous attacks, has threatened to attack tourists if the concert goes ahead.
"We will not allow the orchestra of Zubin Mehta to perform in Shalimar Garden. If the German Ambassador remains adamant on holding the event, we will target foreign tourists for which the diplomat shall be responsible," Sami-ul-Haq, a spokesman for Al Nasireen, Farzandaan-e-Millat and Shuhda (Martyrs') Brigade, said in a faxed statement to local media.
The Germany embassy was not immediately available for comment.
Inspector-General of police in Kashmir A.G. Mir said security forces were trying to find out if the threat "is for real or some kind of mischief".
"But adequate security measures are in place for the concert," he stressed.
As the orchestra plays pieces by Beethoven, Haydn and Tchaikovsky, speedboats will patrol the lake and security forces will set up a security cordon two miles from the event. Only guests with special passes will be able to enter the area after being frisked and scanned by metal detectors.
"It is the biggest ever security exercise for us. Around 1,500-2,000 guests including ambassadors of European countries, central ministers and bureaucrats are arriving here for the concert," said a senior security official who declined to be named.
The concert will be broadcast live by television channels in India and Europe, the German Embassy said in a statement.
"In the months ahead of the concert, Ambassador Steiner has talked to Kashmiris from all walks of life to make the concert an inclusive event," it said.
Indian-born Mehta, 77, has conducted thousands of concerts during his long career. He has worked with the Israel, Vienna, and Berlin philharmonic orchestras and was the music director of the New York Philharmonic for 13 years.


text:
From the Hans Christian Andersen biography "The Life of Hans Christian Andersen. Day By Day", written by DPhil Johan de Mylius:
The Half SisterEn Digters Bazar (A Poet's Bazaar)
Getting to Know P.L.Møller
1842: The Half Sister
2 February
Admiral Wulff dies in a carriage on the way home from the theatre. HCA writes a commemorative poem for Wulff, which is included by his son, Christian, in an edition of the father's Poetic Works (Poetiske Arbejder), published after his death 1844.
8 February
Receivers a letter from his half-sister, Karen. Sends her a letter on the 11th and receives a visit on the 12th from Kaufman, the man she with whom she lives. Gives him 4 rdl.
29th march
Sees (this is not quite clear in the diary) the premiere of Bournonville's ballet Napoli and visits Bournonville at home afterwards. Writes a poem to Bournonville on the following day and has it printed in the newspaper "Fædrelandet" (The Fatherland). Sees Napoli (again?).
31 March
Receives a thank you poem from Bournonville . He and HCA agree to address each other informally and have a toast to celebrate this decision. On the same day, HCA spends time with Clara Wieck, the pianist, who asks HCA on behalf of her husband (Robert Schumann) whether he may dedicate his compositions to HCA's poems.
1 April
Hears Clara Wieck Schumann play privately as well as on 3rd April at a public concert (for which HCA had received a ticket from her). Accompanies her to Hartmann's (7th April), to her 2nd concert (10th April) and to her concert at Hotel d'Angleterre (14th April).
7th -23rd April
Sits for the painter J.V. Gertner. Presumably it is this drawing which is used for Gertner's coronation painting from 1846, which once again includes HCA. Gertner had the painting exhibited in the same year, along with the other preliminary studies (i.e. the portrait) for the coronation painting. He also wished to make an engraving of it, but HCA was furious about the painting. He felt it made him look like the inmate of a madhouse (letter to Carl B.Lorck 24th July 1846). Before his journey in Europe - i.e. either in December 42 or in January 43 - HCA demanded that the painting be retouched before any engraving was made:
"I then had him erase the humpy shoulders and remove some of the grinning expressions"
(the letter to Lorck).
1842: En Digters Bazar (A Poet's Bazaar)
24 April
Meets with the politician Orla Lehmann, who had been released from prison.
30 April
Publication of A Poet's Bazaar, the book describing HCA's great journey through Europe to the Orient. This is HCA's first travel book, in every respect a work intended to measure up to European standards. A brilliant journalistic portrayal of culture, technology (the railway journey) and folk life.
30 June
Summer journey to estates on Sealand and Funen. Stays at Gisselfeldt, Bregentved, then returns to Gisselfeldt, where HCA is introduced to the ducal family of Augustenburg (Christian August and Louise Amalie, she being née Danneskiold-Samsøe from Gisselfeldt, with daugthers Louise Augusta and Caroline Amalie). The ducal couple invite him to visit them at Augustenborg.
Outings to Jomfruens Egede, Turebyholm, Holmegaard's Glassworks, Vemmetofte and Vallø. Regarding the first stay at Gisselfeldt, HCA tells Edvard Collin in a letter dated 2nd July:
"I have been given a nice, sunny room on the ground floor with a beautiful view, service fit for a king. In the evenings, when the butler [...] has lit my room he even says "most humbly good night".
Receives a letter at Gisselfeldt Estate (12th July) containing a ring from the king. It is a diamond ring with a ruby in the middle, surrounded by small diamonds. During the days spent at Bregentved Estate, he feels as though he is enclosed within the fairy world of The Blue Grotto, where criticism from the outside world can touch him only lightly. Is otherwise afflicted at this time both with toothache and with sexual worries. Concerning the latter, he writes on 11th July in his diary:
"in a sensuous mood, a passion in the blood which is almost animal-like, a mad yearning for a woman to kiss and hold, just as I felt down south".
The summer journey contninues to Glorup Estate on Funen and from here a visit to Rygaard, the neighbouring farm. Also outings to Lykkesholm, Egeskov, Hesselagergård and Broholm Estates.
4 July
Summer première at the theatre of HCA's. Fuglen i Pæretræet, dramatisk Spøg i I Akt med Chor og Sange (The Pear Tree Bird, Dramatic Jest in I Act with Choir and Songs) (the play is based on a story by Rosa Maria, music by Edv. Helsted). 6 performances during HCA's life. Is first printed in its entirety in Collected Works vol.11. (Samlede Skrifter bd. 11.)
23 August
Day trip to Odense from Glorup Estate.
25th - 29th August
At Sorø with the Ingemanns.
29 August
Travels with the Hauchs to Roskilde, where he visits Weyse (who dies 8th October). From here, on to Copenhagen.
30 September
Receives a visit from Karen, his half-sister. Gives her 1 rdl.
1842: Getting to Know P.L.Møller
Autumn 1842
A booklet is published in Sweden titled Äfwentyr berättade för Barn (Tales, Told for Children) (anonymous translator).
8 October
The composer C.E.F. Weyse died. This occasioned the following comment from Hans Christian Andersen in The Story of My Life, where he called him "my first noble protector; we met often at Wulffs in those early times, collaborated on Kenilworth, but nevertheless did not become close friends; his life was lonely like mine, and yet people liked to see him, as I believe many do me; but I have the nature of migratory birds and fly out over Europe, his longest excursion was to Roskilde, where in a certain family circle he felt at home, where he had the organ of the Cathedral to improvise on, at Roskilde is still his grave. He would not entertain the idea of going any further, I remember his humour, when after my return from Greece and Constantinople I called on him. 'Look, now you are no further than I!' he said. 'You have arrived in Kronprindsessegade and are looking at Kongenshave, so do I, and you have thrown away all that money. If you want to travel, travel to Roskilde, wait till there are trips to moons and planets!"
25 October
Earliest mention in an almanac of getting acquainted with the critic P.L.Møller (although they must have known each other some time before this). At this time, P.L. Møller is one of the most progressive critics of Danish literature, an opponent of Heiberg, a secret employee at Goldsmidt's publication Corsaren and a good moral support for HCA and Blicher, who were outsiders on the literary scene.
22 December
Christmas journey to Bregentved Estate. In a letter written here to Edvard Collin on Christmas Day, he tallies up his finances, including what he is able to procure by pawning his ring (180 rdl.) as well as an expected payment of 200 rdl. from Reitzel (presumably additional payment for En Digters Bazar (A Poets Bazaar).
28 December
On to Gisselfeldt Estate.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
(CNN) -- William Moomaw received an unusual request on the morning of April 22, 1970.
The dean's office at Williams College rang the young assistant professor to ask if it could send a junior dean to observe his students. During a time of frequent college campus protests, the administration wanted to make sure the first Earth Day was a day of peaceful rallies, lectures and debates.
"I think they were a little nervous about what we were doing," he said of his environmental science class. "It was high emotional content. People were really upset to learn about the bad things that were happening to the environment then."
After the 75 students finished class, which dealt with the dangers of pesticides, they joined other students at a rally on the Williamstown, Massachusetts, campus.
About half the 2,000 students at the small private school participated in the rally. Thousands of other colleges, high schools and elementary schools across the United States also took part.
"People were pretty upbeat [that day]. Finally we were tackling another unaddressed issue," he said. "There was a real can-do attitude and a real sense that individual and public engagement could change things. A very different attitude than one sees today."
Watch iReporters share their vision for the world they want to live in
The year 1970 was one of the most tumultuous in U.S. history, during a time when many Americans were growing angrier at the government. The United States was involved in a controversial war in southeast Asia and the invasion of Cambodia set off more student protests and strikes.
People were also increasingly distrustful of big corporations, which they saw as lovers of profit and not the land. Pollution and conservation issues had been gaining the attention of the public. It started with Rachel Carson's popular 1962 book on the dangers of pesticides, "Silent Spring," and the eye on the planet increased with a photo of the Earth taken from Apollo 8 as it orbited near the moon in 1968. The "Earthrise" photo showed Americans the beauty of Earth from a new perspective.
One U.S. lawmaker aimed to bring his favorite issue into the spotlight for one day. Earth Day was the idea of the late Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin who in a speech in September 1969 proposed a day for an environmental teach-in.
Nelson had been an environmental activist for years and in 1963, shortly after he took office in the Senate, he persuaded President Kennedy to go on a five-state conservation tour. The media and the country hardly noticed the tour, so Nelson pondered for some time on how to raise consciousness about the problem. After a visit to an oil spill in 1969, he came up with the idea of involving students in a nationwide grass-roots day of environmental awareness.
What kind of world do you want to live in? See what iReporters had to say
He suggested April 22, a Wednesday, as an ideal day to hold the teach-in, as a weekday event would mean more students would be involved, according to nelsonearthday.net, a website run by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
On that first Earth Day, Nelson, 53, spoke to a larger than expected crowd in Denver, Colorado. He told those gathered that the environmental movement was more than eliminating acid rain, cleaning rivers or saving the whales.
"Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures," he said.
About 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day, organizers said, though that number is most likely inflated. A CBS News special hosted by Walter Cronkite that night called it a "mixed success," with many people participating, but with most "predominantly young, predominantly white, predominantly anti-[President] Nixon."
Still, it was a remarkable day in a watershed year that began the modern environmental movement. Later in 1970, the government passed an expanded Clean Air Act and created the Environmental Protection Agency.
That year marked a real change in the public's attitude toward the planet, and over the past 40 years, people have become more environmentally aware, said the head of a leading environmental organization.
"Environmental quality and the right to environmental quality has really permeated the American consciousness and it's something every citizen expects. It's not just those in the environmental movement," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Moomaw, now a professor of International Environmental Policy at Tufts University's Fletcher School, agrees.
Moomaw said that in many ways, the environment is a lot better than 40 years ago. Take for instance the air in Los Angeles, California, which was horrendous then. The ozone level in the area was almost five times greater than the national standard in 1970, according to the California EPA. In 2000, the level had dropped by nearly 70 percent.
"And we changed laws and practices and purchases and it got better," he said. "I think the belief in the beginning was that somehow the public would sort of whip the government into shape and they would do the right thing and the world would be saved. I think we all discovered the hard way that it's more complicated than that."
What has changed, the environmentalists say, is there has been a subtle shift from the days of teach-ins to community activism by the middle class to a social movement where people realize the connections between economic status and the health of the planet.
"People are being more realistic about the larger shape of the challenge," said Tom Athanasiou, director of EcoEquity, a think tank that deals with developing viable approaches to climate change. "There's no way that we're going to be able to deal with the climate while leaving all the poor people behind."
He said the green jobs movement -- developing renewable energy companies, hiring companies that use or sell environmentally friendly products -- is key, especially in countries hit by high unemployment. A creative look at how to build infrastructure that emits far less carbon dioxide is vital, he said.
"You have to give the poor alternatives other than to pour into these slum cities that are becoming the norm. You have to give them lower impact options," he said of the movement of people in developing nations to polluted big cities.
The issue is to provide goods and services in an environmentally friendly way that doesn't negatively affect the economy and social structure, Moomaw said.
"The shift that's taken place is to get beyond just protecting the environment. The new way that it is talked about is in terms of sustainable development," he said.
Opinion: Earth Day a planet-wide movement
Beinecke said one of the things that is greatly different from 1970 is how to frame the solution to the world's problems. Governments, businesses and individuals all must take a role in eliminating the factors of climate change, but solutions need to be practical and not too expensive, she said.
Earth Day continues to have relevance even though the focus of the event has changed, the experts said. While it is no longer just a college-based event, it still offers teaching opportunities to all types of people and enhances the increased environmental awareness that this generation has gained.
More people are "connecting the dots and understanding that what they do in their lives has an impact on others," Athanasiou said.
Opinion: Science Guy says situation more desperate
Moomaw added that not only are companies now involved in Earth Day, but they are also much more involved in environmental protection.
"There are certainly many, many more corporations that are not only willingly complying with environmental laws but many are going beyond them," he said. "It's an impressive group of companies that are doing those things and they're making a real difference. I don't think anybody believed that would happen in 1970."
That includes companies like DuPont, which has taken steps to dramatically cut its greenhouse gas emissions and use more renewable fuels, and IBM, which has an excellent environmental record, Moomaw said.
For the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the Earth Day Network is sponsoring events on the National Mall in Washington on April 24 and 25. The schedule includes a climate rally and concert on Sunday featuring Sting and John Legend.
"Earth Day continues to be a national reminder," Beinecke said. "Companies and individuals feel a responsibility to think about the environment, and that is really important."


text: (*ponders*) AngelicKnight brought up an interesting points. There are many other AIM clients out there. I'm not quite sure if the security hole is Windows, AIM network, or AIM client. Might be interesting to try some of the others. If it is, indeed, the client, definitely go for an open source client, now. They have the lowest amount of security risks, because everyone sees them. Google AIM +client. A good one I know of is gAIM.


text:
Anyway, here are the two links:
Sportatorium talks to Jerry :
I asked a rudimentary question of Jones: If a player needs to be demoted it's ultimately the head coach's decision, right?
"Let's just say this, the decision is made a lot of times ... the agreements call for the GM ultimately to make decisions. If not, the only one that can overrule the GM is the owner. Period. And that's always been the way it's been for 20 years."
Ross Tucker at SI.com :
I vividly recall a Cowboys game in which one of Jerry Jones' aides walked over to our head coach Dave Campo and said something. Campo then went up to our offensive line coach, who in turn told our high draft pick that he was back in the game, this after he had been pulled a series or two earlier for poor play. It was like an adult game of whisper down the alley, only the message didn't get lost in translation. It was time for Jerry's pick to get back on the field. That always made me wonder what other mandates were coming down from on high.
Like I have said, fire Wade if you want, but what does that actually accomplish?
And now, some emails. Yep. Emails.
In the Game Plan Friday for the Seahawks, you mentioned the Cowboys 3rd down defense as a plus - 25 out of 75 for 33% and 6th in the league, but an interesting comment from Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders caught my attention today in his Week 8 espn.com feature http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=4604586:
"The Cowboys have the worst third-down defense in the NFL this season."
I've been looking around and can't find any good stats other than straight-up 3rd down conversion rate. What could be making that big of a difference in their evaluation of the Cowboys 3rd down numbers? All I can think of is if they gave up a lot of long-yardage touchdowns on those 25 conversions, but even then, I still don't see how you get from number 6 to 32. Any thoughts?
-Joe in Grapevine
I would never doubt the Football Outsiders, as their site and projects are some of my favorite things in the NFL tapestry, however, here is what I know:
Def Opp. 3rd Down Conversion Summary 6
Def Opp. 3rd-and-1 Conversions 24
Def Opp. 3rd-and-10+ Conversions 9
Def Opp. 3rd-and-Long Conversions 5
Def Opp. 3rd-and-Medium Conversions 10T
Def Opp. 3rd-and-Short Conversions 27
The number at the end is the Cowboys rankings. I cited overall 3rd down defense which is 6th in the NFL. I suppose it is possible with their complex metrics that there is a way to show the Cowboys as "worst in the NFL" (especially if they put a ton of stock into strength of oppoenents), but I think many of these numbers - with the exception of 3rd and short scenarios show the Cowboys are top 10across the board.
To me, the name of the game on 3rd and anything is to get your rear ends off the field. The Cowboys do that 67% of the time, and only 5 teams in football can do better. It is tough to see 32nd based on that.
As always I appreciate your posting links to your blogs on The Ranch Report. Your credibility seems to transcend the media hatred by fans in the Metroplex and on the Cowboy boards. Maybe because you are more an X's and O's type of guy. Or you don't use sensationalism to make a point that is contrary to the rank and file fan. They seem to appreciate you, as do I.
Now to my point. I read quite a lot about this team and the HSO's on Romo. I have read your current comments about him and I have a different opinion from you. You see him as a wildly talented player that needs to have free rein to be Tony. So many in the media are saying that these days. However, I believe your position is different in a lot of ways from mine. I think he is talented, but there may be a ceiling that most fans don't want to consider.
You cited the Atlanta game as Romo returning to the carefree sandlot player that captured the hearts of the fans. And I believe there are some solid points to be made about that aspect of his game against the Falcons. But where I diverge from your opinion is I believe what we saw is simply Romo using the Kenny Roger's theory of The Gambler.
Ball security should be job one with Romo. This means he needs to use his brains more than his heart when making decisions. He needs to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. What we saw in the Falcon's game was the very thing a few of us fans who ask the tough question think. He played within himself and only once did we see Romo turn it loose and make a sandlot play. But dissecting that play reveals something beneath that contradicts what so many want to believe. That they allowed Romo to be Romo and that meant the difference between success and failure. And that position has a chink in its armor.
Now the TD before the half was a brilliant play by Romo. He used his spidey-senses and made the defenders miss. Then he put himself in a position for success and found a wide open Crayton. But what we didn't see in the remainder of the game before or after was Romo playing out of control. He made smart decisions and did not risk the ball. He found the open guy and had his most accurate game of the season.
I do not believe Romo morphed into this player that so many want to attribute his success to. He had the look and body language in that play that if he didn't see someone wide open, he would either try and run it – which would have been a mistake – or he would have thrown the ball away.
He made one errant pass the entire game throwing into double coverage. Otherwise he did exactly what the coaches wanted him to do. Protect the ball and make smart decisions.
I cannot underwrite this notion that somehow he stopped listening to them and went back to this cavalier player who wins by moxie and sandlot plays. Both can have success together. But I think there is a great leap in the thinking that with Romo you get one or the other. Because at no stop in his career from Pop Warner to the NFL was he not preached to about ball security. The proverb that applies to the passing game – three things can happen when you pass and two of them are bad – was not spared with this guy because he is Farve-esque.
Romo, for the most part, had time to throw. His receivers got separation. He found the open guy and took advantage. Garrett called a solid game. In none of those aspects does Romo don a Superman costume and suddenly become a super hero to defeat Atlanta.
He simply played within himself, made smart decisions, and once, when all Hell was breaking loose he used his natural athletic ability to slip a tackle and then pulled himself back together and made a smart decision by finding the open man. Once he recovered from his heroics, he simply went back to doing what he was doing before and after which was finding the open man and making an accurate pass.
The real question is this. When he faces a tougher defense that does apply pressure along with solid corner play, will he use this style of thinking, or will he revert to Favre-lite and spray the ball all over the yard because there isn't a scenario that cannot be overcome if you just chunk it long?
Or, and this is my real theory, will he then lose his cool just a bit and make thoughtless plays where he tries to force the ball into places it doesn't belong and turn it over. Which is what I believe is at the root of this guy's psyche and why he has trouble with the games that mean the most.
When he faces the Saints, Eagles, Giants, Packers and Chargers, will we see Tony White or Tony Black? And it is this question that causes me to drop anchor and not anoint him and his return from his slump as Mission Accomplished.
I want to believe. But one pass play, one series, one drive, one game or one month early in the season will not convince me that when all the chips are pushed to the center of the table, that Romo will hit the panic button and then his advantage is lost.
He is everything you say when he has protection and within his comfort zone. But the killer instinct that you see with Tom Brady, Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and a lot of other guys who refuse to be defeated is something I am not convinced Romo possesses.
When the going gets tough, Tony's ability to control his emotions is where he separates himself from the truly greats of this game. Or that is my greatest fear. Because we both know Jerry Jones will ride this pony until it drops because he doesn't have the football acumen to recognize if he has tied himself to a guy that is Danny White and not Troy Aikman. Then marry Jones' ego to this and he will try to repackage and sell raw sewage as cologne.
Hope I'm wrong.
All the best,
Michael Leath
I feel like perhaps from a few sentences that I wrote on Monday that I might have given the impression that the key for Romo's success is just to throw the playbook away, let him turn football into a Wrangler's commercial and let's roll.
I don't think that reflects my true feelings at all. Honestly, nobody could use harsh critique and coaching more than Romo these days, and I cannot swear he always gets it from the leadership blueprint that we have in place. In fact, I am not sure he is coached hard at all, and I think that is partly due to the fact that essentially this team lacks a headcoach with any level of authority, an Offensive Coordinator that does not have a superior ripping him a new one when he screws up, and an owner who fills much of the voids left from not having a head coach who rules with an iron fist.
However, after I say all of that, I do think the Cowboys and many of their fans do not understand that to have success in this league, you must take risks. Now, we can debate the risk taking percentages, but first we must agree that any QB performance levels in the NFL require fitting the ball into a tough spot in the face of a blitz. Checking down on 3rd and 11 is not going to cut it. So, with that in mind, I always ask Cowboys fans if they understand that to get Home Runs, you must accept at least some strikeouts. To get 3-pointers, you must accepts missed 3 pointers. And to get touchdowns, you must accept some poor decisions and poor results. I think, in the face of adversity last season, that the Cowboys have spent the last 9 months preaching the idea that they essentially want to turn Tony Romo into a guy who will always make the safer throw, even if it means hurting the chances of the team to win. Yes, I just said that. Sometimes, safer decisions actually hurt your chance at moving the chains and changing the scoreboard.
So, can they harness Romo? Can they realize that many of his best moments come when the play blows up? I know you cannot hope for plays to blow up, but you also have to realize when your QB can do things that most cannot.
Like I said on the air, if you have Dirk - who is 7-feet tall and can make 3's as well as anyone in the sport, do you try to force him to play like other 7-footers who do not have his skill set but do fit the mold of "what a 7-footer should do"? Or do you break the mold of what you expect, because he is a unique talent?
I think Romo is a unique talent. But, I also think Michael Vick was a unique talent in a totally different way. If the proving ground is whether he ever wins a Super Bowl, then odds are that he won't get it. I just don't want them to try to change him into Brady, Manning, or Aikman. He isn't them. And, they can't do what he did on that play on Sunday.
But as is always the case, there are shades of gray, and degrees of "letting him play". In the end, Favre needed Holmgren to coach him hard, and bring out the best in him. I wish I was confident that the Cowboys had that brain on their staff.
This definitely falls into the nitpick category, but …
The national media seems to think Miles Austin is one of those undersized scat receivers like Ted Ginn, DeSean Jackson or Percy Harvin. Peter King even called him a "mighty mite" in today's MMQ. The guy is 6' 3" and 215 lbs., which is far from might mite. He just happens to be very fast and elusive, which may be why they think he's smaller. But it still seems like sloppy work by guys who get paid a lot to comment and write solely about professional football. Maybe not Emmitt Smith "Travis Henry is best rookie" sloppy, but still pretty lazy.
Dave in Tulsa
Yes, he is shockingly large. And impossible to tackle these days. I agree with your point.
It's my belief that what put Miles Austin above the other receivers is his ability to break tackles. Is it possible that Wade missed this hidden talent because they don't tackle during practice? Sure he seems to be a faster then Williams and Crayton but after Miles makes the catch he gets yards when he breaks tackles. Williams and Crayton my run better routes and have better timing in practice, But we're talking about a game where they do tackle. Is this another argument for tackling during practice?
Just wanted your thoughs.
Wow. That is the best original thought email I have received all week. I am not sure if I totally buy it, but in this world of recycled ideas, this one is a fresh one. Well done!
Couple of things.
1. Wade Phillips same as Bill Parcells same as every coach in the league worth their salt knows you praise players to the media, and you criticize behind closed doors. Parcells never in his career called out individual players to the media. You should not have such a problem with his Monday press conference because every game every player who saw time gets a personal scout/stat sheet highlighting everything they did well and everything they did not in Wade's team meetings and film
sessions. What do you exactly hope it would accomplish for Wade to express disappointment in individual players. Find one good coach in the NFL who takes this approach. The first rule in motivating people or winning respect or commanding any organization is that you never under any circumstance criticize in public.
2. Give some credit where credit is due. No one talks about Kyle Kosier on this team. He is the forgotten lineman. I contend that he is our most complete and most valuable lineman, perhps player except for Demarcus Ware Review the film as you do and pay attention to him if you haven't already. He is outstanding and rarely makes mistakes, or misses blocks. Likewise it was after he went down last year that
the cowboys offense got exposed and that film shows that if anything was exposed it wasn't play calling it was that we had a huge weak spot in the abscence of Kosier. We couldn't run and therefore couldn't set up the pass. Thoughts?
Best Regards,
Your lowly p1
Bill McCullough
Thanks, Bill-
1) - You are high on this one. Parcells never called guys out in the media? Did you ever hear him? Take Romo alone. Romo could have thrown 4 TDs and 300 yards, and the media would ask him to look at how his QB played. Parcells would answer by telling everyone what he did wrong and not to anoint this kid yet. He has a lot to learn. Mike Singletary spent time telling us in this memorable press conference telling us he can't win with Vernon Davis. If you don't think that is calling out a player in public, then I don't know what is. Many coaches use the media and public humiliation as a source of motivation. Wade doesn't. I disagree with how he does it, and you don't. That is fine, but let's not act like he is joined by all of his colleagues.
2) - You are not high on this one. I am stunned at how great Kosier has been this year. If you go back and look at my Football 301 series (runs every Tuesday) you will see that he has been wonderful. Especially in running situations where they love to pull him out in space. Also, in Denver, he ran some great screens with Kosier out front. He is exceptional and exceptionally under-rated. great observation there.


text: Duke Nukem 3D Secret Places List v1.1 | I. Some routine mumbo-jumbo =========================== After hours of exploration, I've finally completed this list of secret places for Episode 2 and 3. If I have the time, I may include the unofficial secrets in future versions. This latest version also fixes a few location errors. If you find any inaccuracy in my list, please feel free to inform me. Please distribute this list to whoever you want! Thanks and enjoy! II. List of secrets for Episode 2 ================================= + The number in parenthesis beside the name of the level denotes the total secrets in that specific map. E2L1 - Spaceport (6) -------------------- 1. Check the column of broken screens in the room with lots of monitors showing the Earth and Moon. 2. Walk to the monitor in the dead end near starting point, a niche will open to your back. 3. Jump into the vent in the room with a blue key. 4. Solve puzzle with 4 switches by turning the third switch from left. Enter door and go down through the elevator. 5. In the central column area on second floor, fly and pick up the atomic health near the ceiling, you'll hear a door opened. Now quickly jump down through the column, go back to the first floor, and look for an opened door at a corner. 6. Fly up from central column. E2L2 - Incubator (5) -------------------- 1-2. In the opposite direction of the yellow switch, open up the little niche, get into it and search the inside wall again. 3. Jump into the Earth Defense emblem. 4. Search for a door left of the rising console in the lower dark area. 5. Open a panel in the upper dark area. E2L3 - Warp Factor (2) ---------------------- 1. After the entering the yellow door, find a niche with steroid in it, look up and shoot the switch. Quickly run to the other side of the room and enter the now lowered column. Welcome to the Bridge of Starship Enterprise! :) 2. Operate "Picard's console" for yet another little surprise. E2L4 - Fusion Station (7) ------------------------- 1. In the squishing lightning columns area, search the wall facing the columns on the other side of the entrance. 2. Turn left from the secret area described above and fly up for another secret. 3. Get down one of the lightning columns and search the wall facing the narrow tunnel. 4. In the rotating water driven motor area, walk in front of the monitor. You'll then hear a door open, quickly rush across the water to the other side of the room, a secret room is opened. 5. On the third level in the central complex, enter the left room upon entrance. Search the column at a corner. 6. On the third level in the central complex, enter the double door and fly up to the ledge, there is a crack in the cave to your right. 7. On the same ledge, go to the secret place to your left. E2L5 - Occupied Territory (4) ----------------------------- 1. After opening the huge gate near the emblem, crouch and walk into the gate's right end. 2. After you walk deep into the moonlight corridor, a door will open near the entrance. 3. In same moonlight corridor, there are two vents facing the holoduke box. 4. In the red door room, go straight ahead and check the lower right monitor. E2L6 - Tiberius Station (8) --------------------------- 1. Get into the armory, there is another small door directly ahead of you. 2. Bomb a crack after you enter the door with a Tiberius Station sign. 3. Enter an invisible wall opposite the drinking fountain in the dark corridor with 2 elevators. 4. Search the wall beside the door with a Danger: Radioactive Material sign. 5. In the toxin pool, float on top of the toxin and swim to your left, search the wall for a room. 6. Do the above to the right wall. 7. Bomb another crack after the elevator near the toxin pool. 8. After killing the mini boss in the red key room, turn left and get into the vent. Quickly move toward the other end of vent and fly into the now opened door. E2L7 - Lunar Reactor (7) ------------------------ 1. After dropping through the vent in Crew Quarters, hit the switch and quickly run to the right niche. Now search for a secret room in a corner in the toxin pool. 2. In the open area where a turret is shooting at you, turn to your left and search the panel. 3. In the same open area, there is a cave straight below the turret. Jump into it and May The Force Be With You. 4. Shoot the hanging vent and jump on top of it, there is a cave to your right. 5. Follow the yellow turbine to where the red card is, search the panel to the right of the card. 6. Jump into the room to the left of the reactor. 7. Jump into the room to the right in the same area. E2L8 - Darkside (7) ------------------- 1. Check the map in the central room overseeing the Alpha and Beta signs. 2. Bomb a crack in the Alpha train waiting area. 3. After passing the collapsing cave in Alpha, go through the door and enter the area to your right. Check the wall to the right of the tubes. You can do the above to the left area also. 4. In the train waiting area after the blue key elevator in Gamma Transport, check the map for a niche. 5. In Gamma, enter the vent after the elevator. Follow the tunnel and enter the room to your left. Bomb a crack high up. 6. In the Beta train waiting area, fly up through a vent. 7. After jumping out of the monolith, turn to your left and bomb the crack. The passage will lead you to the secret area "Lunatic Fringe". E2L9 - Overlord (4) ------------------- 1. After you swim out of the beginning passage, swim up to the water surface and search for an invisible wall nearby. 2. Jump to the central lightning column after it comes down, quickly rush to a now opened column by the side of the water. 3. Bomb a crack mid way up a path near the waterfall after killing the mini boss. 4. While you're fighting the boss, quickly slip into his control room, a wall facing the huge door will now open. E2L10 - SpinCycle (0) --------------------- E2L11 - Lunatic Fringe (0) ------------------------- III. List of secrets for Episode 3 ================================== E3L1 - Raw Meat (7) ------------------- 1. After you enter the Japanese restaurant, jump into the invisible wall beside the first ceramic doll. 2. Search the Exotic girl poster. 3. Blow up the crack in the last room down the corridor. 4. Search the price list left of the BAR flourescent light. 5. In the sushi bar area, touch the bloody handprint and a room around the corner will open. 6. Opposite of the bloody handprint, open the ground cupboard. Crouch and walk into it, turn to your left search the wall. 7. In the kitchen, search the cupboard next to the entrance door. E3L2 - Bank Roll (5) -------------------- 1. Open the ATM machine in front of the bank. 2. In the blue key area, click the button behind the desk, the painting in the room will open. 3. Just after you enter the bank, turn right and look up the wall, shoot the button and the telephone will open behind you. 4. Outside the secured area, search the painting behind the desk. 5. Get into the Gamma turbine, blow up the red colored crack in a corner. E3L3 - Flood Zone (5) --------------------- 1. Shoot the vines underwater near the waterfall, enter the cave and swim up. 2. On the platform with the blue key, jump into the invisible wall to your left. 3. After exiting the yellow door, turn right and jump up to the small cave, search the wall at the end. 4. Fly up to the end of the building facing the Alley Cat Lounge sign, check the last window to your right. 5. Push the yellow Hard Hat Area sign inside red door, a crate will open around the left corner. E3L4 - L.A. Rumble (3) ---------------------- 1. Bomb the crack to your right after you leave the sewer in the beginning. 2. In the kitchen area with a blue key, check the cupboard "under the knife". 3. In the CEO room, check the painting to the right of the red key. E3L5 - Movie Set (4) -------------------- 1. Push the register in the beginning area, rush to the snack vending machine near the blue key. 2. Jump into the Earth screen facing the spaceship set. 3. Search the stack of boxes facing the Stage 17B sign. 4. Jump into the Duke Nukem poster in the open area. * Push the USA sign near the yellow key. It'll open up the room to the secret level "Tier Drops". E3L6 - Rabid Transit (6) ------------------------ 1. At the first station, search the Lunar Apocalypse poster. 2. Jump onto the left condom vending machine facing the train. 3. While you're walking on the track toward the second station, blow up a crack to the right of the box with a Devastator. 4. At the second station, search the "No Loitering" sign on top of a mailbox. 5. Search the wall in the dark area beside the mailbox. 6. Lower the left shelf in the red door room by jumping from the top of the left shelf to the right one. E3L7 - Fahrenheit (4) --------------------- 1. In the house near the "Guilty" sign, search the painting. 2. Blast all the bottles in the same area and jump into the shelf. 3. Rush into the invisible curtain in KTIT broadcasting station. 4. Open the door in the monitors area in KTIT. It's a secret place but the red key is in there also. E3L8 - Hotel Hell (3) --------------------- 1. Search the wooden wall on the 2nd floor bar. 2. In the same area, search the wine cupboard. 3. Rush into the fountain near the swimming pool. You'll then be teleported to a jungle. Touch the bloody handprint and go meet Doctor Jones! * The entrace to the secret level "Freeway" is in the above jungle area also. E3L9 - Stadium (0) ------------------ * Shoot the Duf Beer air balloon for lotsa goodies! E3L10 - Tier Drops (4) ---------------------- 1-4. Open the walls between the smaller niches in Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta areas. E3L11 - Freeway (5) ------------------- 1. Go to the right end of the freeway (relative to your starting position), jump up to the left ledge and search the leftmost window. 2. On the "upper" freeway, search the window opposite the blue key console. 3. Blow up the crack near the blue key. 4. Search the shelf near the blue key. 5. In the conveyor belt building, jump into the yellow and black strip sign facing the Terminator.


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The primary resource your character uses in LEGO Universe isn't mana, energy, or rage—it's imagination. This focus on the power of the creative mind is being carried over to all aspects of development. We sat down with the creative minds behind LEGO Universe to get a complete walk-through on how building freely with LEGO bricks in the game will work.
I am absolutely thrilled at the possibilities I saw for not only designing architecture, but animating and tweaking the AI of everything you build as well. Follow along in the video as the developers build a fort, fill it with chickens that moo and dinosaurs that hate moo'ing and simply let them run wild. Once you've finished, let us know in the comments what you're looking forward to building most. I personally can't wait to rebuild the ice fortress that was my favorite LEGO set while growing up - maybe with a few jumping monkeys added to spice it up.
During our talk, the developers at NetDevil hinted very strongly that voice chat will be included in the game. When I asked them if it will have integrated voice chat, Creative Director Ryan Seabury coyly responded that it would make sense to include it, and with a smile, added that they are "good friends with Dolby..."
The voice chat would likely be linked with LEGO Universe's "best friend" system, which is entirely optional, but relies on NetDevil being able to verify your real identity (or the parent's identity of children) and have all relevant parents agree that they know each other in real life. It unlocks special features such as being able to speak to each other without a chat filter, visit and interact with homes designated for "best friends" only. The creative spark generated by two friends working to build a fort together was really inspiring, and certainly worth the identity hassles you may need to jump through to collaborate closely with your real-life friends.


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This is an archived site. This site is no longer being maintained or reviewed for broken links.
Employee Portrait Gallery — Terry Rioux
Terry Rioux was appointed Diving Safety Officer for WHOI in 1980. He is responsible for all day-to-day aspects of scuba diving at the Institution, including review and enforcement of diving safety regulations, diver training and certification, approval of dive plans and equipment for scientific projects, and the maintenance of Institution-owned diving equipment and records. He calculates he has trained or certified more than 200 permanent employees and about the same number of people working temporarily on WHOI projects. Occasionally, his work takes him to the open ocean aboard research vessels, including a memorable trip to the Antarctic in 1994 to collect gelatinous zooplankton with Rich Harbison. Then there are excursions around and beneath the WHOI pier to recover lost items, assist in ship repairs, and once to free the remotely operated vehicle Jason from a tangle of monofilament. Terry is a certified Emergency Medical Technician and a member of WHOI's First Aid Response Team. Along with his wife Maggie, also an EMT and a member of the Institution's library staff, Terry volunteers on the medical teams for the Falmouth Road Race and the Cape Cod Marathon, and the couple also helps teach community CPR classes under the auspices of Falmouth Fire & Rescue Department.


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The combination of a past serious head injury and pesticide exposure may be linked to an extra-high risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests.
The findings don't prove being knocked unconscious or exposed to certain chemicals directly causes Parkinson's, a chronic movement and coordination disorder.
But they are in line with previous studies, which have linked head trauma and certain toxins - along with family history and other environmental exposures - to the disease.
"I think all of us are beginning to realize that there's not one smoking gun that causes Parkinson's disease," said Dr. James Bower, a neurologist from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who wasn't involved in the new research.
"There might be many paths to the ultimate development of Parkinson's disease," he told Reuters Health.
For example, Bower said, some people who are genetically predisposed might need just one "environmental insult" - such as a blow to the head - to set them up for Parkinson's. Others who aren't naturally susceptible to the disorder could still develop it after multiple exposures.
Head trauma and contact with pesticides "may not be directly related, and may be two independent stresses," Columbia University neurologist David Sulzer, who also wasn't part of the study team, told Reuters Health in an email.
About 50,000 to 60,000 older adults in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year, according to the National Parkinson Foundation.
For the new study, researchers led by Pei-Chen Lee from the University of California at Los Angeles compared 357 people with a recent Parkinson's diagnosis to a representative sample of 754 people without the disease, all living in central California, which is a major agricultural region.
The study team asked all of them to report any past traumatic head injuries - in which people had been unconscious for at least five minutes - and used their home and work addresses to determine their proximity to pesticide sprayings since 1974.
Those surveys showed that close to 12 percent of people with Parkinson's had been knocked unconscious, and 47 percent had been exposed to an herbicide called paraquat near both their home and workplace.
That's in comparison to almost seven percent of control-group participants with a history of head injury and 39 percent with pesticide exposure.
On their own, traumatic brain injury as well as living and working near pesticide sprayings were each tied to a moderately increased risk of Parkinson's disease. Combined, they were linked to a tripling of that risk, the researchers reported Monday in the journal Neurology. That was after taking into account people's baseline risk based on their age, gender, race, education, smoking history and family history of Parkinson's.
Lee's team didn't know which came first in people who'd had both head trauma and paraquat exposure.
It makes sense, the researchers noted, that a head injury would increase inflammation in the brain and disrupt the barrier that separates circulating blood and brain fluid. Those changes could then make neurons in the brain more vulnerable to the effects of pesticides, ultimately increasing the risk of Parkinson's.
But that's just a theory.
"There are all kinds of hypotheses," Bower said. But the study "is more evidence that traumatic injury to the brain can lead to later problems that are usually neurodegenerative," he added. "We need to be increasingly careful about preventing these traumatic brain injuries."


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- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Tax Office
- Tax Collection Information
- The Taxpayer's Role
The Taxpayer's Role
Your Role as a Taxpayer
You can play an effective role in the process if you know your rights, understand the remedies available to you, and fulfill your responsibilities as a property owner and taxpayer.
Know Your Rights
- You have the right to equal and uniform tax appraisals. Your property value should be the same as that placed on other properties that are similar or comparable to yours.
- Unless your property qualifies for special appraisal, such as for agricultural land, you have the right to have it taxed on its January 1 market value.
- You have the right to receive all tax exemptions or other tax relief for which you qualify.
- You have the right to notices of changes in your property value or in your exemptions.
- You have the right to know about a taxing unit's proposed tax rate increase and to have time to comment on it.
Understand Your Remedies
- If you believe your property has been appraised for more than its January 1 market value, or if you were denied an exemption or agricultural appraisal, you may protest to the appraisal review board. If you don't agree with the review board, you may take your case to court.
- You may speak out at public hearings when your elected officials are deciding how to spend your taxes and setting the tax rate.
- You and your fellow taxpayers may limit major tax increases in an election to roll back or limit the tax rate.
Fulfill Your Responsibilities
- You must apply for exemptions, agricultural appraisal, and other forms of tax relief before the deadlines.
- You must see that your property is listed correctly in the appraisal records. If your property is omitted from the records and escapes taxation, it becomes subject to a back assessment. In the event a back assessment occurs, special omitted property interest at the rate of 1% monthly may be due in addition to the taxes. Back assessments may cover up to five prior years in the case of real property (land and improvements), and up to two prior years for business personal property.
- If you own tangible personal property used for the production of income (business personal property), you must annually render it to the chief appraiser. Personal property which escapes taxation because of failure to render becomes subject to back assessment when discovered by the appraisal district.
- You must pay your taxes on time.


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Related links:
The Structure of Uranus' Interior
There is no surface to the giant planets, only a gradual change from the atmosphere, as shown in this drawing. Therefore the giant planets do not have strict layers, as the earth-like planets do.
Ice begins forming in the atmosphere of Uranus and keeps increasing until there is slush, and then solid ice. There is not much difference between the atmosphere and the ocean on Uranus, unlike the earth, where there is a definite surface between the air and the ocean.


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3D Game Development with Microsoft Silverlight 3
Most online interactive content uses 2D graphics. To represent real-life situations, Rich
Internet Applications (RIAs) need to show real-time 3D scenes. This book will let you
add a new dimension to your Silverlight applications using C# and XAML. The book
covers the various tools and libraries needed for giving life to 3D models in a Silverlight
viewport—right from editing, exporting, loading, and controlling 3D models up to
specific 3D algorithms. It will help you learn to develop 3D games and interactive 3D
scenes for a web site with animated models, with numerous examples and clear
explanations packed with screenshots to aid your understanding of every process. After
all of the code is written and the additional art assets edited, they are all compressed into
.zip files for easy availability and use.
What This Book Covers
Chapter 1: Lights, Camera, and Action!: In this chapter, we will cover many topics that
will help us to understand the new tools and techniques involved in preparing 2D
graphics to be used in Silverlight games. This chapter is all about tools and graphics.
Chapter 2: Working with 2D Characters: In this chapter, we will begin creating 2D
characters that move on the screen and we will learn to control their behavior in the 2D
space. We will learn about GPU hardware acceleration, 2D vectors, resolutions, sprites,
and animation.
Chapter 3: Combining Sprites with Backgrounds: In this chapter, we will control
multiple sprites created on demand. We will animate several independent sprites at the
same time, while responding to the keys pressed by the player to control characters and
some game logic.
Chapter 4: Working with 3D Characters: In this chapter, we will take 3D elements from
popular and professional 3D DCC tools and we will show them rendered in real-time on
the screen. We will learn a lot about 3D models, meshes, and 3D engines.
Chapter 5: Controlling the Cameras: Giving Life to Lights and Actions: In this chapter,
we will learn everything we need to know about 3D cameras to be able to render our
models in real-time on a 2D screen from different angles. We will change the values
for their most important properties and we will be able to watch their effects in a
rendered 3D view.
Chapter 6: Controlling Input Devices to Provide Great Feedback: In this chapter, we will
learn everything we need to know about the most widely used gaming input devices. We
will be able to read values from them in order to control many aspects of our games.
Chapter 7: Using Effects and Textures to Amaze: In this chapter, we will learn everything
we need to know about the process of enveloping a 3D model using textures. We will
be able to take 3D elements from popular and professional 3D DCC tools and we will
show them rendered in real-time on the screen with different textures and enlightened
by many lights.
Chapter 8: Animating 3D Characters: In this chapter, we will learn how to move, rotate,
and scale the 3D models in the 3D scenes. We will use object-oriented capabilities to
define independent behaviors for simple and complex 3D characters.
Chapter 9: Adding Realistic Motions Using a Physics Engine: In this chapter, we will
simulate some laws of 2D and 3D physics. We will learn to define gravity force, mass,
drag coefficients, and moment of inertia to represent the physical properties of the bodies
that define a model.
Chapter 10: Applying Artificial Intelligence: In this chapter, we will detect collisions
between 3D characters and we will define specific behaviors using artificial intelligence,
persecution, and evasion algorithms
Chapter 11: Applying Special Effects: In this chapter, we will use advanced physics and
special effects. We will generate gravity effects, we will add fluids with movements, and
we will use transitions to determine different states in a game.
Chapter 12: Controlling Statistics and Scoring: In this chapter, we will create gadgets to
display different kinds of information to the player on the screen. We will also calculate
different kinds of information in order to update the gauges. Also, we will measure and
improve the game's overall performance.
Chapter 13: Adding Environments and Scenarios: In this chapter, we will create menus
and attractive transitions. We will add configuration options and we will save them using
an isolated storage.
Chapter 14: Adding Sound, Music, and Video: In this chapter, we will generate sounds
associated to game events. We will also add presentation videos and background music.
Appendix: Pop Quiz Answers: This appendix will include answers to all the pop quiz
questions chapter-wise.
Adding Sound, Music, and Video
A game needs sound, music and video. It has to off er the player att ractive
background music. It must also generate sounds associated with certain game
events. When a spaceship shoots a laser beam, a sound must accompany
this action. Reproducing videos showing high-quality previously rendered
animations is a good idea during transitions between one stage and the next.
In this chapter we will add sounds, music and videos to the game. By reading this chapter
and following the exercises we will learn how to:
- Add background music to the game
- Generate sounds associated to the game events
- Take advantage of multiple channel audio
- Control the reproduction of concurrent sounds
- Organize the media elements for the game
- Prepare our media elements for their use in Silverlight applications
- Take advantage of Silverlight 3 performance enhancements for videos
- Reproduce videos combined with animated projections
Hear the UFOs coming
So far, we have worked with 3D scenes showing 3D models with textures and different
kinds of lights. We took advantage of C# object-oriented capabilities and we animated 3D
models and moved the cameras. We have read values from many different input devices
and we added physics, artificial intelligence, amazing effects, gauges, statistics, skill levels,
environments, and stages. However, the game does not use the speakers at all because there
is no background music and there are no in-game sounds. Thus, we have to sort this issue
out. Modern games use videos to dazzle the player before starting each new stage. They use
amazing sound effects and music custom prepared for the game by renowned artists. How
can we add videos, music, and sounds in Silverlight?
We can do this by taking advantage of the powerful multimedia classes off ered
by Silverlight 3. However, as a game uses more multimedia resources than
other simpler applications, we must be careful to avoid including unnecessary
resources in the files that must be downloaded before starting the application.
Time for action – installing tools to manipulate videos
The 3D digital artists used Blender to create an introductory video showing a high quality
rendered animation for five seconds. They took advantage of Blender's animation creation
features, as shown in the following screenshot:
A spaceship flies in a starry universe for a few seconds. Then, the camera navigates through
the stars.
Your project manager wants you to add this video as an introduction to the game. However,
as the video file is in AVI (Audio Video Interleave) format and Silverlight 3 does not support
this format, you have to convert the video to an appropriate format.
The creation of video animations for a game is very complex and
requires specialist skills. We are going to simplify this process by
using an existing video.
First, we must download and install an additional tool that will help us in converting an
existing video to the most appropriate file formats used in Silverlight 3:
The necessary tools will depend on the applications the digital
artists use to create the videos. However, we will be using some
tools that will work fine with our examples.
- Download one of the following files:
- Run the installers and follow the steps to complete the installation wizards.
- If you installed Expression Encoder 2, download and install its Service Pack 1.
The download link for it is http://www.microsoft.com/expression/tryit/
try-it-v2.aspx#encodersp1 file name—EncoderV2SP1_en.exe. - Once you have installed one of the versions of Expression Encoder, you will
be able to load and encode many video files in different file formats, as shown in
the following screenshot:
What just happened?
We installed Expression Encoder. Now we have the necessary tool to convert existing video
clipart to the most appropriate file formats to use in Silverlight 3.


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Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano's nomination to be the 22nd president of the University of California announced days ago has already provoked skepticism and opposition from numerous faculty and students. Christopher Newfield, a professor of English at UCSB, wrote on his widely read blog that Napolitano is "unqualified to be a university president," due to her lack of academic background and knowledge of how universities operate. "She has no political network in California," added Newfield, "no local knowledge of the players, no constituency in the state, no national or state-based academic network, no direct understanding of the state's history or current society."
The UC's graduate student union which represents thousands of student employees across the ten campuses, from Berkeley to San Diego, stated in a press release that they are "shocked and troubled," by Napolitano's nomination. "We fear that this decision will further expand the privatization, mismanagement, and militarized repression of free speech that characterized Mark Yudof's presidency and will threaten the quality and accessibility of education."
Yudof of course was UC's cigar chomping, bald, and gruff president recruited from the University of Texas in 2008 to replace Robert C. Dynes and whip the school's administration into shape. Dynes was a physicist who presided over various scandals including one that has been emblematic of the decline of universities across the U.S. over the past two decades: bloated and growing executive compensation packages even while colleges trim their budgets, lay off faculty, and hike tuition. UC's executives were lambasted in the press for their six-figure salaries and cronyism until the Regents, that lofty board of millionaires, mostly friends and donors to the Governor of California given ultimate power of the nation's largest university, told Dynes it was time to retire back to his laboratory at San Diego.
Napolitano is a departure from Yudof and Dynes in that she doesn't appear to have been selected purely for her unique qualifications to handle the crisis de jour for the University. Yudof cleaned up Dynes' mess. Dynes was recruited by several of the Regents in order to assemble Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a private corporation in which the university is a partner with Bechtel. LANS, as it's called, was a creature to necessity; in the early 2000s another set of scandals —spying, theft, and various deadly accidents— threatened one of the UC's most prized possessions, it's sole, lucrative, and much coveted contract to manage the nation's largest nuclear weapons laboratory in the high desert of the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico. Dynes arrived largely to assemble the UC's joint bid for the contract with Bechtel and a few other large military-industrial corporations. He was successful in keeping UC wed to the nuclear lab.
Prior to Dynes was Richard Atkinson, an academic's academic, a former head of the National Science Foundation, and Chancellor of UC San Deigo. Many UC faculty today look back on Atkinson as the ideal type, his reign the good old days, the high water mark for UC, untainted by worldly corruption and materialism, a set of little cities upon golden California hills where patient scientists and scholars could plod away at their research unhurried and secure in tenure and prestige.
But the UC has always been run by cops, spooks, weaponeers, and financiers at the top. The very first board of Regents in 1868 included William Ralston, California's top banker whose wealth was built from deposits of the Comstock silver mines, and whose financial empire collapsed upon his wild speculative schemes. The second board of Regents included Irving Scott, a proto-Northrop Grumman building warships for the U.S. military. Scott's company, the Union Iron Works, built the USS Oregon battleship which was deployed in the 1890s to the Philippines where it shelled the filipinos into submission – for their own childish good said UC's leaders.
UC's tenth president was selected partly based on his anthropological work in service of the growing U.S. imperium in Asia. David Prescott Barrows led the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, "re-educating" the Filipinos, indoctrinating them into American culture, and the English language used by their new rulers. Barrows was molding colonial subjects. He once wrote as if he were molding play dough: "the physique of the Filipino is also being modified for the better. The race is physically small, but agile, athletic and comely." Barrows concluded in a patriarchal tone, "in the face of these benefits the Filipinos are not unappreciative."
By the time Clark Kerr took the reigns of UC in the 1960s era, UC had become the uncontested heavy weight champion of the military-industrial-academic complex. Yale could certainly boast deeper ties and more recruits sent yearly to the CIA, but UC Berkeley had John McCone, industrialist, weapons manufacturer, and chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, and for his crowning achievement in the halls of the national security state, director of the CIA from 1961 to 1965. Yale sent the future spied, Berkeley's patron McCone ran the show. Today there is a building named after McCone on Berkeley's campus, but history is alive. If one looks deeper into UC's federal labs, and into its administration and faculty, one will find live lines to Langley.
McCone was just one among many of UC's ultra-powerful spooks and Pentagon dons who sloshed money and personnel and gadgetry between Washington and California. After Clark Kerr's ouster by right-wing, red hunting Regents and the nation's paranoid FBI director, Charles Hitch took over the nation's biggest and still fast growing university. Hitch was an economist brought to UC Berkeley to teach business, but his scholarly expertise lay in the economics of military budgeting. Among his greatest hits: The Economics of Defense in the Nuclear Age; Decision-Making for Defense; The Defense Sector and the American Economy, and; Defense Economic Issues, all very dry tomes patiently and authoritatively discussing the most scientifically effective ways to spend billions of tax dollars on nuclear-tipped intercontinental missiles. Professor Hitch was appointed assistant secretary of defense by Kennedy just prior to his taking the post of UC president. It was a natural progression.
Skeptics of Napolitano's nomination to be UC president point out that running a big federal bureaucracy doesn't make for skills transferable to UC, but in Hitch's case that was in fact part of the reason the Regents selected him. Hitch was a budget man for the Cold War defense contractors and Uncle Sam. He was also chairman of the Budget Review Board and the Capital Outlay Review Board for UC while on faculty. So what better man to run the entire integrated show, not just lecturing and writing about how to budget the military-industrial-academic complex, but in fact drafting the operative budgets for the Pentagon and later the UC?
Napolitano does differ from the previous 21 white men who presided over the University of California in being a woman. She's not different at all with respect to her career and connections to the national security state. Plenty of UC's leaders, from Chancellors to the Regents to the President have been insiders in the Pentagon, the nuclear weapons complex, and other branches of the warfare state. However, DHS chief Napolitano is unlike the previous UC presidents in that she an academic outsider, and that is the singular and new difference she signals, a full departure from a presidency that once required the credentials of scholarship and pedagogy.
Darwin Bond-Graham, a contributing editor to CounterPunch, is a sociologist and author who lives and works in Oakland, CA. His essay on economic inequality in the "new" California economy appears in the July issue of CounterPunch magazine. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion


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الإبحارGlobal IMC Network
Straight Talk on IsraelBy Stephen Lendman, submitted by Anonymous on جمعة, 22/02/2013 - 10:20
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Straight Talk on Israel by Stephen Lendman Zygmunt Bauman is UK-based University of Leeds Emeritus Professor of Sociology. His work spans five decades. He's now aged 87. His wide-ranging interests include consumerism, globalization, ethics, power, the status of workers, intellectuals in society, and nature of modern relationships. He's best known for analyzing links between modernity and the Jewish holocaust, postmodern consumerism, and discussing broad moral/political perspectives. He distinguishes between earlier modernity forms ("solid modernity") and what's commonplace today. It's characterized by fragile social relations, he believes. They're created and broken by neoliberal harshness. His metaphorical use of "liquidity" captures the shifting character of individualized/globalized lives. His new book is titled "Culture in a Liquid Modern World." Among other topics it discusses culture in a globalized world and what's happening in today's Europe. He describes utopia's end. In recent decades it's been privatized. It once meant imagining well-designed societies. They guaranteed meaningful, dignified, gratifying lives. Today's world is inhospitable. It's beyond redemption, he believes. In May 2012, he discussed today's Europe. After decades of rising expectations, he said, "present-day newcomers to adult life confront" them falling. "Individualized utopia coincides with the collapse and demise of the idea and hope for a 'good society.' " It's happening "much too steeply and abruptly for any hope of a gentle and safe decent," he added. Today's youth face "long-term unemployment and long stretches of 'rubbish jobs.' " They're "well below their skills and expectations." "This is the first postwar generation facing the prospect of downward mobility." Nothing prepared them for today's reality. Hopes are frustrated and stillborn. University degrees once "promised plum jobs." No longer. Once attainable dreams go unfulfilled. What's true of Europe applies to Israel and much more. Bauman had his say. Haaretz discussed him. He has family in Israel. He once lived there. He was briefly a citizen. He taught at Tel Aviv University and the University of Haifa. Since then, he said, Israelis "expressed their approval of high-handedness over high-mindedness." They "vot(ed) into power people who made sure that peaceful Israeli-Palestinian coexistence is not in the cards." He last visited 20 years ago. He'll return briefly. He accepted an invitation from the Ruppin Academic Center (RAC) and Israel Sociological Society (ISS). On February 18, he addressed ISS' annual conference. He discussed inequality in Israel. More on that below. Sociologist Yehouda Shenhav said he wants "to return sociology to morality and morality to sociology." He "seeks the moral and political sociologist." He's a "sociologist who does not frequent the corridors of power, who critiques war as immoral, who is not infected by the nationalist militancy that pervades his country, and who assails the disintegration of the welfare state, xenophobia, and the instrumentalization of the social discourse." Bauman strongly criticizes neoliberal harshness. He disputes commonly held trickle down notions. "One of the widely used moral justifications for free-market economics is that the pursuit of individual profits also provides the best mechanism for the pursuit of common good," he said. "This has, however, been cast in doubt and all but belied by a rising tide of research findings and official statistics documenting the fast-growing distance that separates those at the top from those at the bottom of the social hierarchy." "In jarring opposition to political pronouncements intended to be recycled into popular belief, the wealth amassed at the top of society has blatantly failed to 'trickle down' and make the rest of us richer, make us feel more secure and more optimistic about our and our children's future, or make us happier." "Almost everywhere in the world the rich, and particularly the very rich, are getting richer, whereas the poor, and particularly the very poor, are getting poorer - most certainly in relative, but in a growing number of cases, also in absolute terms." "Moreover, people who are rich get richer just because they are rich. People who are poor get poorer just because they are poor." "Nowadays, inequality continues to increase by its own logic and momentum. It needs no more help or kick from outside - no outside stimuli, pressures or blows." "Social inequality seems ever closer to becoming the first perpetuum mobile, which after innumerable failed attempts humans have finally managed to invent and set in motion." Israel mirrors the worst of Western societies. It's one of the most unequal OECD countries. Its privileged do extraordinarily well. Most others fall far behind. The gap between rich and poor expands exponentially. "The number of people living below the poverty line rose rapidly - including among working people, whose wages stagnated or declined as pensions, unemployment benefits and income protection schemes, meant to defend them against falling into poverty, were all severely cut," said Bauman. In 1971, he left Israel. He did so disillusioned and disappointed. He criticized Israel's conquest of Arab territories. Before her death, his wife Janina called Israel a "nationalist country. We had just run away from nationalism," she said. "We didn't want to go from being victims of one nationalism to being perpetrators of another." Bauman decries how Israel exploits the holocaust. It does so for political reasons. Jewish suffering isn't unique. Calling it special belittles many other human tragedies. Some far exceed what Jews endured. Claiming Israel faces potential holocaust 2.0 leads to insularity and isolationism. It prevents reconciliation with Palestinians, other Arabs, and international community countries. Bauman compared Israel's Separation Wall to how Nazi Germany ghettoized Warsaw. He did so in the context of separating one population from another. He called building the Wall "Hitler's posthumous triumph." It's trying to accomplish what he failed to achieve - "to set Jews and the rest of the world at loggerheads and make their peaceful coexistence all but inconceivable or impossible." "In our collective unconscious, the image of a wall is established as the archetype of exclusion, break of communication, degradation, denial of human rights." "Were that not the case, it is doubtful whether the idea of building a wall around Israel and its settlements on the occupied land would occur to Israeli leaders as the means to deal with a vicinity of undesirables, and become an ultimate symbol of unilateral but irrevocable separation and refusal to communicate." "The higher and tighter the wall, the slimmer the chance of talking to each other, empathizing with each other's pains and sufferings, and coming to terms with each other - let alone working toward a mutually agreeable and beneficial mode of coexistence." Bauman today feels much like he did decades earlier. Israel goes out of its way to spurn peace. Protracted occupation morally denigrates the occupier. "Militarized political thought, debate and action" don't work. Israel lost its moral bearings. It lost the capacity to deal with social problems. "It pains me, pains me tremendously, to watch the forgetting and abandoning of our collective mission and duty, imposed upon us by the tragic Jewish history: the duty to alert the world - lest it forget - to the evil endemic in all and any nationalist hatred, and to be in the forefront of the ongoing fight against its breeding." "And of the ambition of the founders of Israel to serve as 'a light unto the nations.' " It never was and isn't now. Bauman spoke out earlier on the holocaust, Zionism, and Israeli belligerence. Its leaders prioritize conflict, not peace, he said. They manipulate holocaust memories to justify occupation harshness. They do unto others what they deplore having been done to them. Bauman is a holocaust survivor. He escaped Nazi-occupied Poland. He managed to get into Soviet Russia's sector. He was forced out of Eastern Europe during Poland's 1968 anti-Semitic purges. He calls today's Israel a "belligerently intolerant, faith-driven ethno-state." Peace is a non-starter. Advancing it never existed and doesn't now. "It did not die. It was killed." It was done so from inception. Occupation harshness is "toxic" and "corrosive," he says. It corrupts the "ethics and moral scruples of the occupiers." Challenging fortress Israel is considered "criminal and treason." War and readiness for it erode democratic freedoms. Israeli leaders fear peace. Without conflicts they "don't know how to govern." They exploit holocaust memories as "a get-out-jail card for their own depravity and absolution of their sins." They do so for ones they've "already committed and (others) they are going to commit." Bauman's "radically opposite way of 'commemorating' the holocaust can be summarized as follows: It is forbidden to stay silent in the face of Israeli crimes and their persecution of Palestinians exactly because the fate of Jews in Europe had similar beginnings - discrimination, pogroms, ghettoes, concluding with the Shoah." Holocaust survivors have a mission, he added. They're obligated "to prevent another disgracing of civilization." Israeli leaders threaten one. It's ongoing in slow motion. "Hurting people debases and morally destroys those who are doing" it. It initiates a process anthropologist Gregory Bateson called "schizmogenesis." It's a "sequence of action and reaction where each consecutive behavior" exaggerates another. Doing so causes "ever more deepening schism." Israel's been shooting itself in the foot for decades. What can't go on forever won't. Bauman is one of many Jewish intellectuals speaking candidly on today's Israel. He wants views he considers vital heard and understood. He was invited to Israel to express them. Advanced age didn't silence him. In November, he'll be 88. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour http://www.dailycensored.com/straight-talk-on-israel/ التعليقات |
أحد 15 December 2013
جمعة 13 December 2013
أربعاء 11 December 2013
ثلاثاء 10 December 2013
اثنين 9 December 2013
خميس 5 December 2013
أربعاء 4 December 2013
ثلاثاء 3 December 2013
اثنين 2 December 2013
أحد 1 December 2013
سبت 30 November 2013
جمعة 29 November 2013
أربعاء 27 November 2013
اثنين 25 November 2013
Other Press
اثنين 4 August 2014
ثلاثاء 10 December 2013
خميس 16 May 2013
أحد 5 May 2013
جمعة 3 May 2013
ابحث |


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Works Revistedby Jim Amidon |
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by Jim Amidon '87 1. CHRIS DEUFEL '00 Chris Deufel talked way over our heads about string theory and quantum mechanics when he told us about his academic interests five years ago. He was a confident, soon-to-be graduate with a Truman Scholarship under his belt and Cornell graduate school ahead of him. "I refuse to be bored," he told us. "I want to constantly be experimenting with ideas." And he has. He completed a master's degree in physics and is 18 months away from his Ph.D. His dissertation project uses optical trapping techniques (laser beams) to study single molecules of motor proteins (he's over our head again). Last spring he took a break from the laser beams to develop an outreach science education program. He spent five months in rural El Salvador teaching children basic experiments so that they might become more interested in science. Using active learning techniques developed at Cornell, Deufel enabled over 5,000 students from 21 different schools to conduct experiments in magnetism, light sources, circuits, and other basic science problems. Of his Wabash education, Deufel says, "Wabash's physics, mathematics, computer science, and chemistry courses prepared me sufficiently for graduate school at Cornell. The philosophy, economics, music, drama, sports and study abroad are all advantages that I cherish. Wabash taught me how to do the science. But it also gave me tools to appreciate life more completely." 2. DEON MILES '97 A native of Gary, Indiana, Deon Miles chose Wabash because admissions counselor Walter Blake convinced him that it would be hard, but it would be worth it. He spent four years in chemistry labs, the Malcolm X Institute, and as a basketball manager, and ultimately was selected as a commencement speaker for the Class of 1997. "I'm headed to North Carolina-Chapel Hill to study chemistry and get my Ph.D.," he told us. "I hope to go on after that and teach at a small college, and slowly but surely, one day I'd like to be a college president." He's on the right track. He has just finished his third year on the faculty at the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, where he is the John D. Mac-Arthur Assistant Professor of Chemistry. "When considering something at Sewanee, I always think about the way Wabash did it. My desire to teach was developed at Wabash." He says he might have inherited a little of Professor John Zimmerman's wackiness, Professor David Phillips' eye for detail, and Coach Mac Petty's fire. He also recognizes now the value of undergraduate research. He has employed six student researchers in his lab in the first three years in the growing field of nanotechnology. And true to his Wabash liberal arts roots, he's working on a better chemistry course for non-major science students. The course will be on the science of cooking and food, which marries his two favorite subjects—eating and chemistry. |


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Firmenich CEO Patrick Firmenich recently visited Haiti to build upon the company's long-term commitment to farmers in Haiti who cultivate high quality vetiver.
In particular, the company said Firmenich visited the region of Les Cayes in the South of Haiti to further validate the company's commitment to support local farming communities there, building on the launch of its program three years ago. Each year, the ingredients supplier purchases and transforms more than 1000 natural products from 170 botanical families from suppliers in more than 50 countries.
"Many of our ingredients come from small holder farmers. Ultimately, our products connect consumers with communities around the world. We are committed to sourcing and making these connections in a sustainable way," said Firmenich.
In Haiti, more than 30,000 small-scale farmers cultivate vetiver in their hillside fields. Selling the much sought-after roots, which are used to make perfume, provides them with an important source of income. Firmenich, believed to be the most significant purchaser of Haitian vetiver, has been buying the essential oil from Haiti for several decades. In 2010, Firmenich made a commitment under the Clinton Global Initiative platform to work with vetiver farmers in Haiti to ensure the sustainable production of vetiver oil. In 2012, at the Rio+20 Earth Summit, Firmenich announced the formation of an official partnership with the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC) in further support of vetiver farmers in Haiti.
Partnership goals of the Firmenich project include: improving agricultural methods and training, re-creating dynamic ecosystems around the concerned farming communities, providing better access to education, water, hygiene and nutrition; and offering opportunities to local communities through job creation and supplementary income for both women and men by diversifying crops and supporting entrepreneurial business ventures.
Firmenich, together with Haitian partner Agri-Supply, have planted lime, bitter orange and ylang-ylang seedlings to provide farmers with diversified crops. Firmenich selected the rural agricultural village of Débouchette in the Les Cayes region to pilot its sustainability work. Débouchette is the largest area in Haiti producing high quality vetiver.
The population is estimated at about 6,300 people who are mostly farmers. Débouchette has been certified by ECOCERT, a sustainable development organization that ensures products, systems and services adhere to environmentally friendly standards for agriculture. Firmenich conducted a baseline study in 2011 to assess the needs of the rural communities. The top need identified by the local population was access to education for their children. As part of its overall sustainability program in Haiti, completed the construction of a new primary school in Débouchette.
In addition, Firmenich participated in an agricultural mission with former President Bill Clinton in early March to highlight its long-term commitment to the agricultural sector in Haiti for vetiver and other essential oils. Haiti has declared 2013 the "year of agriculture" and has identified the revitalization of the agricultural sector as a critical component of the country's long-term strategy for recovery and economic development given the strong potential for job creation, improved livelihoods, environmental recovery and food security.


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Welcome Fellow Gamers!
You can navigate through this website using the menu bar above. Go to the "Downloads" page to download my mods.
About Me
I am a mod developer for the popular PC game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I live in Pakistan and have been modding since January 2011. That makes me a relatively new modder, but that also makes me a more active one. In addition to my own website, my mods can be found on lots of websites around the internet, most notably on GTAGarage and GTAInside.
What is a Mod?
"Mod" is short for "modification". A mod is made to modify a video game, either to edit existing features or to add new ones.
I make mods only for one game, which is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Some of my mods add new features to the game (like SpeedBreaker), while others edit existing features. Some of my mods can be considered as small trainers that help you play the game.
All the mods on this website are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License


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I was recently introduced to a fantastic natural and organic-based skincare brand and am still shocked at how much I love everything I've tried. PureCeuticals has two different lines to choose products from - one contains high levels of cosmeceutical grade ingredients and the other, Exotic Naturals, is eco-conscience and holistic - both contain no parabens, no sulphates, no petrochemicals, fragrances are composed with 100% essential oils and nothing is ever tested on animals! I've been using a delightful sampler set of items for a few weeks now and am amazed at the results. My skin looks and feels healthier and I love the way everything smells (I'm very into products that smell great). My stand-out faves are their Pumpkin Enzyme cleanse which smells like yummy pumpkin and their Grape Seed Hydrating Creme which smells fresh and hydrates like nobody's business! PureCeuticals is definitely worth a check-out, especially if you are looking for some natural, afforable, products for your skin! And if you live in the LA area, you can try to secure a highly-coveted facial from the brilliant mastermind behind the PureCeuticals brand, but word on the street is it's hard to get into see her because she's so well-loved! Makes sense she would give an amazing facial or peel, considering her products are so fabulous!
Note: Samples of the products were sent to me by a PR representative working with PureCeuticals


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Honda Wins Three Red Dot Design Awards
- 'Red Dot: Best of the Best 2020' recognises the ground-breaking product design of Honda e in the car category– the highest honour in the competition
- Honda e also receives 'Red Dot 2020' accolade in smart product category
- CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP completes trio of 'Red Dot 2020' accolades for high design quality
- Prestigious international design competition highlights excellence in product design, brand and communication design
Honda e
Honda's highly acclaimed Honda e compact electric vehicle has been awarded the 'Red Dot: Best of the Best 2020' award for ground-breaking product design, the highest honour in the internationally renowned 'Red Dot' awards. This award is given to the best product in each category.
Honda e also received recognition in the 'Smart product' category, along with CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. This accolade is bestowed upon entries featuring 'outstanding design', and this latest award win highlights Honda's commitment to creating beautiful products that are designed without compromise.
The annual Red Dot awards honour excellence in product, brand and communication design from international businesses, with winning products presented in the Red Dot Design Museum at the historical Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. The winning products are decided by a judging panel comprised of 40 international experts who test, evaluate and discuss each entry.
Speaking about the Honda e, Executive Creative Director, Makoto Iwaki commented, "These prestigious awards place a spotlight on Honda's visionary and talented designers. As one of the most exceptional examples of contemporary car design in recent years, the Honda e is fully deserving of its 'Best of the Best' accolade."
Honda e is the latest arrival in the Honda Electrified Line up, providing a fully electric driving experience for future urban environments. From the signature front and rear LED light combinations and stylish glass charging port cover, to the clean lines and flush features that optimise aerodynamic efficiency and refinement, the Honda e reimagines the identity of a small Honda for the next era of urban mobility. Emphasising this exacting design philosophy is a Side Camera Mirror System that replaces conventional side view mirrors. Further differentiating the car are the black panels with unique concave profiles – located at the front and rear between the lights – which have become defining design motifs of the Honda e.
The modern styling of the Honda e has attracted international acclaim since it was first previewed in the Urban EV at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show. The concept car was later recognised as 'Best Concept Car' in the renowned Car Design Award honours. The follow-up e Prototype concept, fresh from its world premiere at 2019 Geneva Motor Show, was the centrepiece of the 'Honda experience – Casa Connessa Tortona' exhibit at Milan Design Week 2019. The exhibition, which was the first time the brand has had a significant presence at the world's largest design event, offered visitors a unique insight into the design concept of the Honda e Prototype.
CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP
The CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP is the latest machine to carry the Fireblade nameplate, which was first introduced in 1992. It has always set the benchmark for how a litre-class super sports machine should handle on public roads, but for the new 2020 model - developed under the tagline of 'Born to Race' - an unwavering focus on circuit performance came hand in hand with a radical new design.
The minimalist frontal area, aggressively angled side fairings and extended lower fairings – plus a variety of apertures, slits and air-channelling shapes – combine to create a best-in-class drag coefficient value of 0.270. Aerodynamic 'winglets' as used on Honda's Grand Prix (MotoGP) race machine combine eye-catching form with uncompromising function, hugely increasing downforce and stability for ultimate control of the most powerful inline four-cylinder engine Honda has ever made.
The Fireblade was designed with an innovative new approach in which Honda R&D's digital simulation experts, clay modellers and styling sketch designers worked with a continuous, almost simultaneous feedback loop to create the maximum effect in the shortest possible development time. They also benefited from input from aerodynamic specialists from the company's in-house racing experts – Honda Racing Corporation – in whose evocative red-white-and-blue colour scheme the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP is painted.
Satoshi Kawawa, General Manager, Motorcycle Design Division, said "The CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP was developed to win races in any category – from club racing to international competition. Its design and styling are led by that philosophy – with every part and every detail designed with speed, performance and aerodynamic efficiency in mind. We're honoured that it has been recognised with such a prestigious award."
Honda has a long history of success in the automotive section of the Red Dot awards, among the most prestigious and sought-after awards in the world. Other recent successes include the Honda S2000 in 2001 and Civic in 2006 for 'Red Dot: Best of the Best' and European Accord Tourer in 2008 and Insight in 2009 for 'Red Dot'.
Under the motto, 'In search of good design and creativity', the Red Dot Design Awards honour industry-leading works and projects from designers, agencies and companies from around the globe. Drawing on a prominent jury of more than 40 international experts, the annual event is recognised worldwide as one of the most sought-after awards for design eminence.
For more information on the Honda e, please contact us.
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